By Kara Crump
Staff Writer
Jessica Conaway Donovan addressed the Chester County Board of Education at their scheduled meeting at the board of education conference room on Tuesday, Oct. 22. The discussion she presented the board was concerning the school’s nutrition program. She is the mother of two East Chester Elementary students, but she came forward on behalf of all Chester County students. She provided a packet of information for board members and had a PowerPoint to follow along with her presentation. “My mission today is to influence the board to provide pressure in healthier meals for our students. One might ask, ‘What is wrong with our current menu?’ And my response to that question comes from reviewing September’s and October’s menus would be in September 35% of the lunch menu was breadstick, cheese stick or pizza. Trix yogurt boxes was 30%; scratch made items was 20%. October was a short month, but again 31% of the meals offered was a breadstick, cheese stick or pizza. I spoke with students, parents, teachers and other counties nutritionist supervisors.”
Donovan stated that, when asked about school lunch, the high school students provided several issues they had noticed. The milk was often expired, the food was not hot, the eggs were watery and tasted terrible and food in wrappers was often soggy. Students also mentioned that the cafeteria often ran out of food by third lunch shift and that there was not enough protein in the meals provided. She reached out to four cafeteria managers and asked, “If a student was to choose the cold lunch option, could they still get a hot vegetable or fresh fruit?” Three of the four answered yes, but when checking up with teachers, they were unable to provide an answer. Donovan stated that parents were also unaware as the information was not provided for them. She mentioned that some of the food options being provided to students are simply heated in plastic then served. When asking about implementing more scratch cooking, Donovan was given a unanimous response – “No.”
Donovan asked the board, “Are these options truly healthy for our students? Are they healthy? Are they beneficial? Are they sustaining? Are they wholesome?”
Donovan stated that many have told her that if she does not like the food options provided by the school then she should just pack a lunch for her kids. She discussed how, while she may be able to pack a lunch for her kids, there are others in the community who are unable to do so and depend on the school’s nutrition program for their children.
“We shouldn’t have to worry about packing a lunch. For many in our community, it is a reality that school meals are all that they will be able to eat in a day. I want you to let that sink in and tell me that a Pop-Tart for breakfast and a breadstick for lunch are going to keep them full until the next school day,” Donovan stated to the board.
“Isn’t school a logical place to encourage healthy dietary behaviors? School food matters. Prevention of product disease can improve academic performance, mental health, establishing life-long healthy habits to name a few. Improving school nutrition is an investment in our children’s future; it’s not just about feeding the students. It’s about nourishing their potential to succeed academically, emotionally and socially,” she said.
To demonstrate the lack of healthy dietary options currently being provided, Donovan used the example of a Trix lunch box. According to her research, a Trix lunch box holds the same amount of sugar as six Krispy Kreme donuts. She then asked the board, “Would you serve six donuts to preschooler or kindergartener?”
Donovan asked the board for clarification of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). All counties surrounding Chester County use CEP as do numerous counties throughout west Tennessee and even the state. They discussed how Chester County does not qualify for full reimbursement, but, if they applied per school, Chester County does qualify for a total majority reimbursement of 79%. That leaves 21% to be paid by the board. Jacks Creek Elementary qualifies for 100% reimbursement, and East Chester Elementary qualifies for 91% specifically.
“If you applied per school, you would maximize the benefits on the program and that would mean free lunch for every student for the next four years. Would you not want free lunch for every student?” stated Donovan. This could not only give free lunches to all students but also provide more nutritious items on the menu.
“The opportunity was presented to me last spring by Stephanie (Lollar—District School Nutrition Supervisor) She had previously shared with all the food managers across….And when we met up and discussed that, given the fact that because of our current threshold of free root to produce lunch students, we would have to contribute from our general-purpose budget to satisfy their budget,” said board’s District Director of Schools Troy Kilzer II.
He said free breakfasts are already provided to students, and it would cost roughly around $20,000 from the general-purpose budget to supplement the CEP. Kilzer stated that they would also need approval from the Chester County Budget Committee and the Chester County Commissioners.
“It is me who made the delay happen, and you have to be recognized for that and apply for that by June. This would come before the board in April.” Kilzer said that the board would have to repurpose the budget for something that has never been purchased before and, if not liked, would be hard to undo once done.
While many discussed their opinions or ideas, a final decision concerning the nutrition program was not reached at the board meeting.
