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A RECENT decision by the Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) to establish "Meatless Monday" on its lunch menu has caught the attention of many within animal agriculture and resulted in an outpouring of "concern" for the district's 85,000 kids.
In a recent letter to the district's management, American Meat Institute (AMI) president J. Patrick Boyle urged reconsideration of the Meatless Monday decision, saying children should be allowed everyday access to the most nutrient-dense food available: meat and poultry products.
"Your children, in particular, deserve this choice," Boyle wrote.
Meatless Monday is an initiative of the Grace Spira Project and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, two major opponents of modern agriculture, and the fear is that adoption of the program sends the wrong message to kids and parents of the district about the value of meat in the diet.
Likewise, some fear that other schools may follow the lead of BCPS and adopt Meatless Monday, thereby pushing meat out of even more school lunch programs.
Animal Agriculture Alliance executive Kay Johnson Smith last week encouraged others "who are shocked at the district's decision to pander to the interests of activists to send letters of their own. It is also important to be vocal within your own school districts to ensure that this effort does not spread."
Interestingly, though, Anthony Geraci, director of food and nutrition services for BCPS, doesn't see Meatless Monday as having anything to do with denying kids meat. In his opinion, Meatless Monday is simply a marketing ploy he has adopted to expose kids to more plant-based proteins.
In fact, Geraci, who loves pork in particular, noted during a recent interview at the school's farm that animal protein - dairy - is still very much a part of the district's Monday menu and that meat-based ala carte items are generally available.
It is all about encouraging diet diversity, said Geraci.
"If I can introduce nutrient-dense greens or vegetables into the mix, then I know my kids are going to make better combination choices," he explained.
Another way Geraci encourages kids to try new things and to keep an open mind to new foods is through his "No Thank You" program, whereby kids are given the opportunity to try little portions of various foods grown on the school's farm with the rule that they can only say "no, thank you" if they don't like it. Kids who try new foods get a star next to their name and are treated to a constellation party once a month.
Geraci sees it as a way to get kids talking about food.
"I work for 85,000 kids. They are my clients, so I want to make sure they are getting the best I can provide for them. I also want my kids to develop a palate beyond just chicken nuggets," he said.
As head of food service at BCPS, Geraci sees his role as much more than putting food on a plate. "My role is to put healthy kids in front of teachers who are ready to learn."
In fact, for some of the district's kids, food may be the least of their worries. For the 2009-10 school year, 14 of the district's schools have been officially classified as "persistently dangerous" or "probationary," and another 11 are on a watch list.
At the same time, the district is reporting improved test scores over the past two years. In 2008-09, BCPS reported that scores were up across all grades and student groups. Since the district only recently adopted Meatless Monday, the scores are not reflective of that menu change.
While the school attributes the test score gains to a number of factors, it believes one of those is likely related to providing students with greater access to healthy foods and educating them on good food choices that include all food categories.
Three out of four students at BCPS are eligible for free or reduced-price meals each day, and breakfast is an area on which Geraci also has focused. By putting together more appealing options, student participation in school breakfast increased 44% in 2008-09 to the point where it serves nearly 40,000 breakfasts daily. As a result, Geraci noted that teachers are finding the kids more attentive and ready to learn throughout the day.
Under Geraci's guidance, the school also has created the Great Kids Farm. Last fall, the school brought in Geraci, a trained chef from New Orleans, La., to set up a self-sustaining farm where students now have the opportunity to learn and experience the entire field-to-fork process of growing, distributing and cooking healthy, nutritious food.
The farm sits on a 33-acre parcel that houses several greenhouses and an 1880s building used for the purpose of teaching. It is an amazing teaching tool, Geraci said.
"I know that if you give a kid a seed and let them put it in the ground and watch it grow into something, ... that is a moment that you can't teach in a book. That is a moment every kid should have an opportunity to experience as it forever changes the way they look at food," he said.
Presently, the farm includes honeybees, goats, chickens, fruit trees and some five dozen different types of vegetables. Dairy cattle are in the farm's future, and who knows what else, Geraci said.
The Great Kids Farm receives no money from the school system, so in order to be self-sustaining, it runs a community-supported agriculture program on-site that serves the local community and restaurants.
Local farmers are also an important part of the mix. In fact, this year, BCPS was the first school district in America to put out a request for purchase for only state-grown fruits and vegetables.
"When I serve fresh peaches for lunch, I serve 40,000 lb. of peaches for lunch, so it takes a great deal of farmland to make that happen," said Geraci.
He also noted that he likes the fact that his programs help local farmers and neighbors profit more from their land. "I want to maximize farmers' profitability. It is, after all, their tax dollars that keep me open," he said.
While the farm is set up for organic production, Geraci said the kids are not taught that organic is the only way food can and should be produced.
"We've chosen a pathway that we are going to try to incorporate as many of nature's tools in the process because we think it makes sense for us right here, but we also recognize that if people are responsible about technology, it is okay. If people are irresponsible about technology, then we need to work together to create a better place. It is about the health of our kids," he said.
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