One might think U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro would feel out of place inside a middle school cafeteria with 200 sixth-graders, and long for the bill of fare from a trendy New Haven bistro or establishment Washington restaurant.
But DeLauro, who said her lunches usually consist of soup eaten in her office, was right at home Wednesday morning at Seymour Middle School, where she talked with school officials and kids about recent changes to the National School Lunch Program.
“I usually eat at my desk, so this was a treat,” DeLauro said.
DeLauro toured the school’s kitchen and quizzed students on their likes and dislikes before sitting down to tuck in to a tray of chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes and bean salad.
She did not clear her plate — an aide cut the lunch short because DeLauro was running late for her next appointment — but she said she enjoyed the meal and, more importantly, saw that students were enjoying theirs, too.
“I watched particularly what the children were taking,” she went on, listing broccoli, apples, and carrots she saw kids eating. “And that’s where the behavioral change is.”
“They like that stuff,” she went on. “They’re clear to tell you some things that they don’t like and that it’s not always great, but they like the food, and they understand why the changes have been made, and it’s important for them to know that they have a voice in this.”
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In 2010 Congress passed the healthy Hunger-Free Act of 2010, which set new policies for school childhood nutrition and other programs run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Click here to read a fact sheet about the law on the White House’s website. Fighting childhood obesity has been a major initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama.
The bill authorized child nutrition programs for five years. DeLauro said visits like Wednesday’s help to inform her about possible changes when such programs are due for renewal.
“This is a period of time to take a look at what’s working and what doesn’t work,” she said. “It’s not absolutely perfect right off the bat. You make changes.”
“What’s critical here is that the middle school and the director of the food services have a real understanding of the school population and are reflecting their interests and also nutritional interests,” DeLauro said.
Cindy Brooks, the director of food services for the school district and also the chair of the Public Policy and Legislative Committee for the School Nutrition Association of Connecticut, said students have been receptive to the healthier choices.
“It’s working out very well,” Brooks said. “The kids here love the fruit and the vegetables.”
Almost all of them, anyway — spinach hasn’t really caught on, she said — but DeLauro offered some advice on preparation.
“Just put it with a little garlic and olive oil,” she said. “It’s really very good.”
In talking to students at Seymour and other schools, the congresswoman said she’s been pleasantly surprised at how receptive they are.
Relating that she often asks students what their favorite fruit or vegetable is, “I had one kid say a kiwi. I didn’t even know what a kiwi was at that age. Or artichokes. I thought only Italians ate artichokes,” she said in jest.
Superintendent of Schools Christine Syriac credited Brooks with changing the culture of school meals in Seymour.
“I think the biggest change that we’ve seen is that there’s a bigger focus on what the nutritional value of the meal actually is,” Syriac said, adding that kids have a wider variety of healthy choices than they did years ago.
But it’s an ongoing process.
Dawn Crayco, the deputy director of End Hunger Connecticut, a Hartford-based nonprofit, was also in Seymour Wednesday and said that while Connecticut is better than most states in terms of giving students healthy meals, it lags behind in terms of things like providing breakfast to needy students.
“Generally Connecticut is ahead of the curve,” Crayco said. “But we’re definitely not done. If we can influence what’s going on in schools, we’re one step closer to preventing childhood obesity.”
DeLauro touched on a similar theme — that better nutrition is about more than just what kids receive on their school lunch trays.
“This is really a behavior change. For all of us,” she said. “And that’s not easy to get to. We did it with cigarettes and we need to do it here.”
