If you have been following the investigative reports about school lunch programs in the news recently, then you want to read USA Today’s article titled “Healthy, Organic and Cheap School Lunches? Order Up by Greg Toppo.

Mr. Toppo reports that hope for healthy and nutritious school lunches is coming from small privately held start-ups.  He chronicles a small California start-up, Revolution Foods, that has grown from serving one school in 2006 to 235 schools today.  This independently run company manages to serve up hormone and antibiotic free meats and organically grown and locally sourced ingredients.  Not bad, and all for a little under $3 a student. 

The movement to provide healthy school lunches has been joined by a few key supporters lately, with famous celebrities such as Rachael Ray partnering with New York City schools to re-think school menus.  President Obama is also looking for an additional $1 billion to improve school lunch programs.

The attention is great and perhaps a change in the way we feed our school children is close at hand.

Do you have any experience with privately held school food service providers?  Let us know.

The Staff of TeachersDesktop.com

Other Education News of Interest:

Fast-food Standards for Meat Top Those For School Lunches – USA Today
By Peter Eisler, Blake Morrison and Anthony DeBarros
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-08-school-lunch-standards_N.htm