By: Elizabeth Rahavi, RD Date: 7/15/10

This week more than 3,600 professionals working in the area of school foodservice gathered in Dallas, Texas, for the School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference. I was on hand to gain insights on this important group of professionals who are charged with providing school breakfast and lunch to millions of American children. As a registered dietitian who had to complete rotations in school foodservice during my internship program, I have tremendous amount of respect for the work that these professionals do. If you are interested in the realities of school lunch, you should watch the second episode of Top Chef D.C. where the chefs/contestants were charged with having to take over the cafeteria at a local middle school and create healthy, kid-friendly meals spending only $2.68 per child, which is the reimbursement rate schools receive for each child who is eligible for free lunch through the USDA’s National School Lunch Program.

First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Michelle Obama has made it her cause to end childhood obesity within a generation, and has developed the national Let’s Move! campaign to create awareness and implement programs to address this issue. I’ve been following the initiative closely and was particularly interested in seeing a panel presentation at SNA on the “Chef’s Move to Schools” initiative. The aim of this program is to encourage local chefs to get involved in the her initiative by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents, school nutritionists and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition.

White House Assistant Chef and the Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass, as well as Executive Chef Brad Trudeau from Dallas (Texas) Independent School District, Chef Tony Geraci from Baltimore City (Md.) Public Schools, and Chef Timothy Cipriano from the New Haven (Conn.) Public Schools participated in a panel discussion about this new initiative and explained how participating in this program can benefit local schools. The purpose of the program is not to have chefs come in and take over the school food operation, but rather to share their expertise with the school foodservice staff or provide whatever other services that the school may need. According to the panelists, kids see chefs as “Rockstars.” One of the biggest opportunities for the program is to utilize chefs to encourage kids to try new foods. Often just having a chef come into a school with their white chef’s coat gets kids excited about trying new foods, like fruits and vegetables, which can help create demand for these foods in the cafeteria.

Chefs can also teach parents and kids new cooking skills. In the Washington, DC area, a chef volunteered to teach cooking skills to about 40 sets of parents and kids and more than 200 people showed up for the class. Clearly there is a real opportunity to improve the health of Americans through education and cooking. I’m excited about this program and look forward to hearing more great stories like this one.

Chefs and schools interested in participating can learn more by visiting www.letsmove.gov and clicking on the “Chefs Move to Schools” button.

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