Book Review By Tonya Moore PH 1232 PH Nutrition Practice Spring 2015

Who is Janet Poppendieck? Professor of Sociology at Hunter College in New York Board of Directors for Association for the Study of Food and Society Advisory Committee member for City-as-School Advisory Committee member for Welfare Rights Initiative W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Fellow Director of the Hunter College Center for the Study of Family Policy Also Authored: Breadlines, Knee Deep in Wheat: Food Assistance in the Great Depression (1986) & Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement (1998)

Content Overview Introduction School Food 101 Food Fights: A brief History Penny Wise, Pound Foolish: What’s Driving the Menu? How Nutritious Are School Meals? The Missing Millions: Problems of Participation Hunger in the classroom: Problems of Access Free, Reduced Price, Paid: Unintended Consequences Local Heroes: Fixing School Food at the Community Level Conclusion: School Food at the Crossroads

History of NSLP and SBP 1890 – 1920: Locally school started serving lunches 1935: Section 32 of the Agriculture Adjustment Act Works Progress Administration – needed place for women applicants 1946: National School Lunch Act 1966: Child Nutrition Act – preschools, breakfast, food & equipment cost 1970’s:USDA permits schools to contract out food service Start of 3-tier system – response to war on hunger 1981: All school could use “offer versus serve” for reimbursement, 3 out of 5 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act - major cuts, more oversight 1994: Must comply with Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Major Issues Presented Costs Paperwork Competitive foods Ability to pay Stigma Meeting nutrition standards Policy

Janet Poppendieck’s Solution Universal Free Lunches 1.A program for all children or a program that prioritizes poor children? 2.Customers or students? A business or a social program? 3.An interruption or a integral part of the school day? 4.A nutrition program or a food program? 5.Pay now or pay later? A cost or an investment? 6.A reflection of the American food system or a tool to change it?

Biases How is it broken? Not: Is it broken? Plight of poor children The final chapter

Implications for Public Health Nutrition Child nutrition – meeting needs? Addressing poverty, feeding the hungry Agriculture support Public policy on federal, state & local level Nutrition Education – exposure to expectations

Personal Opinion Detailed, well researched Personable, first hand accounts Hands-on look inside schools Repetitive at time Who should read it? Parents Anyone interested in child nutrition, public education, public policy, and social welfare

Improvements Repetition Updated version to include the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

References Hunter College (2015). Department of sociology. Janet Poppendieck. Retrieved on February 27, 2015 from: Poppendieck, Janet (2010) Free for all, fixing school food in America. University of California Press. CA. School Nutrition Association (2015) Position Paper, Reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Retrieved on February 27, 2015 from: (1)/Pages/SNAbrochureweb2.pdf University of California Press (2015). Reviews of Free for all, fixing school food in America. Retrieved on February 27, 2015 from: