The Cost Of School Food: Pay A Little Now, or a Lot Later

Schools in New York, even with innovative cooks endeavoring to provide nutritious, cooked-from-scratch meals come up against strict regulations, with U.S. schools' slide to processed meals mirroring the rest of the country. Some cooks are having success, but continue to struggle against budgetary restraints and challenges from the in-school deli-bar that's "like Subway, but you don't have to pay," said one student.

Quite simply, tastier and better food costs more. Increases in per-student allocation are necessary, but are unlikely to happen. Revolution Foods present an answer, cooking from-scratch, shunning trans fats, using all-natural ingredients without too greater cost. Charter schools are generally more willing to pay extra for the good food, but public schools still miss out.

Not everyone's convinced that privatization of school lunches is a good idea, with Tom Philpott saying, "let’s invest in the health of our kids, and not outsource their lunches to the lowest bidder," fearing "a full-on privatization model." Adam Zachary Cohen however embraces for-profit entrepreneurs, suggesting they're are exactly the people who can effect a change in school foods. There's common ground though, with both recognizing the importance of getting local-foods into schools. We either pay now and feed our kids a nutritious diet and ensure their parents do the same, or we end up paying for it later with unhealthy, obese adults eating the same old junk-food.

Photo credit: Woodleywonderworks