With much of America shoveling out this Monday from under a heavy blanket of record snowfall, many of us cast our minds back to our own memories of childhood and snow. School cancellations, aka "snow days" were an event of celebration for kids. With homework and academics completely out of our minds, we would frolic in the fluffy white stuff all morning until our clothes were wet and cold and then take refuge with a hot drink while lazing a way the rest of the afternoon watching bad television. In between the cartoons and daytime talk shows we would search the news channels, hoping for word of more snow, and just maybe another snow day. America today is a different story. A day without school will mean that many children will go hungry, and although they may enjoy the time off catching up on cartoons, they will do so on an empty stomach or one full of empty junk-food calories. Today some 37.9 million American's, one in eight, participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka Food Stamps), and for many of the children in these families school food is their main meal for the day. Recently there has been a growing media awareness about just what it is that these kids are eating, take a look at Fed Up:School Lunch Project for a vivid peek at the content of an average school lunch.  With school lunch as such an important piece of our children's health, we should start giving it the attention it deserves. Recently Ann Cooper wrote about the relationship between our health care woes and school lunch, and how we need to equate the unhealthy food we so often serve our children in schools to the growing obesity and diabetes crises which is overwhelming this next generation. This week Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack will be discussing his plans for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and depending the outcome, the Lunch Box, with collaboration from a number of other groups will begin a letter writing campaign asking the USDA and all of our elected officials to give just one more dollar towards healthy school food. There are many kids out there who will go back to school later in the week with empty stomachs. Lets make sure they get the nutritions and healthy meals that they deserve. Jacques de Beaufort photo credit: Dwonderwall via flickr CCL Permalink | Leave a comment  »