New Haven Independent

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 25, 2009 11:38 AM

Bravo! I love this!

Posted by: lance | March 25, 2009 1:47 PM

this quote is heartbreaking, and makes me furious at the same time....

"Some kids didn't know peaches came from trees and were round. They were afraid to eat" one, he said. "It's the first time they've ever eaten a vegetable in some cases."

DO you think any of these kids have a chance with these parents? Bad enough they don't fend for their own kids by paying for their lunches, but on top on it they don't even get the kids decent food with the free store credit we give them every month. then you wonder why they end up in jail and on welfare as adults. I'm beside myself. I saw a lot of parents over the years that needed a good slap upside the head, but I never knew it was this bad....Sad part is these parents multiply at a rate greater than responsible tax paying parents do. At this rate, this country is going to hopeless two generations from now.

Ater reaing this, I think it's once again time to visit the idea of cash payments for voluntary sterilization.

Posted by: Talia | March 25, 2009 1:54 PM

GREAT!!! I LOVE IT!!! Yay, healthy kids!

Posted by: urban ed | March 25, 2009 5:18 PM

I'm a convert as well. And I know the kids appreciate it. And, may I say, the corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day was a TRIUMPH! Tender and tasty with easily trimable fat. Just as good as I can do at home. THANK-YOU!

Posted by: RichTherrn | March 25, 2009 6:31 PM

Given my hunger at the moment, I think I will have to just happen to show up around lunchtime at a school tomorrow!

Posted by: William Clark | March 25, 2009 11:41 PM

Thank you Paul for coming into our kitchen and meeting with our workers. We all work very hard to purchase and produce the best meals possible for our students. While I appreciate your desire to capture the "nuggets" on camera you should remember and report our conversation that we are now producing nuggets with a whole grain bredding! Every little bit that we can do helps.

As we continue our transition next year we will strive to produce more fresh and healthy items. We have outpaced our production and revenues every month from last year while keeping costs within our budget projections. We are on the right road and will strive to build off of this success.

Thanks to Dr. Mayo and the Board for the confidence in us to get this done and thanks to all the workers who make it happen every day. We are on pace to produce 5 million meals this year which would be a New Haven record!

Posted by: Borist | March 26, 2009 8:15 AM

Can somebody tell me how chicken is so healthy, its full of hormones and all kinds of stuff they feed them to make them grow.Lets also get rid of the milk that people think is so good for you. Milk is for baby cows. Please more vegetables.

Posted by: Twilight2323 | March 26, 2009 1:39 PM

I am thrilled that people care and are trying to do something to make the food better at schools for students like me, but I am not in agreence that the food taste any better than before. I truthfully would not be able to tell the diffence if somebody were to blind fold me and have me eat both. I am sorry to the people who feel otherwise but please be serious, chiken is not good for you and neither is milk. We may need to go healthier like maybe add more veggies.

Posted by: BoristT | March 26, 2009 3:20 PM

Lance that comment is right on the money, you tell it like it is and some of these liberals dont want to hear it keep it up i love it.

Posted by: lance | March 26, 2009 4:07 PM

thanks B!

by the way, there is a tea party rally 4/15/09 on long wharf, 11-1 if you can make it. I know it's a weekday, but a lot of folks are stopping by on their lunch hr.

Wednesday, April 15th
Long Wharf
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Stamford: Saturday, March 28th, 96 Broad Street (Starbucks/Library location), the corner of Broad and Bedford.
Email: mttaylor1959@gmail.com

Clinton: Saturday, May 9th Time and Place TBA
Email: pfmdresources@sbcglobal.net

http://taxdayteaparty.com/

Posted by: fedupwithliberals | March 27, 2009 5:33 AM

Now if they can only teach children with the same fervor and commitment with which they feed them, maybe little Johnny might know what a peach looks like!

Posted by: Will Clark | March 27, 2009 7:39 AM

Twilight:

Thanks for the comments. We have instituted more fresh fruits and vegetables into the program. Salads are now a daily option at most schools. Beginning in the summer where we applied for and received a Federal Fresh Fruits and Veggies grant we have purchased and leveraged grant dollars to purchase and put more fruit and fresh veggies on the line than ever before. We have also successfuly received a grant at Columbus for a salad bar (I was there yesterday and it is great), as well as grants for three other schools which allowed us to pilot fruit and veggie snacks outside of normal meal hours.

Funding, proper planning and focus must all come together to make this work. While I do not agree the chicken is not "healthy" I would note that roasted or baked chicken on the bone is, in fact, healthier than processed stips or nuggets or fried options. The Chicken itself is one of the commondities we can aquire through a Federal program at a lower cost than the open market. Due to the fact that the remibursement rates do not fully reimburse for the cost of meals in New Haven it is imperative that we leverage bulk purchasing for such things as chicken, beef and cheese. Working within the funding reality for school food we have leveraged our dollars to make these bulk purchases yet alter the manner in which the food is processed or prepared. Our goal is to have more fresh product that we prepare and serve and this is a major difference to the past.

Reimbursements rates have not changed in well over a decade yet costs of food have risen dramatically. We have lobbied against cuts in state funding to food programs and reimbursements and are actively lobbying for the feds (thank you for your support Rosa) to review and raise these rates as well.

Unfortunately the funding and staffing requirements associated with a food operation tends to force districts to make poor choices with regard to food due to bottom line concerns. Through proper planning and focus we have sought alternate funding, made dramatic partnerships and have made some giant steps forward that some folks said could never happen. We have more plans as we head into our second summer and full school year of self-operation. This is an exciting program and we look forward to remaining ahead of the curve and taking the school food program to another level!

Posted by: Whatsername | March 27, 2009 10:23 AM

@Twilight2323 and @Borist: I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but you can hardly blame the NHPS food system for the large-scale subsidies of agricultural and protein production in this country, which is why chicken and other veggies/fruits/eggs/etc. that have hormones added or have pesticides used on the farms are cheaper than healthier, organic options. Until there are comparable subsidies for organic, sustainable and local farms, there is no way that the NHPS food system can afford to produce as many meals as they can on the budget they are given with organic, local, sustainable products. They may be able to do it small-scale, but not across the board.

Also, to be perfectly honest, if you don't want to eat chicken or drink milk, there is always the option to bring a lunch from home or to simply drink water (instead of milk).

@Lance: I can't say I disagree with voluntary sterilization, but after reading many of your comments, I wonder if you have ever worked with these populations before. I do and while I wish parents would not have children that the taxpayers end up raising, there are some well-intentioned families out there. There really is a poverty-stricken class in this country, and I'm not just talking financial poverty--lack of knowledge and understanding of the bigger world makes it more difficult to make intelligent decisions about eating, raising a family, etc. Food stamps and WIC go a lot farther if you buy the canned peaches and Kool-Aid. To become angry at families in these situations (or to "slap them upside the head") only makes you sound too willing to criticize and unwilling to help. The Food Stamp and WIC system has only recently begun to get a revamp (families can use these at Farmer's Markets now, thanks to Cityseed)--ultimately, the poor are given few choices. It is cheaper to eat unhealthy foods than healthy foods--it's easy to see in a grocery store comparison of prices. Until we have true food justice in this country, "slapping" people upside the head, will only make them want to slap you back, not take their kids to a Farmer's Market.

Also, I suspect that the peach anecdote above was a way for the NHPS food service to claim true change--I doubt there are millions of poor children who don't know what a peach looks like. And, in fact, when we weren't shipping food all over the country, most New Englanders wouldn't have seen a peach anyway. It's a testament to our carbon-gobbling food industry that you know what a peach looks and tastes like at all.

Posted by: Leslie Blatteau | March 27, 2009 11:19 AM

I don't each chicken but I did try some of those potatoes yesterday. Miss Betty at CT Scholars did an excellent job. Delicious!

Posted by: Orchard Joe | March 27, 2009 8:11 PM

Whatsername-
In the 1800's and early 1900's CT had a huge peach industry until it was almost entirely wiped out by disease. But there are still several orchards in CT that still grow peaches, with some from trees that are over a 100 years old so your comment pertaining to the peaches is not true.
Yes Georgia is "famous" for the peach but the Hale brothers of Glastonbury were pioneers in the peach industry first succeeding in CT then migrating to...Georgia.

Posted by: CT Fruit | March 29, 2009 7:59 AM

The peaches and some apples have, indeed come from CT when in season. Farm to school is coming. . .

Posted by: msteacher | March 29, 2009 10:43 PM

Thanks, "Fed Up With Liberals", for opportunistically taking your cheap shots at teachers within the context of a positive story.
FYI, we've got plenty of fervor and commitment, and then some. Why the hell would we put up with ignorant comments from folks like you if we didn't? If YOU want kids to know what a peach looks like, then YOU come show them. We're busy trying to teach reading, writing, social studies, history, math, science, civics, art, music, p.e., hygiene, manners, self-respect, respect for others, conflict management, anger management, community involvement, appropriate dress and language and lots of other skills you'd think parents would be responsible for- while trying work your lessons around those monthly standardized tests that your buddy "W" was so hot for. Don't forget to go back to school and pay out about $15,000 for your certification and your Master's degree (and an extra $500 or so for all the levels you have to obtain of the actual certificate) before you come talking about those peaches. Now get crackin'- the school system needs your expertise teaching about produce...