Chat About School Lunches with the White House Chef

Edgewater resident and Maryland PTA President-Elect Ray Leone will be one of several people attending a special event Thursday night with White House Chef Sam Kass to discuss the future of school lunches.

The special meeting Thursday night only has limited space, but Leone said the big push purpose of the event is for parents throughout the county to “virtually” attend the event with a special live stream broadcast.

Starting at 7 p.m., parents and educators are encouraged to tune in live at pta.org/healthierschoolday and participate in the discussion. The online broadcast allows for an interactive question and answer format, where people can ask direct questions to speakers like Kass and other national school officials. In short, the whole meeting will cater towards parent opinions on how to improve school meals.

“The only real change in affecting childhood obesity is addressing it right from the start,” Leone said.

Over the past four years, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) has revamped its school lunch menu to include special dishes such as teriyaki chicken and spiced apples. During the first week of school, many officials including Superintendent Kevin Maxwell ate school lunches nearly every day of the week, sampling many of the new dishes to hit school menus.

AACPS Supervisor of Food and Nutrition Services Jodi Risse said there is a definitive connection between school nutrition and a student’s performance in the classroom.

“We really feel we serve education every day as students come through our [lunch] lines. The more we can enhance our menu and our options and availability of fruits and veggies, we feel that we are really enhancing and bettering the community,” Risse said. “There’s nothing holding us back from looking at all different foods and continuing to expand what we offer each and every day.”

With an emphasis on getting students to eat more fruits and vegetables, AACPS lunch menus offer several new and unique items this year, such as baked pineapples, baked bananas, steamed Brussels sprouts and baked acorn squash.

The most important thing is to positively change a student’s diet not just at school, but when they’re home too, Risse said. It’s an idea that Thursday night’s live stream event will specifically address, Leone said—a focus on preventing childhood obesity, both at school and at home. 

Parents can submit a question for Thursday’s event, or simply watch the event at pta.org/healthierschoolday, all a parent needs is Internet access, Leone said.