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Article; Battle of School Cafeterias
The clash of the cafs
By CAROLINE ALPHONSO Saturday, October 8, 2005 Posted at 1:39 AM EDT From Saturday's Globe and Mail Stratford, Ont. ‹ In a tiny corner of Stratford Northwestern Secondary School, Paul Finkelstein is waging a culinary war against the mighty French fry. The chalkboard inside the Screaming Avocado Café ‹ the crowning achievement of his efforts ‹ lists today's specials: Moroccan braised lamb shanks with vegetable couscous salad, salmon in phyllo with Swiss chard, lasagna al forno with béchamel sauce, tempeh and vegetable chili with corn bread are among them. Each item costs $4. Down the hallway in another cafeteria, women are preparing to drench baskets of frozen fries into hot oil. On that specials board: garlic fingers, pizza, chicken burgers and hamburgers, all with a choice of fries, soup or vegetables. Stratford Northwestern, a school of 1,200 students some 100 kilometres west of Toronto, is believed to be unique in Canada. It houses two cafeterias with distinct menus, both competing for students' stomachs. Advertisements It is trying to do what many governments are starting to legislate ‹ provide healthy meals to school kids. The British government recently decided to ban all junk food, pressured by a high-profile campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. In Canada, a handful of provinces are pondering similar moves. Mr. Finkelstein, a culinary arts teacher, doesn't dare set foot in the ³junk-food² cafeteria. The women who work here don't like him, he says as he pokes his head through the door. ³The battle is on,² he said. The clash between the nutritious fare and the greasy food has rarely played out so intensely as it is here at this one school. And never has it been so urgent. Calling it a growing public health crisis, the Ontario Medical Association warned this week that an epidemic of childhood obesity may lead to the first generation of children who will not live as long as their parents. Indeed, the growing waistlines of youngsters is troubling policy-makers, many of whom are taking steps ‹ considered meagre by some ‹ to control the problem. The Ontario government has banned the sale of chocolate bars, other candy and pop in elementary-school vending machines. Students are also now required to do at least 20 minutes of daily physical activity in school. In a bid to become the healthiest jurisdiction to play host to the Olympics, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell has promised to ban junk food within four years from all public schools. Other provinces, such as Quebec and Nova Scotia, are looking at ways to join the crusade to eliminate junk food high in fat, salt or sugar from schools. ³Finally, people are getting the message,² said Andy Anderson, an associate professor of physical and health education at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. ³We have parents more conscious of this, grocery-store owners are more conscious of this, and we've even got fast-food people more conscious of this. We've got a much larger army now.² In his own corner of the country, Mr. Finkelstein has become the local Jamie Oliver. The aroma of freshly baked bread wafts through the air as a group of students, taking his culinary-arts class, prepare for the lunch-hour rush. They're dicing, tossing and sautéing. Mr. Finkelstein ‹ Finkel, to his students ‹ moves around the kitchen with lightning speed, shouting instructions over blaring music. Wearing a T-shirt, brown suede pants and an earring in each year, it's hard to distinguish the 42-year-old from the teens. The former chef turned culinary-arts teacher opened the Screaming Avocado last September in a space that used to be the school's auto-body shop. School officials allowed him to compete head to head against Chartwells, a division of foodservice management company Compass Group Canada. A classroom, cafeteria and kitchen, the Screaming Avocado is, well, loud. There's orange, green and red paint on the walls. You won't find any cans of pop being served in here. Same goes for chips and candy bars. Instead, students are cooking with Jerusalem artichokes, basil, carrots, swiss chard, beets and tomatoes found in the school's 3,000-square-foot organic garden, the brainchild of Mr. Finkelstein. The ground beef in the lasagna is lean. Only 1 per cent milk is used in the béchamel sauce. On the rare occasion that French fries are served, the students cut up potatoes, and then oven roast them with olive oil. To finance the program, the café sells take-home meals to teachers and plays host to dinners for community groups. The culinary students even catered a wedding for 200 recently. ³We do everything from scratch. Everything is made in house,² Mr. Finkelstein said, adding that local farmers and suppliers sell him food at a discounted price. When the lunch bell rings around 11:30, hundreds of high-school students stream out of classrooms. Some of the older ones make their way to the local fast-food restaurants. ³At least they're walking,² Mr. Finkelstein quipped. There's a steady crowd at the Screaming Avocado. Mr. Finkelstein stands behind the counter, holding up forkfuls of lamb to students' mouths. He dares them to be adventurous. Many step back. A few are up for the challenge. He admits that he can't always compete against the French fry. Down the hall in the other cafeteria, the line snakes right to the door. The prices are comparable. Not many notice a smaller board off to the side displaying a balanced choice menu: Macaroni and cheese, skim milk and a side salad. And not many students are buying wraps or salads, either. Instead, most teenagers are walking out with fries, loaded with ketchup or gravy. ³Those fries have hardly any gravy on them,² one girl said to her friend. ³You should return it.² Chris Wells's daily lunch diet consists of French fries and a can of pop. He knows it's a far cry from the healthy fare, but the 17-year-old simply shrugs his shoulders. ³I prefer the caf,² he said, as he squirts ketchup onto his fries. ³The Avocado tries to get too fancy and make home-cooked meals.² Donna Bottrell, a nutrition and culinary manager at Compass Group Canada, said the company is slowly trying to introduce students across the country to healthy foods in the form of wraps, salads and sandwiches. In some schools, the sale of fries has dropped as kids choose healthier options, she said. But taking the fries out of the cafeteria is not necessarily the answer, because students would leave school grounds to buy them, Ms. Bottrell said. Mr. Finkelstein shakes his head. He sees students at the vending machines getting a can of pop and cookies for breakfast. He says it is unfortunate cash-strapped schools have little choice but to turn to machines and food contracts as a source of revenue. He dreams of the day he can take over the cafeteria, and serve up nutritious meals. But for now ³we're giving them the option, and some are taking the option. Nobody has to come down if they don't want to,² he said. ³But we need help. We need somebody to say ŒYou can't sell that stuff,' and then we'll definitely win that battle.² Across the country, school principals are taking small steps to improve the nutrition habits of their students. The challenge? There's no federal body overseeing the changes. John Beaton, principal at W. P. Wagner School of Science and Technology in Edmonton, is trying to teach his students moderation. French fries are banned, except on Fridays, he said. The revenue that comes to the school from the cafeteria has dropped as a result, but Mr. Beaton, a cyclist and runner, said: ³We're not in the money-making business. We should be modelling healthier eating.² The school is far from perfect in its efforts to eliminate junk food. There may be no pop sold to kids, but there are still sugary fruit drinks in the vending machines. And Mr. Beaton can't stop kids from bringing pop into the school, or walking over to the nearby McDonald's for lunch. His next step? Get rid of the cookies and chips. ³They won't like it,² he said. Back at Stratford Northwestern, Mr. Finkelstein knows it's not easy to sell greens or healthy foods to students who have grown up with sugary and salty foods. But at least he has the chance to work with a younger crop: Grades 7 and 8 students who are housed in this high school, and are only allowed to eat at the Screaming Avocado. With financial support from Ontario's health ministry, Mr. Finkelstein said these students can get a lunch, along with a milk, juice or bottle of water, for $3. Around one table, 12-year-old Cody Patterson is the only one who has opted for the salmon in phyllo with couscous. The other boys are eating chicken sandwiches, pizzas or have packed lunches. ³I wanted to try something new,² Cody said. He has eaten the salmon, but finds the couscous too spicy. Mr. Finkelstein asks him to try the Swiss chard. He takes a bite, and shakes his head. It's not for him. ³Fear factor, boys. Give it a try,² Mr. Finkelstein said, passing the plate of couscous around the table. One Grade 7 boy tries it and said: ³Couscous. Awesome!² Mr. Finkelstein may not have changed the youngster's diet, but by getting him to try something new, he has won this round. -- Diva ***** The Best Man For The Job Is A Woman |
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"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message ... The clash of the cafs By CAROLINE ALPHONSO Saturday, October 8, 2005 Posted at 1:39 AM EDT From Saturday's Globe and Mail Stratford, Ont. In a tiny corner of Stratford Northwestern Secondary School, Paul Finkelstein is waging a culinary war against the mighty French fry. Interesting article. It's good to see someone taking the initiative to make changes. At least students will have the option to choose healthier foods at this school if they want to. In our own home, I find that if we ask our child what she wants for meals, the choices are not the way I would like to see them made. We do our best to educate her about nutrition, exercise, and not over-eating, but pizza and MacDonald's would win most times if she was given an option. The only reason she eats healthy is because we do the choosing for her. I don't know what the best answer is. I would think that given a choice between one cafeteria or another, the one serving the fries is going to attract more students at meal time. Some may try the new food options, but once they discover that the food tastes weird, or not as yummy as the normal crap fare, they will be back to eating at the french fry place. The simplest answer would be to ban all junk food from schools, so they have no other choice but to eat from the healthy menu, or bring their own. But in real life, these foods are not banned. We have to make these choices ourselves every day. Sometimes I feel that the government should ban all the crap/junk food, but then again I don't like government interference in our daily lives. People should have the right to choose what they want to eat. But it seems somewhat obvious that unless someone or something is choosing the right things for people, they are unwilling to choose the right paths for themselves. Most people, even young ones know that they should be eating healthier foods and being more active. But do they do it? Most do not. Even the 95% diet failure rate shows that generally people are unwilling to make the healthier lifestyle choices despite knowing what they should be doing. I don't think that it is a lost cause to bring healthier food into the schools, but I can't see students opting for lamb over french fries with gravy. I didn't do it when I was young either. |
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