Here’s some cool news on this warm day. I’ll paste the press release in full, below.

- MM

NEW REPORT: MT a Leader in Meeting Needs of Hungry Children During the Summer
Summer meals are in when school is out

HELENA – A new report found that Montana is among the nation’s top five states that best responded to the growing needs of hungry children during the summer.  Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau said that Montana’s Summer Food Service Program is a leader in providing healthy food to an increasing number of low-income children when school is out – and is a leader in the nation in reaching eligible low-income children.

“During summer break kids should not worry about getting enough to eat,” said Juneau. The Summer Food Program makes sure all children get healthy food during the summer months so they can return to school ready to learn.  Studies show that children who are hungry are more likely to be in poor health and less likely to form friendships, to be curious, and to learn.  One in ten people in Montana live in households where there is not always enough nutritious food.

The Food Research and Action Center’s report titled “Hunger Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Summer Nutrition Status Report 2010” found that more than 6,600 children were served meals in Montana communities in 2009—up from 5,700 in 2008. The report is available on the OPI Web site: http://www.opi.mt.gov/Programs/SchoolPrograms/School_Nutrition/Summer.html

“The schools, non-profits, and communities that sponsor summer food sites are meeting a real need,” said Juneau. “This is a very real problem in our state and we need to all find ways to make sure children do not go hungry.”

Each summer, kids can eat free lunches through the Summer Food Service Program, a federally-funded nutrition program open to children and youth aged 1-18 years. It runs from June to mid-August. In addition to lunches, many sites also offer breakfasts and snacks as well. Meals are served at locations where kids congregate, such as playgrounds, summer schools and community centers.

“Montana’s communities and sponsors who have stepped up to help these kids deserve our thanks,” said Juneau.

To find a meal site, families can call 1-800-809-4752 or go to http://mfbn.org/SummerFoodMT.  The website shows maps of summer lunch sites by city or county and hours they are open. It also provides contact information for those who want to find out about activities, transportation and how to volunteer or donate to a local site.

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A little-discussed nugget of law tucked into the federal health care reform act directs businesses that have more than 50 employees to give lactating mothers a private space in which to pump milk or breastfeed, as well as a “reasonable” amount of (unpaid) time to do so.

This Free Press article forwarded to me this morning discusses it in more detail, and got me reminiscing about all the gross places in which I struggled to pump milk for the short six weeks I breast-fed my newborn baby girl.

Bathrooms, mostly. I was struggling to wrap up my journalism degree at the time, and if the University of Montana had a dedicated lactation room, I was not aware of it. I was also working at the Kaimin, and have fond memories of sitting with my back against the door (because it didn’t lock) of the old editor’s office – a room so filthy I had to scrape what looked like crusty old macaroni and cheese off the windows just to get a little natural light – praying no one would barge in.

The article also got me looking around the Missoulian, pondering places I might pump if I were lactating now. Hmm. Looks like the bathroom again.

Which brings me to my favorite quote from the article. Here’s what Michigan Breastfeeding Network cochair and Children’s Hospital of Michigan pediatrican Rosemary Shy had to say about breastfeeding in bathrooms: “I want every employer who says (pump in a bathroom) to be forced to eat his lunch in the bathroom for a month.”

The law creates a lot of questions – how will this work for non-office staff? – and will no doubt lead to many more as the details are hashed out. But I think it’s a positive thing that the nation is acknowledging its lactating labor force at all, and I, for one, welcome the long overdue discussion.

- MM

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Every day I pack my own lunch for work, and unfortunately, most days I end up eating some weird mishmash of leftovers that don’t exactly represent the five food groups. There are five, right?

Anyway, you can imagine my trepidation at the thought of packing my daughter’s lunches when she starts kindergarten this fall. The poor kid shouldn’t be stuck eating leftover white rice for lunch three days in a row.

But the obvious solution – forking over the dough for hot lunches – may not actually be the more nutritious choice, I learned after reading this letter from Kathryn Strong, a staff dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine based in Washington, D.C.

Here’s what she has to say:

“We could soon see more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy plant-based meals in school cafeterias across the country. A new bill in Congress would help schools add plant-based vegetarian options and nondairy milk options. As a dietitian who works with school food service directors, I know the Healthy School Meals Act of 2010, H.R. 4870, is critical to conquering childhood obesity.

“Children who eat school lunches are more likely to be overweight or obese than children who bring packed lunches, according to a new University of Michigan study. Researchers also found that children who eat school lunches are nearly four times more likely to consume two or more servings of fatty meats like hot dogs and fried chicken daily. With shocking percentages of overweight and obese children in every state, and with millions of families relying on school lunches, we must take immediate action to improve school nutrition.

“The Healthy School Meals Act of 2010 would make healthier options available and affordable, helping schools fight obesity, comply with federal nutrition standards, and meet all children’s dietary needs. Learn more at www.HealthySchoolLunches.org.”

Healthier, more affordable options? Sounds good. In any case, I think I’d better start practicing packing healthier lunches.

- MM

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When my daughter first started eating solid food (really solid food that required chewing, not that baby food mush), I started her out on “circle cereal,” popularly known as Cheerios. My hazy, sleep-deprived mom mind reasoned that, should one of the little o’s get lodged in her throat, she would still be able to breathe through the little hole, thus preventing choking.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and I are apparently on the same wave length, though separated by a few years. In its Feb. 22 policy statement on choking prevention in children, the academy suggests, among other measures, that food and toy manufacturers redesign products with high choking potential.

Apparently, the hot dog makers of the nation felt this targeted them, as the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council has been making the media rounds in defense of the iconic wiener shape.

In a USA Today story, council president Janet Riley said, “As a mother who has fed toddlers cylindrical foods like grapes, bananas, hot dogs and carrots, I ‘redesigned’ them in my kitchen by cutting them with a paring knife until my children were old enough to manage on their own.”

Ah, how I remember dicing up all those little choking hazards myself, wishing all food came in the same form as that blessed circle cereal.

- MM

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Back when I was bottle-feeding my baby (and it was only a few years ago), plastic bottles were the norm and it never occurred to me to question how much BPAs or other chemicals my daughter was ingesting with her formula.

Today, I received an opinion piece from Angela Logomasini, director of risk and environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. In it, Logomasini argues forcefully that plastic bottles have not been proven harmful and that plastic bans are a bad way to go. Here’s her full commentary:

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This picture was taken at the Big Dipper when my little girl was not even a year old. I was sharing my cone with her and she was getting lots of attention from the ice cream crowd. A nice older woman asked if she could take a picture, and a few days later she sent it to my e-mail inbox.

Ever since the Dairy Queen on Higgins re-opened last Sunday I’ve had ice cream on the brain. Even though it looks rather gray and wet outside right now, I think there’s just enough blue sky peeking through to justify a trip to the ice cream parlour.

Hope you all have a great ice cream – er, weekend.

- MM

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Today’s New York Times has this story about the impact it has on students’ behavior if they are given a chance to get their wiggles out before filling up their tummies. And in that article, the reporter mentions the fact that more than 30 percent of Montana schools have adopted the recess-before-lunch schedule, with positive results.

“According to a report from the Montana Team Nutrition program, children who played before lunch wasted less food, drank more milk and asked for more water,” the story reports. And Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is quoted as saying, “The pilot projects that are going on have been demonstrating that students are wasting less food, they have a more relaxed eating environment and improved behavior because they’re not rushing to get outside. It’s something our office will promote to schools across the state as a best practice.”

Sounds like if our school-age kiddos aren’t already running around before sitting down for lunch, they will be soon.

- MM

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It seemed about time for the Child Nutrition Act, which must be reauthorized every five years, to make a reappearance on the national stage – and sure enough, I just got an update noting that Congress is expected to take up the bill within the next few months.

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s press blitz in advance of the looming congressional discussion, I just plowed through an avalanche of information about the federal act, which would reauthorize many of the nation’s school-based nutrition programs. The USDA, you see, thinks this is the perfect time to tweak some of the programs.

In particular, USDA officials would like to see some programs better address childhood obesity, which it names as the fastest-growing public health issue in the U.S. In fact, it says that an estimated 1 in 3 children is overweight or obese: “They will face obesity-related problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Some estimates show that obesity will cost $344 billion in medical-related expenses by 2018. That’s 21 percent of health-care spending.”

Ironically, the USDA cites not only obesity, but also hunger, as a result of the lack of access to proper nutrition.

The start of a solution, the USDA says, can be made in promoting a healthy school environment – and that’s where the Child Nutrition Programs come in. These programs provide a daily lunch for more than 31 million kids, and breakfast for more than 11 million. With that in mind, the USDA is proposing to reduce the fat content of school meals, and teach children healthy eating and exercise habits, among other changes.

I’ll try to keep an eye on this in the coming months and post updates for you as I run across new information. In the meantime, if you come across an interesting aspect of the national discussion or have a question about the bill’s particulars, feel free to post it here.

- MM

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Being the Missoulian’s Opinion page editor and all, people are always sending me letters. The newspaper gives preference to letters from people who live in western Montana, but that doesn’t stop people from as far away as Washington, D.C., from writing to us, too.

A few minutes ago I got this letter about childhood obesity from Kathryn Strong, staff dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine out of Washington, D.C.

“A new study may make parents think twice before handing their children Happy Meals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in five teens across the nation has cholesterol levels that put them at risk for heart disease. The rate more than doubled for those teens who were obese. As a dietitian, I see this as an urgent call to get serious about childhood obesity.

“The best way to fight this growing epidemic is to help children develop healthy eating habits early on. The government could cut down on obesity rates—and health spending—by making low-fat, nutrient-rich foods more available in school lunches. Studies show that vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains—all 100 percent cholesterol-free—can help lower the risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

“We must join the American Public Health Association and the American Medical Association in calling for vegetarian school meal options when the Child Nutrition Act comes up for reauthorization this year. Adding low-fat vegetarian foods in schools would pay off in a big way when our nation’s youth have lower rates of obesity and need less medical care.”

Cheese pizza counts as vegetarian, right?

- MM

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Every time my oldest daughter Clary visits from New York we bicker—over the sourdough bread.

Keep in mind she travels from one of the food capitals of the country; the Big Apple satiates every sort of appetite. And her sister who lives in Scottsdale subsists on Southwestern menus that are the envy of anyone here in Missoula. Despite hailing from gratuitous gastronome, they both exclaim not moments after our first repast, “The food in Missoula is so good!”

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