2021: A Year in Review
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
    • Careers
  • Programs
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • Mental Health Advocacy
      • BIPOC Mental Health Grant
      • Growing Communities of Inclusion: A Faithful Response to HIV
      • Healthy Aging
      • Citizen Science
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Criminal Justice
    • Immigrant Rights
    • Public Education
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
  • Events
  • Resources
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

The Debate over Healthier School Lunches

Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness · November 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment

As the U.S. grapples with falling home prices, rising unemployment and poverty, members of Congress can’t even agree on what to serve our school-aged children for lunch!  The Obama administration – in concert with the First Lady’s flagship health initiative, Let’s Move! – has been working to improve the foods our children eat during the school day to include more whole grains, less sodium and other healthier options.  However, a new spending bill released by Congress last Monday will undoubtedly block or delay the President’s plans.

To illustrate, the bill recognizes tomato paste as a vegetable, calls for more research on long-term sodium reduction and requires that the Administration first define “whole grains” before regulating them.  Again, who knew that promoting healthier school lunches could create such gridlock on Capitol Hill?

The issue of what to feed our nation’s children should not be trivialized, however, as they are predicted to live shorter lives than their parents for the first time in history due to rising childhood obesity rates.  Thankfully, some school districts across the country are taking matters into their own hands and are placing our children, not politics, first.  In Asheville, for example, they have replaced regular french fries with baked sweet potato fries, white rice with brown rice, and whole milk with 1 percent or fat free.   Asheville City Schools also provide more fruit and vegetable servings, whole wheat bread, and foods that are either baked or steamed.

To learn more, please click here to read the full article in the Asheville Citizen-Times.

– Willona Stallings, PHW Program Coordinator

Partners in Health and Wholeness is an initiative of the NC Council of Churches. Please visit our website to view more resources on health and faith: www.healthandwholeness.org.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Children & Youth, Community Gardens, Food, Good Government, Health, Healthcare Reform

About Willona Stallings, Former Program Coordinator – Partners in Health & Wholeness

Partners in Health and Wholeness (PHW) connects congregations with existing resources in the community and provides them with the tools necessary (sometimes in the form of mini-grants) to implement healthier practices, policies and programs. I live in Raleigh and enjoy good food, area greenways and bargain shopping.
Learn more about PHW and our efforts to improve the health of God’s people: healthandwholeness.org

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Because of Jesus
The Perfect Gift for Mother’s Day
PHW Faith and Health Summit: Thank You

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

The Debate over Healthier School Lunches

Latest Tweets

RT @RasuShrestha We grieve and are mortified by the staggering number of mass shootings and other acts of violence with guns in our country. We need action, not just thoughts & prayers. Sign the petition now if you agree: ✅change.org/p/interfa… #GunControlNow pic.twitter.com/hx2O…

About 7 minutes ago

Are you passionate about the health and wellbeing of North Carolina communities? Then apply for a job with our Partners in Health and Wholeness as the Engagement and Program Administrator! ncchurches.org/2022/… pic.twitter.com/0Q7Y…

Yesterday

The U.S. Supreme Court, as if rushing to settle old grievances, in recent weeks has thrashed about in a virtual frenzy of “originalism” – never mind the consequences for America’s civic well-being. ncchurches.org/2022/…

About 2 days ago

Faith Leaders! Last chance to apply this training! Learn to incorporate suicide prevention programming into your congregation’s activities. Apply at the link! ncivpb.iad1.qualtric… pic.twitter.com/vFmT…

About 2 days ago

As people of faith, we must commit ourselves to doing all that we can to support and embrace the LGBTQ+ older adults in our communities and beyond. Read more from Partners in Health and Wholeness Associate Director, Krista Westervelt: ncchurches.org/2022/…

About 6 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Greetings! Be sure to stop by our table at the Western NC Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska this weekend! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/30bk…

About 3 weeks ago

Hello twitter family! Be sure to stop by our table at the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church in Greenville, NC starting today! We hope to see you there! pic.twitter.com/l6X3…

About 3 weeks ago

Our mini grant cycle is now open!!! pic.twitter.com/eyRp…

About a month ago

RT @faithleadership Faith coalitions are addressing the opioid crisis by providing resources, connections and a destigmatizing vision. lght.ly/45iam80 Featuring: @okconfchurches | @ODMHSASINFO | @healthandfaith | @ncchurches | @DukeTMCI | @shannon_fleck

About a month ago

Join us for Sacred Conversations: Older Adults - Fraud & Scams on Friday, June 24th from 11 AM to 12 PM and learn to recognize common scams targeted towards older adults and how to protect yourself and those in your faith communities. ncchurches.ourpowerb…

About 2 months ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @mocleanair A new study found hundreds of toxins in natural gas from residential sites, including toluene and benzene in 94-95% of samples. Read more, call ALL your elected leaders for just clean energy: ow.ly/ICTi50JKSug @GCVoters @scennetwork1 @uscan @enviRN @docsforclimate @CEHN

Last week

RT @GeorgiaIPL The Supreme Court’s ruling limits the EPA’s ability to set the strong standards needed to cut carbon pollution and tackle the climate crisis. We can’t afford to stop fighting climate change. pic.twitter.com/XTC7…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 Join us for Season 2 of @CJYpodcast! We spoke to Catherine Coleman Flowers, one of the founding mothers of Environmental Justice from the South, about the lessons learned from her activism with the civil rights movement to the modern EJ movement. #SouthernVoices #CJY #Podcast pic.twitter.com/TzEr…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 We thank everyone who joined us for our first in-person convening since the pandemic started! We had a fantastic time and had over 30 organizations from the Southeast represented!🎉 pic.twitter.com/1KYc…

Last week

RT @scennetwork1 We made the news last week! NC Faith Leaders Call on the U.S. to Pay 'Fair Share' for Climate-Related Loss! Read the full article here: publicnewsservice.or… pic.twitter.com/nltj…

Last week

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2022 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine