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\\u201cA hungry kid can\\u2019t learn.\\u201d

Adam Russo (15:01-15:03)

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There\\u2019s no one size fits all for school meal programs, let alone with a global pandemic.

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If there\\u2019s anyone who\\u2019s passionate about the success of school children and feeding them healthy meals, it\\u2019s Adam Russo and Mollie Van Lieu. Adam is the Director of School Food and Nutrition Services at Prince William County Public Schools located in Virginia and Mollie Van Lieu, who was on The Produce Moms Podcast 100 episodes ago (wow!) is the Senior Director of Nutrition Policy at United Fresh Produce Association.\\xa0

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When schools shut down in March at the start of COVID-19, state and local districts had to make fast decisions about how they would deliver (or if they would deliver) class curriculum and school meals. You may not realize it, but there are about 30 million school lunches served every day and about 72 million servings of fruit and vegetables.\\xa0

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\\u201cSchool nutrition heroes really stepped up to that and worked their tails off in the spring and summer to make sure kids are still fed.\\u201d Mollie Van Lieu (6:43-6:55)

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Not only is that important to keep feeding the children of America nutritious meals, ensuring their brains are fed for optimal learning, but it\\u2019s vital to the fresh produce supply chain, especially in rural and small areas. In Adam\\u2019s school district where there are over 100 schools and centers, they\\u2019ve focused on things like all you can eat salad bars, corn husking competitions, and getting fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers. One of the first things Adam\\u2019s district did to pivot with COVID-19 was figure out how to keep children fed, provide fresh fruits and vegetables, but comply with new CDC regulation standards.\\xa0

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They\\u2019ve started transitioning to a grocery style supplement box for families to pick up once a week, filled with fruits and vegetables that don\\u2019t have to be refrigerated since a lot of families don\\u2019t have access to heating and cooling methods for one week\\u2019s worth of food.

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\\u201cWe know that kids are going to learn better with proper nutrition, so giving them the micro and macronutrients they\\u2019re going to get in fruits and vegetables and the whole fruits and vegetables, especially. Having to consume that process through their body is going to keep them fueled much much longer.\\u201d Adam Russo (15:04-15:18)

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Not only will they be fueled much longer, but their energy will be kept in the right place, they\\u2019ll be better behaved, more attentive in class and that\\u2019s extremely important whether they\\u2019re back at school in the public classroom or still learning virtually at home. The other benefit to providing a week\\u2019s worth of healthy food for kids and sending it home is they\\u2019re starting to take ownership of their health. This inturn is inspiring for other members of the family and helps everyone open their palettes up to fresh fruits and vegetables they might not have tried otherwise.\\xa0

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It\\u2019s important to note that this industry needs your help. Schools don\\u2019t get funding from the school board for school meals, even though other things like textbooks and transportation are provided for free. Without sales of school lunches, they don\\u2019t exist or the economy isn\\u2019t there to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, so if you\\u2019re wondering why your child\\u2019s school provides junk, they might not be receiving enough sales.

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Profitability shouldn\\u2019t be the metric to go off of, it should be how well students are performing in class, but sometimes it\\u2019s a necessary evil of the food and nutrition services of a school. Also important is the feedback you give to these programs. If your school division is serving junk food or it\\u2019s just not up to your expectations, call the manager in charge and tell them!\\xa0

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\\u201cI know that our staff would do anything, they would run through a brick wall to make sure a kid was fed that day. That isn\\u2019t different across the country.\\u201d Adam Russo (25:05-25:13)

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These schools want to improve and truly care about the health and livelihood of our students, even if it may not seem so with the lunches they provide. These meals are incredibly important and are a responsibility of us all to think about because they\\u2019re shaping the health, nutrition and future of our country.\\xa0

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Adam\\u2019s district is continuing to look at how they can provide self-service salad bars in a COVID-safe manner, and even looking at restaurant style serving options if and when children go back to the public classroom. Mollie, who\\u2019s done great work with federal nutrition policies, will be advocating for increased waivers, more flexibility and universal school meals at the Washington School Nutrition Association Conference this September and invites individuals like you to participate and help us change our country\\u2019s school meal system.

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How to get involved

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• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!\\xa0
• Reach out to us - we\\u2019d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.\\xa0

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