| Grants Help Students Learn to Love Their Veggies
(Family Features) - Getting kids to eat their veggies has always been a struggle for moms. But now, it's also a struggle for schools. New federally mandated local wellness policies are requiring schools to set goals for nutrition education and campus food provisions. As a result, schools are feeling more pressure to ensure that kids are eating healthfully during lunch.And it's not easy. One of the most recurring obstacles schools face is the lack of funding necessary to make changes in school meals."When you look at the percentage of kids not eating their veggies, schools are facing an uphill battle" said Elizabeth Pivonka, president of Produce for Better Health (PBH) foundation. "About 96 percent of kids age 2 to 12 fall short of the recommended 2-5 cups per day of fruits and vegetables with most kids today needing to more than double their current intake."Last year, in an effort to address the problem, the makers of Hidden Valley ranch dressings conducted the Love Your Veggies Nationwide School Lunch Campaign.
Tips on how to get the lead out
Even before Mattel recalled more than 19 million Chinese-made toys, I wasn't sure what was safe for my little teether's mouth. Plastic was out, because until we know more about the effects of their chemicals, I didn't want him gnawing on softened products that contain phthalates. And last week, a federal panel ruled the compound used to make hard polycarbonate plastic -- bisphenol-A -- could pose a risk to the brain development of fetuses, infants, babies and older children. .
Apples, wine and cheese
Wine and cheese are ageless companions, like aspirin and aches, or June and moon, or good people and noble ventures. — MFK Fisher, culinary writer Our summer road trip turned into a surprisingly delicious gastronomical tour inspired, in part, by the World's Largest Apple. In August I flew to Toronto to meet my sister Lauren. She and her dog Eddie had departed Los Angeles a month before in her new Subaru to cross the continent at a leisurely pace. I had planned to meet her in Iowa, but was delayed. So we picked a city closer to the East Coast. The plan: shared driving, new experiences to refresh our work-weary souls, and quality time for sisters living on opposite coasts. Lauren is a city girl and award-winning animator inhabiting a loft in downtown L.A.
Higher lunch prices on menu at many districts
Better pack extra lunch money with your student this year. Higher milk prices are spilling over into area school cafeterias. More than a half-dozen school districts, pinched by rising prices and delivery costs, are raising food and/or milk prices for students this school year. "The cost of everything has gone up ... through the years," said Sandra Combs, food service director for the Imlay City School District, which is instituting its first price increase in about a dozen years. "It was time before we start going into the red." The increases may not seem like much. But they could add up for youngsters. School lunches and breakfasts for students are increasing as much as 30 cents in some area districts. In Imlay City, for instance, lunches ranging from $1.75 to $2.25 are up a quarter.
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