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State Representative John Benson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9934
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
NEWS COLUMN
JUST A FEW PENNIES CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
After a busy morning spent memorizing multiplication tables and conjugating verbs, at last, the bell rings and its time for lunch. Hungry students stream into cafeterias and after all that time in class, welcome the chance to sit down, relax, and enjoy the company of friends over a lunchtime meal. For some children, the noon meal may be the most substantial one of the day, as more and more students qualify for free and reduced school lunch programs.
School lunch is an integral part of the school day. Despite the long-standing jokes about mystery meat and fifth graders vivid menu descriptions, the fact is, healthy and nutritious lunches can have a significant impact on student learning and long-term health outcomes.
In 2003, Minnesota cut state support for school lunch programs by 22%. One of the first casualties of those cuts was the kindergarten morning milk break. Some schools were able to continue morning milk by dipping into general funds, or asking for parental fundraising support. Others districts were forced to discontinue a long time staple of the kindergarten day.
School districts across the state now fall 43 cents short for each school lunch served. This shortfall has forced many school districts to either raise school lunch prices, or to sell less healthy, but more profitable a la carte items in order to generate enough money to subsidize regular, nutritionally balanced lunch offerings. With childhood obesity and diabetes rates on the rise it seems irresponsible at the least to offer more unhealthy choices like chips and cookies in order to subsidize the cost of healthier choices like fruits and fresh vegetables.
I've authored a bill that would increase state aid participation in the national school lunch program by 1-and-a-half cents per day. While that doesn't sound like much, and in fact amounts to only $3 million dollars out of a $34 billion budget, it would allow districts to restore kindergarten milk breaks, purchase healthier food items for student lunches, and reduce their dependency on low-nutrition snacks.
School lunch is the fuel kids put in their tanks to get where they need to go during the school day. Choosing the wrong kind of fuel might mean running out of energy before the school day is over. An issue like school lunch doesn't often make the headlines. But if we're serious about making sure that children can reach their full potential, then making a minimal investment in children's health can go a long way toward making sure that our kids are healthy, alert and ready to learn. And that gets our kids, and our state, a lot closer to where we all want to go.
You may contact Rep. Benson at (651) 296- 0141, 517 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155 or via e-mail at rep.john.benson@house.mn
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