Education Law

Healthy eating: advocating without alienating

BoardBuzz came across this ABC News story  that talks about one woman’s strict point of view on healthy eating and her crusade to implement it in her childrens’ school.  Her stance has ignited a “food war.”  To get her message across, she has done some “creative” things - the article states that, in 2007, she was stopped by police from dismantling an all-you-can-eat ice cream display.  BoardBuzz is not kidding.

According to the article, MeMe Roth, a 40-year-old mother of two, objects to children getting sweets like popsicles, cupcakes and cookies even during special occasions. She is the president/founder of the National Action Against Obesity.  Her organization’s website talks about the need to ban all kinds of junk food from schools and “eradicate Secondhand Obesity(obesity handed down from one generation to the next, as well as from citizen to citizen); while encouraging exercise across all ages.”

BoardBuzz believes that children should have access to healthy foods and get plenty of exercise, both within schools and out.  We know those tactics are essential not only to combating obesity, but to keeping children mentally and physically healthy, and helping them be successful in school.  But the tactics employed in this story take it to a whole other level. 

And we’ve got to say, there are definitely better ways to advocate for these issues than some of the tactics employed this parent.  It is great to have parents involved in combating obesity and lack of physical activity among children, but parents should be working with and not against schools. Creating environments that are conducive to healthy eating and physical activity requires a concerted effort between the school district, the parents, and the community.  Local buy-in for school health policies and programs is a lot easier to achieve when several parties are involved.  Establishing a school health advisory committee, for instance, is a good example of how that can be accomplished.    

NSBA believes in the democratic model in which individual school districts or schools  decide what is good (or not) for their children by voicing the concerns of the entire community and not just of one person.

How is your school teaming up to get kids to eat healthy and be physically active?  Leave us a comment.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 17, 2009 (boomark / email).