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n making my rounds to various school farms on Nov. 1 it was interesting to note it was pyjama day everywhere. Why you might wonder? It is because the kids were probably up late the night before and they were still likely amped up on way too much sugar. The theory is that wearing their PJ’s would help them keep calm while they were going through withdrawal.
Speaking with the teachers, it was clear that many of them do not like the day after Halloween in the classroom. I can see why. I try to get the children outside during my visits and we always have something to do on the school farms. Last week the farmers were noticeably distracted and for the most part appeared agitated and generally hyperactive.
I am sure most of us have seen these symptoms in our own homes over the years.
‘Back to school fun treats’ as the candy is marketed in retailers in early September, is never out of arms’ reach for weeks in our local grocery stores. The end aisle displays and entry foyers have castles of the stuff with every possible type of candy you can imagine. Clever sale stickers only broaden the appeal, and we have all heard the stories of moms and dads buying a 70 pack of the ‘treats’ only to run out by the first week of October.
OK, I’ll fess up. I was one of those dads not too many years ago but have since been working to teach myself and kids about healthy eating choices. There is nothing wrong with a sugary treat every once in a while, but there are too many people who treat these things like legitimate snack food.
Last month the World Health Organization published some recent data on childhood obesity rates. WHO is predicting that by 2022 there will be more obese children in the world than underweight children. The health complications that arise from obesity are well documented. Type 2 diabetes, cardio-vascular conditions, high blood pressure and cancer are all lurking chronic diseases that can cut a life short quickly.
This past Tuesday I made a presentation to the Delta School District’s board of education. In it I explained how the young farmers in the district choose the vegetables they want to grow. First they have to understand seed charts so that they know what they can grow and when. They vote on their choices and then it is time to sample what they want to grow. I buy these items at the supermarket and bring them to the schools for the students to eat.
In general they are all pretty good about it and willingly eat the veggies to understand what they are planting. We eat the food again at harvest time.
Offering new choices to the kids can be fun. This week raw spinach was offered to about 400 youngsters in the district. My quest was to find the greenest teeth in Delta and they bought in to the challenge.
There were lots of first time spinach eaters and it was nice to hear from several of these rookies that they really enjoyed it. Some even said that they would ask their parents to buy some.
Making food fun can help. Let’s turn these nasty stats down a little.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
