KC schools put healthy lunches on their menus

Published Thursday, October 9, 2008

KANSAS CITY (AP) - The buffet offers a variety of pizzas, with whole wheat crust, organic toppings and hormone-free cheese. The salad bar includes some greens and vegetables grown without pesticides in a nearby garden.

And the chef even takes special requests from vegetarians, those wanting gluten-free food or even an extra slice of free-range meat.

This isn’t a restaurant in one of Kansas City’s trendy neighborhoods but a cramped room in the basement of the Kansas City Academy, a private school for sixth- to 12th-graders in the city’s Waldo district.

The Academy is one of three Kansas City-area private schools that participate in Bistro Kids’ Farm 2 School program, which is committed to improving students’ health by offering lunches from organic, natural, locally-grown food.

"It’s really, really good," said sixth-grader Peter Imel, while chomping away on pizza.

"When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘OK, maybe, maybe not.’ But it’s better than any restaurant I’ve been to," he said.

Kiersten Firquain, owner/operator of Bistro Kids, passionately believes that typical school lunch fare such as high-fat, nutrient-poor cheeseburgers, nachos and hot dogs is damaging the mental and physical health of the nation’s children.

Health and nutrition experts agree, saying poor dietary habits are a contributing factor in dramatic increases in childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, asthma and high cholesterol. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the number of overweight children from ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the last 20 years and tripled in those aged 12 to 19.

For Farm 2 School, Firquain uses several sources within a 200-mile radius of Kansas City, such as small family farms and organic bakeries. The rest she orders through Ball’s Food Stores, which promotes locally grown foods.

While Firquain’s is the first for-profit business in Kansas and Missouri promoting the farm-to-school ideals, the concept has been gaining traction across the country since 2000, when a national Farm To School program started

More than 2,000 school districts have some facet of a farm-to-school program, although most are not offering full meals but have selective products in the schools or bring in food producers for education efforts.

Schools - particularly public schools - face several obstacles before starting a farm-to-school program, advocates said. Many schools do not have the kitchen facilities or skilled labor needed to provide more than heat-and-serve meals.

But the top barrier for both public and private schools is money.

Public school districts are reimbursed $2.57 by the federal government to provide a free meal, Joshi said, but most districts said a meal costs an average of $2.88.

Firquain said some public schools have told her they have $1 left for food after they pay administrative costs.