Healthy Lunch Programs for High Level

One of my strongest beliefs regarding education is that children learn well when they eat well. Recently, I was at High Level Public School during lunchtime and I was alarmed at the lack of food choices offered to the student population of over 400 children. Pre-packaged submarine sandwiches with a shelf life of several weeks, fried foods in the canteen and of course the usual vending machine items such as soft drinks, chips and chocolate bars. It seems absurd that a division who frequently looks at ways for improving achievement test results and academic performance can stand by and let these unhealthy choices be deemed acceptable. There is a direct link between student health and achievement results. I propose an addition be built in a suitable location to serve as a cafeteria and venue for theatre opportunities that could be equally shared between the three High Level schools.

Many schools in Alberta have cafeterias that also house a stage to be used for the performing arts and various school functions. Furthermore, classrooms are not sanitary and appropriate places to serve lunch. This is a make due solution that must go. Students need to have a communal place to socialize with their peers at lunchtime. This is long overdue and the ideology that High Level cannot support such ventures is absurd. We live in a town that boasts many major forestry, oil & gas companies who actually have community sponsorship budgets. What we need is to tap into these resources and get the ball rolling on such initiatives. The results would be incredible.

Of course there are parents who still pack nutritious lunches for their children and I applaud these parents as this certainly does take time and careful consideration. Unfortunately, these parents are the minority; many children start their school day with a bottle of Coke and a bag of chips from the vending machine. Walk through the halls at many of the schools in the division on any given day around 8:30 and I guarantee you will see several students drinking pop and eating junk food from the vending machines.

This brings me to my next point: schools that have proper cafeteria facilities are easily able to host breakfast programs offering toast, cold cereals, fruit and juice. This could easily be community sponsored; I could foresee a different company in town sponsoring the program on a monthly rotation. Initiating a breakfast program would help solve problems with academic performance, attendance, behavior and other many factors.

Often, there is a stigma attached to such breakfast programs when participation is based on socioeconomic backgrounds. This is always a concern for schools and parents. I would propose that the program be open to all students. There are many reasons to start a school breakfast program, such as the development of good, healthful eating habits for students. Family and community life has changed, and many children do not have the opportunity to eat breakfast on a regular basis. If children do eat at home, they are often left to provide for themselves and breakfasts are often of poor nutritional value or skipped entirely. Children arriving to class without having breakfast are hungry, and hungry children cannot learn. They will continue to be hungry until lunchtime, or they may eat less nutritious food to prevent hunger pangs. Studies show that breakfast increases student attention, improves behavior, increases health, improves reading speed & accuracy and improves test scores. Parents, teachers, and administrators would certainly appreciate these positive effects on their students. Breakfast is a vital element of a productive and successful educational day.

In addition to this, a cafeteria would coincide with the new government mandate that all children receive 30 minutes of physical activity a day. It seems to be contradictory that the daily physical activity initiative is operating each day and then students are not offered healthy choices at lunchtime. It is no secret that childhood and teenage obesity is growing at an alarming rate in Canada. In addition to psychological pressures, teenage obesity can also have detrimental effects on health. Diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure are all common adult conditions that are now showing up in our youth. Consider some of the following statistics:
• 19% of boys are obese in Canada
• 17% of girls are obese in Canada
• 20% of childhood diabetes cases are now type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes)
• 42 to 63% of obese school-aged children will become obese adults
(Health Canada, 2006)
In closing, I invite you to leave feedback and comments regarding this area of my platform. Furthermore, if this is something you also believe in come out and vote on October 4th. We must work together to see changes in this community and I am ready to make this a reality in High Level. Promoting a healthy attitude and lifestyle among young people is critical and this must be fostered not only at home but also in our schools.