What's Up with Hot Lunch?

Have you ever had a bad experience with cafeteria food? By introducing culture and flavor to school lunch programs, food service initiatives like Red Rabbit are altering the narrative! Red Rabbit takes pleasure in providing culturally appropriate meals, savory scents, and delicious cuisines for the student populations it serves. Red Rabbit is the largest Black-owned k–12 food service program in the United States. The CEO of the food delivery service, Rhys Powell, has given his business the responsibility of rethinking school meals. Powell started Red Rabbit in 2005 with the intention of offering freshly prepared, wholesome food. Given that people of color made up the majority of students in the schools Powell served, he was troubled by the one size fits all philosophy and was determined to make a difference.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the federal lunch program the responsibility of feeding growing youngsters with a primary focus on nutrition. No consideration was given to cultural sensitivity, flavor, or the preferences of student groups. As a result, over time, interest in standardized lunches has gradually decreased. Food service providers and students alike emphasize the importance of bringing delicious, cultural cuisine into school systems.

According to Andrew Ruis, a medical history scholar at the University of Wisconsin and author of "Eating to Learn, Learning to Eat: The Origins of School Lunch in the United States," providing pupils with food they like is more than just a kind gesture. Additionally, public health is a problem. A successful program centered on providing meals won't accomplish anything if the children don't consume the food, according to a lesson that has been repeatedly taught since the 19th century (Korfhage, 2022).”

As health practitioners, it is imperative we are involved at all levels to mitigate poor food experiences. Integrating cultural awareness to school lunch programs provides positive experiences for all. Assessing the needs of various populations and tastes of students can make a huge difference. “We just really canvass the school and the classrooms, and find out where people are from,” said Talicia Tempro, employee at Red Rabbit (Korfhage, 2022). Tempro includes that this may entail finding out what student’s favorite dishes are, creating a drawing of their favorite foods, and traveling home and questioning their parents about their origins or ancestry so they can return with that knowledge.

References

Korfhage, M. (2022, May 16). School lunch menus are changing from bland to culturally appropriate across NY and NJ. The Journal News. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from https://www.lohud.com/story/life/2022/05/16/school-lunch-culturally-appropriate-new-york-new-jersey-philadelphia-red-rabbit/7379700001/