So, in my effort to focus on the positive in the diminishing number of cases where that is possible, there is still progress in WV on school child nutrition-especially breakfast participation rates. In fact, this is one instance where we once again lead the country.
THIS MAY MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE TO HAVE A CHANCE,but the WV senate is considering a tobacco tax hike--the first in about 13 years.
ALMOST LEVEL, WEST VIRGINIA. Here's a NY Times editorial on mountaintop removal in WV. Short version: we don't come off terribly well.
Showing posts with label WV Office of Child Nutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WV Office of Child Nutrition. Show all posts
February 16, 2016
February 15, 2015
A bright spot
Last week I mentioned some welcome good news (a rare thing these days) about progress in child nutrition in West Virginia. Here's a little more about that.
In the wake of the passage of the 2013 Feed to Achieve Act, the 2010 federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and some great leadership from the WV Office of Child Nutrition, WV leads the nation in school breakfast participation.
This really is a big deal since many kids in WV lack basic food security and since a healthy breakfast improves learning, health and behavior. WV has also been an early leader in adopting the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in most counties. CEP allows school boards to provide free meals to all kids in schools where 40 percent or more of kids are directly certified to be low income.
What is particularly dramatic about WV's performance is the fact that breakfast participation has shot up from 29 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2014. This is largely due to the fact that more and more counties have adopted new breakfast delivery systems, like grab and go and breakfast in the classroom.
The ultimate goal of child nutrition advocates is to make free, nutritious meals available to all children as just another basic part of the school day. And we're moving in that direction.
In the wake of the passage of the 2013 Feed to Achieve Act, the 2010 federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, and some great leadership from the WV Office of Child Nutrition, WV leads the nation in school breakfast participation.
This really is a big deal since many kids in WV lack basic food security and since a healthy breakfast improves learning, health and behavior. WV has also been an early leader in adopting the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in most counties. CEP allows school boards to provide free meals to all kids in schools where 40 percent or more of kids are directly certified to be low income.
What is particularly dramatic about WV's performance is the fact that breakfast participation has shot up from 29 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2014. This is largely due to the fact that more and more counties have adopted new breakfast delivery systems, like grab and go and breakfast in the classroom.
The ultimate goal of child nutrition advocates is to make free, nutritious meals available to all children as just another basic part of the school day. And we're moving in that direction.
February 11, 2015
It's not all bad
There's plenty of terrible news rolling out of West Virginia these days, so it's good to highlight some good news. One thing WV does right is feed kids in its school system, thanks largely to my friend Rick Goff, of the Office of Child Nutrition and general rock star and his staff.
According to WV News Service,
A new survey has found the state has the highest percentage of qualifying students eating school breakfast in the nation...
Statistics show that kids who eat breakfast in school have better attendance, better test scores and fewer discipline problems. As one school official put it, students can't be hungry to learn if they're just plain hungry.West Virginia has truly been a leader in this field. Let's hope that this continues to be the case.
November 19, 2014
In case you needed some more depressing news...
...here's something about the assault on labor unions.
WHAT WAS HIS FIRST CLUE? It seems that economist and Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson may have gotten the memo that some people may not be all that happy with the current state of the economy.
ONE WV BRIGHT SPOT is progress on child nutrition, especially in schools. This article features my friend Rick Goff, director of the state Office of Child Nutrition. The good news is that breakfast participation is going up in the wake of the passage of the 2013 innovative Feed to Achieve Act.
SPEAKING OF FRIENDS, another pal, the Rev. Jim Lewis, was featured in a nice spot on WV Public Radio yesterday. It's worth a look.
GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED
WHAT WAS HIS FIRST CLUE? It seems that economist and Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson may have gotten the memo that some people may not be all that happy with the current state of the economy.
ONE WV BRIGHT SPOT is progress on child nutrition, especially in schools. This article features my friend Rick Goff, director of the state Office of Child Nutrition. The good news is that breakfast participation is going up in the wake of the passage of the 2013 innovative Feed to Achieve Act.
SPEAKING OF FRIENDS, another pal, the Rev. Jim Lewis, was featured in a nice spot on WV Public Radio yesterday. It's worth a look.
GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED
June 11, 2014
More on food
At this stage in my life, I didn't expect to focus on things like school food any more, but there you have it. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, folks around the country are pushing to get more schools to feed all students for free by taking advantage of the federal Community Eligibility Provision.
That's not the only thing going on in the food for kids arena these days. First, here's the good news: WV is once again kicking off the summer food service program at over 400 sites in the state. As my friend Rick Goff, head of the state Office of Child Nutrition says, "hunger doesn't take a summer vacation."
The bad news is that Republicans in the US House want to gut nutritional standards for school food programs. As in hello to more salt, fat, processed food and high fructose corn syrup.
I'm not sure what circle in hell my good friend Dante would put such people in, but I imagine it would be a really nasty one.
That's not the only thing going on in the food for kids arena these days. First, here's the good news: WV is once again kicking off the summer food service program at over 400 sites in the state. As my friend Rick Goff, head of the state Office of Child Nutrition says, "hunger doesn't take a summer vacation."
The bad news is that Republicans in the US House want to gut nutritional standards for school food programs. As in hello to more salt, fat, processed food and high fructose corn syrup.
I'm not sure what circle in hell my good friend Dante would put such people in, but I imagine it would be a really nasty one.
April 13, 2014
It's working
The last couple years in El Cabrero's beloved state of West Virginia, believe it or not, have been pretty successful in terms of progressive public policies. We've expanded Medicaid coverage and early childhood education, raised the minimum wage, and created a Future Fund. One other success was the passage last year of the Feed to Achieve Act, which is aimed at improving child nutrition in West Virginia. From today's Gazette, here's some evidence that it's already starting to work.
This is an issue near and dear to me. My employer, the American Friends Service Committee, first came to WV in 1922 to work on child nutrition--specifically, to help feed the children of unemployed coal miners. It's kind of sad that we're still working on child nutrition over 90 years later--but I'm hopeful we're gonna get it this time!
This is an issue near and dear to me. My employer, the American Friends Service Committee, first came to WV in 1922 to work on child nutrition--specifically, to help feed the children of unemployed coal miners. It's kind of sad that we're still working on child nutrition over 90 years later--but I'm hopeful we're gonna get it this time!
March 19, 2014
A champion for children
El Cabrero's Spousal Unit is a Spanish teacher. At one point, she was talking to students in WV's poorest county about the custom of a midday siesta or lunch/nap, a custom in many Spanish-speaking countries. She asked them whether they'd prefer to have a siesta or a regular school lunch period as is the custom here.
You might think the idea of a long break away from school would be the top choice, but it wasn't. The kids said they liked it the way it was done at their school, "because everybody gets to eat."
Whatever their other hardships, those children were fortunate enough to live in a county where the school system made feeding all children regardless of ability to pay a top priority.
It is sad but true that even in the 21st century, many children in West Virginia (and elsewhere of course) don't have basic food security, which is defined as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life."
Obesity, by the way, an all too frequent occurrence here, doesn't disprove food insecurity. It often accompanies it. Cheap processed foods high in calories and fat and low in nutritional value often form the diet of the poor, especially of those living in "food deserts."
Here's something else to think about. During all the days when school was cancelled due to weather, many kids do without nutritious meals.
Still, WV has taken some strides in fighting this problem. In 2013, the legislature passed the Feed to Achieve Act, which ultimately aims to ensure that all schoolchildren in the state enjoy at least two free nutritious meals a day. That hasn't happened yet, although a great deal of progress has been made.
A big reason for that progress is that WV is blessed to have a real champion for children running the state Office of Child Nutrition. His name is Rick Goff and I'm proud to consider him to be a friend. He was profiled in this recent article in the Charleston Gazette.
Goff's counsel was heavily relied upon as state Senator John Unger and others crafted the Feed to Achieve Act. He is on fire to make sure that we end the "hunger games" in this state. And with people like him in the fight, we just might get there.
You might think the idea of a long break away from school would be the top choice, but it wasn't. The kids said they liked it the way it was done at their school, "because everybody gets to eat."
Whatever their other hardships, those children were fortunate enough to live in a county where the school system made feeding all children regardless of ability to pay a top priority.
It is sad but true that even in the 21st century, many children in West Virginia (and elsewhere of course) don't have basic food security, which is defined as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life."
Obesity, by the way, an all too frequent occurrence here, doesn't disprove food insecurity. It often accompanies it. Cheap processed foods high in calories and fat and low in nutritional value often form the diet of the poor, especially of those living in "food deserts."
Here's something else to think about. During all the days when school was cancelled due to weather, many kids do without nutritious meals.
Still, WV has taken some strides in fighting this problem. In 2013, the legislature passed the Feed to Achieve Act, which ultimately aims to ensure that all schoolchildren in the state enjoy at least two free nutritious meals a day. That hasn't happened yet, although a great deal of progress has been made.
A big reason for that progress is that WV is blessed to have a real champion for children running the state Office of Child Nutrition. His name is Rick Goff and I'm proud to consider him to be a friend. He was profiled in this recent article in the Charleston Gazette.
Goff's counsel was heavily relied upon as state Senator John Unger and others crafted the Feed to Achieve Act. He is on fire to make sure that we end the "hunger games" in this state. And with people like him in the fight, we just might get there.
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