How Important is Nutrition in Schools?

Where does school nutrition rank in importance for you? This week and next, Rohnert Park Patch will be profiling the school lunch program — what the kids at Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified are eating. We're working on a series looking what kind of food is served, where it comes from and what the kids think of it. We'll also shine light on some cool community garden projects underway at different sites, where students actually eat the food they're planting in class.

Communities locally and regionally are growing more aware of where the food we put in our bodies comes from, and in Sonoma County, the locavore movement — eating local, sustainably-produced foodstuffs — is strong. But has the school lunch program kept pace? We'll answer that question and more this week, so stay tuned!

America's is paying more attention to the role food plays in our health and daily lives. First Lady Michelle Obama has added fuel to the national movement. In February 2010, she launched an initiative, calling for better school nutrition, access to healthy foods and more physical activity for children. 

"Let's Move!" combines programs that provide parents with access to health information, aims to foster environments that support healthy food choices, to make available healthier foods in our schools and calls for kids to be more physically active.

The goal is to solve "the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams." 

Childhood obesity and diabetes are on the rise nationally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 percent of children, or 12.5 million, ages 2-19 are obese. That number has tripled since 1980. 

And nationally, for children and teens below 20 years old or younger, diabetes is the most one of the most common chronic diseases. Roughly 151,000 young people in that age category across the country have diabetes, according to CDC data.

Today, we'd love to hear from you readers. Does this matter to you? Have you thought about your son or daughter's food choices at school? How much do you know about what's offered? Do your kids bring their own lunch or eat at school? Take our poll and tell us in the comments. We'd also like to know what questions you have. What do you want to know about the school nutrition program and guidelines?