All Praise to the Lunch Ladies
8 days ago
- #food-security
- #community-care
- #school-nutrition
- The author reminisces about her grandmother, Beulah Culpepper, who worked as a school cafeteria manager and was known for her resourcefulness and generosity in feeding students.
- Beulah Culpepper started working in the school cafeteria in 1950, eventually becoming manager, and was famous for her homemade vegetable soups, yeast rolls, and peanut butter cookies.
- Modern-day school nutrition workers like Stephanie Dillard and Lisa Seiber-Garland continue the tradition of providing nutritious meals to students despite funding cuts and bureaucratic challenges.
- Funding cuts to programs like the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants have hindered efforts to provide fresh, locally sourced meals in schools.
- Advocates like Alice Waters and Dan Giusti emphasize the importance of nutritious, scratch-cooked meals in schools and the need for adequate funding and resources to support these initiatives.
- Community programs like the Chow Bus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, provide meals and books to children during the summer, highlighting the ongoing need for food security programs.
- The article underscores the broader societal issues of food insecurity, the stigma around free school meals, and the critical role of school cafeterias in providing stability and care for students.