In the wake of a pandemic that has made it clear that our health must be a priority, Redwood City Schools has joined the effort of millions of people to improve their lifestyles by eating healthier.
However, while some San Mateo County school districts have excelled in the quality of food served to hundreds of students in the area, others such as those in Redwood City have suffered over several years from deficiencies in their food service.
Marcelene Luna, grandmother of a student at the school. Sylvie Laneknows well that his grandson, as well as hundreds of other students, do not receive adequate food during their stay in their study centers, as these lack adequate nutritional properties for their body and mind to work properly throughout their day.
The situation is aggravated when it is known that a poor diet for a prolonged period of time could cause serious health problems in the medium and long term.
This was stated during the weekly program "The Voice of our Roots", hosted by the founder of the organization Casa CÃrculo Cultural, Verónica Escámez, where she explained the urgent need to improve the food offered to hundreds of children in various schools in San Mateo.
He said that at several Redwood City School District campuses there is a high rate of high-calorie processed foods.
"We know that sugar gives us a lift, but then it gives us a downer, so how is it that our children can learn and focus on their education when the food they are getting is not healthy?" she questioned.
Currently, he reported, there is a Redwood City Healthy Meals Committee, which has 200 members, and which has succeeded in getting three schools in the School District - Taft, Orion and Henry Ford - to initiate a pilot program that eliminates chocolate milk and flavored juices from the menus, in order to reduce the intake of high sugars in children's diets.
However, there is still a lack of voices on behalf of the schools where their children go, to push for programs and projects for food improvements throughout the district, Marcelene said.
"We have noticed that most of the people who are involved in this committee are from the areas where the majority are Anglo, and where we need the most help and community involvement are in schools like Garfield, Hoover, and Taft, which are where this type of food impacts the most," he stressed.
He recalled that a few months ago, a digital survey was launched, in which parents of children in Redwood City School District schools can give their opinion about the food their children receive at their schools.
The results have revealed that parents consider that the food given to their children in schools is not good, so many times students go through their whole school day without eating because, they say, it does not taste good either.
"When I visited Hoover School on two occasions it was sad to hear parents say that their children would rather eat nothing than eat what the school provided," he said.
He said that the menus of most schools include foods such as sausage rolls, pizza, cinnamon rolls, chicken nuggets, chocolate milk and juices.
Thus, he said, children have been eating fast food for a long time, which is high in calories and not in nutrition.
Such food, he pointed out, is creating bad habits in children. When they get home, it is difficult for them to switch to a meal with vegetables, fruits and proper cooking processes.
To achieve this goal, he said, more meals need to be prepared daily in the schools themselves. However, he clarified, only one of the schools in the entire School District has a central kitchen to prepare and prepare adequate and healthy meals.
The progress made by the Healthy Meals Committee has not been easy, because, he explained, they have encountered "quite a few obstacles".
"It hasn't been that easy to convince the School District that it's actually much better for our students to have healthy meals," he stressed.
Obstacles are put in place by managers and other parents.
"What is happening is not what we expect from our school leaders, as some have mentioned that families should be grateful to receive this type of food, that it is better than receiving nothing. Others have mentioned that the Latino family is not as focused on eating healthy, and we know that's not true."
During the program, which is broadcast live every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. on Casa cÃrculo cultural's Facebook and YouTube channels, a mother wrote that at the school her daughter attends, teachers do not allow her to eat the food she brings from home, arguing that she should eat what the school provides.
"As parents we have a lot of power, not only with the principals of each school, we have the voice to talk to the superintendent, he works for us, and we should know that we have that power as parents, as family members of Redwood City students and we have to use our voice, if there is something we are not happy with we can send an email," she explained.
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