School lunch in Philadelphia is a social justice issue for many.
This summer the School District of Philadelphia closed the kitchens at several schools, leaving just a handful of schools in the City – mostly high schools – with meals cooked onsite. The vast majority of schools serve pre-packaged lunches trucked in for out of the area. Health concerns surrounding these pre-packaged lunches coupled with the fact that 40 percent of kids are at risk for childhood obesity have sparked concern among parents, teachers and activists.
Those folks and others will gather at the Henry C. Lea School (4700 Locust St.) on Tuesday, Nov. 15 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. to discuss where school food comes from and how to make it healthier. Interested community members are welcome to join the discussion.
Speakers will include:
- Lisa Jones, School District of Philadelphia Manager of Food Services Operations
- Amy Virus, School District of Philadelphia Administrative and Support Services Manager
- Deb Bentzel, Fair Food Farm to Institution Program Manager
- Kathy Fisher, Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth Family Economic Security Associate.
For more information about the event please contact: Bryan Fenstermaker at 215-895-4020 or by email: bfenstermaker[at]theenterpris
November 11th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
For those wishing to declare their attendance in advance and advertise the event to friends, WPCNS has created an event page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174833509274232
November 11th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
My middle schooler basically told me that eating school lunch is social suicide. Kids now take their lunch to school but as a parent, I’d like to be able to fall back on school lunch for days when we don’t have anything. As it stands now, I’d rather her just skip lunch in that situation…