[dropcap]P[/dropcap]arents and community members interested in improving their children’s school lunches in Larchmont and Marmaroneck are invited to share their ideas at the first Open Community Meeting on School Food, to be held Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 6:45 p.m. at Mamaroneck Avenue School.
Food service for the Mamaroneck Union Free School district is up for contract this year and interested parents are conducting a comprehensive review of the school lunch program. The contract decided in 2017 will set the guidelines for school lunches at all district schools for the next five years. The purpose of the meeting is to look at how other schools throughout the nation are improving their lunches by offering healthier foods and to provide a forum for community discussion and input as the district shapes this new policy.
Amie Hamlin, executive director of the Coalition for Healthy School Food will present ideas on how to create positive change in our school lunch program to make lunch options healthier and more wholesome. Following Hamlin’s presentation, the floor will be open to discussion regarding what the community wants to see change in the district’s school food.
“All children in the district need to be offered healthier food options,” Hamlin said. “The focus needs to be on more fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet and supplying children with the colors of the rainbow on their plates.”
Hamlin also explained that by moving away from foods that contain refined sugar or too much sodium we can help our kids be more vibrant, have less illnesses, fewer cavities and lower obesity rates.
The Coalition also believes that “healthy wholesome foods result in good health, better academic performance, and fewer disciplinary problems.”
The meeting isn’t limited to just elementary school parents and administrators – it’s open to anyone in the community, including Hommocks and Mamaroneck High School parents, who care about this incredibly important issue.
The meeting will be held in the All Purpose Room at Mamaroneck Avenue School, located at 850 Mamaroneck Avenue. For more information, or to become more involved in shaping the new policy, contact Margoshes at maymargoshes@verizon.net.
If you would like to contribute ideas, but cannot make the meeting, please email your ideas to mamkschoolsfoodcomments@gmail.com.
