On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced a $20 million settlement with Sodexo for overcharging 21 New York school districts, the State University of New York (SUNY) system, and state facilities that include a center that provides services to abused, neglected and abandoned children.

"This company cut sweetheart deals with suppliers and then denied taxpayer-supported schools the benefits," said Cuomo.

The $20 million is the largest-ever monetary settlement under the New York False Claims Act that does not involve Medicaid funds.

Watch the video below to see the coverage of this settlement:

If you've been in a school cafeteria or university eatery in the past couple of years, you've probably picked up on a few menu item staples: pizza, fish nuggets, nachos, breaded chicken patty sandwiches, and mac and cheese, to name just a few. Processed foods like these with few nutrients but many calories play a sizable role (no pun intended) in contributing to the national childhood obesity epidemic, which has resulted in one-third of all kids in the U.S. qualifying as overweight, obese or even morbidly obese.

Now for the good news: Two new "trends" are helping to make over school lunches in many schools across the nation--nutritional awareness and the local foods movement. As a kid, you don't make meal choices yourself and unfortunately, not all adults care to prepare healthy snacks and lunches for their children, or have the means necessary to do so. Thankfully, there are men and women out there who are encouraging your children to make healthy foods choices at lunch time: food service workers.

Though often 'invisible', food service workers play a crucial role in encouraging those they serve the importance of eating a balanced diet that emphasizes fresh, local fruits and vegetables, while minimizing processed foods.

Food service worker Larry Bryant knows firsthand what a big role food preparation and service often play in influencing food safety and students' healthy eating--he's witnessed it during his four years as a cook at Towson University, which he writes about in an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun:

"Food service workers often make close to poverty wages, and many of us don't have affordable healthcare or paid sick days. Especially with flu season back in full force, workers who serve our kids food should not be forced to choose between coming to work sick and putting food on the table for their own children.

"There is a bill in Congress right now, the Child Nutrition Act, that can help address these issues by increasing the nutritional quality of the food and ensuring the cafeteria workers who prepare these meals receive decent wages, health care and paid sick leave."

Some of the most hands-on advocates for the well-being of our nation's children don't receive anywhere close to the care they provide in return--but Congress has the power to do something about that. Changes to the Child Nutrition Act present our best chance to put healthier foods than pizza and burgers on school lunch trays, as well as increase wages and health care benefits to a level that can sustain families.

Tell Congress why a real Child Nutrition Act is important to you.

On September 30th, the Child Nutrition Act expired.

The Congressional Committee on Education and Labor, which oversees the Act, had the opportunity to improve the lives of our children and those that feed them.

But rather than pass a bill that would create a program that works far better, they simply decided to simply take a pass for the next few months.

The result is a year-long, temporary extension that keeps the program exactly as it is today: a program that leaves children hungry, places a burden on our school districts, and leaves school food workers without the resources to cook nutritious and healthy school meals.

We need to tell the Committee members that this isn't acceptable. In the midst of the Great Recession, there's no better time to fix these problems than right now.

In the next few months, the members of the Committee will once again take up this legislation. But we can't hold off until then. We need to tell them right now that a real Act - with real improvements - must be authorized.

We've laid out common-sense ideas like expanding enrollment, giving sick days to school food service workers at a time when the swine flu is spreading, supporting fresh and local foods, and better transparency in how taxpayer funds are spent. These are real solutions that can benefit our children each and every day.

Now, we need you to tell the Committee members why a real Child Nutrition Act is important to you. In the next few days, we'll hand-deliver your messages to the members of this Committee.

Write to the Congressional Committee on Education and Labor right now: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/cnaexpiration

When food comes to you wrapped in plastic, you just know it's going to be delicious, right?

...Or not. Students in San Francisco are begging to differ. Assisted by the SFUSD Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee, these students have produced a short film about the state of school lunches and what's being served to them as "food." And yes, the quotes are, indeed, intentional.

"Our school lunch comes wrapped in plastic--lots of plastic," high school senior Tristan Leder says in the video. "It's all food that was cooked somewhere else a long time ago, and frozen and shipped here. Our schools don't just cook anymore. They just reheat it."

According to The Mommy Files, a blog on SFGate.com, Dana Woldow, the co-chair of the SFUSA Student Nutrition committee "says the video grew out of a desire to ask Congress to put more money toward school lunches":

"It was deemed not practical to spend time trying to arrange to bring actual school food into the halls of Congress. But the idea was to make a short film showing what schools can typically afford to serve given current funding levels, and what would be possible if schools received $5 per meal, instead of $2.68."

Woldow, of course, is referring to the Child Nutrition Act, which expires in just a few short days from now. It's the best opportunity we have to make sure that our children receive the best school meals that they can possibly get.

If you haven't already, write your Congresspersons and let them know that they need to get behind a stronger Child Nutrition Act that supports fresh and local foods.

In this month's American Prospect, David Moberg writes an exposé on how government contracts are creating poverty-wage jobs. Through the story of New Jersey school cafeteria worker Ada Iglesias, Moberg personalized the connection between the federal dollars and a struggling family.

Here's an excerpt:

"Ada Iglesias relies on her job as a cafeteria worker at Paramus High School in New Jersey to put food on the table for three hungry, preteen children. It's not easy. She makes $8 an hour, works only 24 hours a week, and while out of work over the school's summer recess, does not qualify for unemployment compensation. Her construction-worker husband, out of work for more than six months, also draws no unemployment insurance.

Feeding kids healthy meals is her job as well as her mission as a mother. Iglesias works for a company named Pomptonian, which contracts with the local school district to deliver the free and reduced-price lunches that are provided through the Child Nutrition Act. Federal funding through the Department of Agriculture provides most of Iglesias' paycheck. But like many service workers with poorly paid, precarious jobs, her family still struggles with poverty even as she works for a federal program designed to fight poverty and hunger."

The article goes on to discuss why federal dollars are often outsourced to private companies - usually, to save money. The reason for the savings is generally because of significant cuts in wages and benefits to workers who were previously employed through federal funds:

"But a study from the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work concluded that 'the majority of cost savings derive from the significant cuts in wages and benefits for food service workers who previously were employed by the school district -- as much as $4.00 to $6.00 an hour' plus elimination of health insurance."

The article is definitely worth reading. You can take a look here: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=which_side_is_government_on

The Washington Post has published an excellent editorial piece on the Child Nutrition Act. In it, the newspaper's editorial board preaches the "wisdom of spending more money to provide healthier meals."

The board says that they're "encouraged that there's a growing movement to do something about" food that "isn't good" for children. As a "Washington Beltway" newspaper that's seen its fair share of movements and supposed movements, those aren't words that they throw around all-too-often.

The Child Nutrition Act, says the editorial, "is up for reauthorization by Congress next month," and President Obama "has signaled his interest by including an extra $1 billion in his 2010 budget proposal for school food improvements."

The board states that while there are "enormous financial pressures facing the nation," there "is also no denying that what children are eating today carries its own costs in the form of increased obesity, incidence of diabetes and earlier deaths."

You can read the full editorial here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR2009092001966_pf.html

You remember the lunch ladies, don't you?

Today, these women and men are called school food service workers, and with more children in poverty than ever before, they serve as the advocates for better and more nutritious school meals.

But in a few weeks, a piece of legislation called the Child Nutrition Act, which funds our school meals, is set to expire.

Now is the time to get the word out. Today, we're releasing a new video that explains the Child Nutrition Act and why it's important - in a retro style that you might remember from your own days at school.

Watch this and then sign our letter to Congress:

Even though the Act was first passed in 1946, many of the same problems still remain today.

• Many school food service workers still don't have sick days, even as schools begin to prepare for the swine flu.
• There aren't enough fresh and local foods for school food service workers to prepare a nutritious school lunch with. Canned foods remain the norm.
• Due to inadequate access and eligibility, many children aren't ready to learn in the morning or afternoon...because they simply haven't eaten.

With the Child Nutrition Act expiring so soon, we need everyone - parents, teachers, educators, and nutrition advocates - to get behind a new, improved Child Nutrition Act.

Watch the video, and then sign our letter to Congress:

http://action.seiu.org/lunchladies

As kids, we associated back to school with a fresh start -- a new classroom, new teachers, new books and school supplies and maybe even a snazzy new outfit your Mom helped you pick out.

From the opposite end of the spectrum, the 2009 school year holds much different implications for public school staff employees in Los Angeles. LA and many other districts in CA and across the U.S. are dealing with searing budget cuts, furlough days, crowded classrooms and worst of all, layoffs.

In an LA Sentinel op-ed, SEIU Local 99's Executive Director Bill Lloyd considers the predicament of Bell High School night custodian Theresa Aguilar, who is facing a situation all too familiar to the thousand custodial, cafeteria, playground, and other essential classified positions were cut over the summer.

Every night, Theresa is responsible for cleaning the girls' locker room (including showers, restrooms, and the coach's office), the School Gymnasium (sweeping, light mopping, and restrooms), the boys' varsity field house (including the football players' locker room and restrooms), the faculty restrooms, the photo lab and graphic arts classroom, and the Assistant Principal's office.

The state budget cuts to education forced the Los Angeles Unified School District to lay off three of Theresa's co-workers in June. As a result, she now has eight additional classrooms and another small gymnasium added to her nightly workload. Among other things, she worries about being able to adequately sanitize all the surfaces to protect students and faculty from the Swine Flu.

Like many, Lloyd feels that that any furlough cost savings are a Band-Aid solution to a much larger problem. His point is this: California has been underfunding its schools for decades. With an education system that was once the envy of the country 30 years ago, they now rank 47th in per-pupil spending compared to other states--and furlough days are not going to be able to stop the elimination of student services and programs. Lloyd writes:

"We already know quality will be diminished...With fewer cafeteria workers at schools, fresh food prepared on-site won't be readily available. And, with most custodians handed workloads like Teresa's and directives from the District to only clean classrooms once a week, you can bet hallways won't be mopped daily, classrooms won't be dusted as often (parents, please keep an eye on your asthmatic children), and bathrooms won't be monitored as closely."

But the biggest problem in Lloyd's mind? This "slow-motion" school bus wreck has not ignited nearly enough collective alarm to lead to significant action to work towards investing more in their children's education. School workers and the District are working together to prevent more cuts.

To learn more about how you can help work to ensure that all children in need have access to hot meals, and how we can increase the federal reimbursement rate, click here. Sign this petition to support stronger standards in your workplace: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/cqsstandards.

In both the worlds of fiction and reality, "lunch ladies" (or as they're professionally known as, school food service workers) are taking a stand to create a better tomorrow.

In fiction, it's in the form of an increasingly-popular "graphic novel," starring a lunch lady whose mission is "serving justice - and serving lunch." The stories, written for young readers aged 5 to 10, center around the lunch lady and her fellow food service workers foiling evil school-related plots (for example, stopping an unpopular teacher's scheme to win the "Teacher of the Year Award," or battling a group of librarians who want to destroy all video games).
The stories are becoming so popular that Saturday Night Live alumna Amy Poehler has begun to executive produce a movie based on the series.

In the real world, school food service workers are coming out to take a stand for better lunches. Here's a great clip from local news channel WITI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, covering the issue:

If you're a school food service worker or a concerned parent (you're a superhero, too, trust me!), you can also take matters into your own hands by visiting our page on the Child Nutrition Act: http://campaignforqualityservices.org/a/schoolmeals/index.php

Today, the White House released a great video about First Lady Michelle Obama's now-famous garden. It features a White House chef, the First Lady, and the Washington, D.C. children who helped plant the garden.

Take a look:

Watching the video, I was excited to see how enthusiastic the children were about gardening and producing fresh vegetables (when do you see children excited about vegetables, I ask you?).

Think about it: what if each school had a garden - and that the veggies they helped grow were incorporated into school meals? What would that do to excite children about fresh food?

So, I took a look. What I found makes sense: when children help to grow vegetables, they're more likely to eat them. Rather than having kids make passive choices in their food, they instead can take active roles, helping them to become proud about the food they're eating.

Take this study by Saint Louis University, for instance. Researchers interviewed 1,600 parents of preschool-aged children. They found that "preschool children who were almost always served homegrown fruits and vegetables were more than twice as likely to eat five servings a day than those who rarely or never ate homegrown produce."

The study's author, Debra Haire-Joshu, had this to add:

"When children are involved with growing and cooking food, it improves their diet. Students at schools with gardens learn about math and science and they also eat more fruits and vegetables. Kids eat healthier and they know more about eating healthy. It's a winning and low-cost strategy to improve the nutrition of our children at a time when the pediatric obesity is an epidemic problem."

What do you think? Do you have a garden at home? Do you find that your children are more likely to eat vegetables this way? Is this something we should try in our schools? Let us know!

An editorial by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel this weekend discusses the important of the Child Nutrition Act, and it's highly recommended reading. You can take a look here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-school-menus-m083009pnaug30,0,2121497.story

But one of the more interesting lines, which I had to read a few times to see if I was reading it correctly, said the following:

"To be fair, both the Broward and Palm Beach County school systems also offer one vegan lunch entree every day to elementary and middle school students -- tamer fare like tuna sandwiches, tomato soup, whole wheat rolls, grilled cheeses and fruit, yogurt and cheese."

A little bit of a head scratcher, right? Vegan entrees...like tuna and cheese?

Now, I'm a meat-eater myself. In fact, my parents and my girlfriend would readily tell any of you that I should focus a bit more on my fruits and veggies. But because I know what constitutes "veggie" and "vegan" fare, perhaps I assume that others know what that means, as well. After reading this paragraph, however, I begin to wonder if there's a bit of a problem. Does everyone, in fact, know what "vegan" and "veggie" means?

Think about it. Some could be preparing options with the noblest of intentions - going out of their way to accommodate the eating habits of vegans and vegetarians - and instead, accidentally preparing food that will go to waste. Especially with the scarce resources provided to make school meals, does this become a problem?

It reminds me a bit of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In one scene, the family is horrified to find that the non-Greek soon-to-be in-law is, in fact, a vegetarian. Not exactly knowing what the term means, and with the best intentions, one of the aunt asks, "what do you mean you eat no meat? That's okay, I'll make lamb."

What do you think? Do the right people know what veggie and vegan fare consists of? Are these options made available to you or your children? If you're a food service worker, are your provided with the resources to make meals that accommodate these requirements? Leave a comment and let us know what your thoughts are!

First Lady Michelle Obama's White House garden, says the LA Times, is giving nutrition advocates "increased hope that Congress would bolster the school lunch program" when "it takes up renewing the Child Nutrition Act."

Ideas for improving the bill have many excited, with many different components being considered.

The LA Times reports that one of the portions "would give the Department of Agriculture authority to update decades-old standards" in regards to the types of food children can buy at stores and vending machines. The current standards are "inconsistent and often unhealthy," according to Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), who is the author of the U.S. House bill.

Other priorities include "expanding the breakfast program," because experts say that "starting the day hungry" affects "children's ability to behave and learn," as well as methods to "streamline the way students are deemed eligible for free meals" so that "more children qualify."

We've also weighed in on how reforming the Child Nutrition Act can help improve food safety, ensure that school food service workers are properly trained, and allows for sick days so that workers aren't forced to choose between preparing food while sick or losing a day's pay for their families. Take a look here: http://campaignforqualityservices.org/workers/

You can read the full article here.

UPDATE: If you missed this episode of the Kojo Nnamdi show, you can download the podcast by clicking here (note: Apple iTunes required for listening).

Today at 1 PM EST, NPR's Kojo Nnamdi Show will be broadcasting a feature on school meals and how they can become healthier.

Here's the synopsis:

School districts across our region are looking for ways to improve the quality of food served at lunch (and sometimes breakfast). But they're confronting a lot of tricky challenges, like covering the cost of fruits and vegetables during the recession or sourcing food from more local farmers. From the farm field to cafeteria tray, we examine the challenge of feeding healthy food to our region's students.

Guests: Andrea Northup, Coordinator, DC Farm to School Network, Capital Area Food Bank Penny McConnell, Director, Food and Nutrition Services, Fairfax County Public Schools

We'll be sure to cover it after it airs by providing a summary, but we also wanted to give you a chance to listen to it live.

To tune in, visit this site. The live stream is compatible with Windows Media, Real Player, and iTunes.

Also, let us know what you think about the segment. Feel free to leave your comments below!

None of us would be totally shocked if we were told we're eating too much sugar. We'd probably readily admit in, in fact.

But what if we were told that our teenagers are eating anywhere between 3.5 to 5.5 times the amount of sugar recommended, and that adults aren't doing much better?

In a new warning, that's exactly what the American Heart Association says. With women being advised to eat no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, and men being advised to eat no more than 9 teaspoons, the report says we need to take a much closer look at our sugar intake. The average American eats the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, and the average teenager eats the equivalent of 34.

It'd also come as no surprise that soft drinks are the biggest culprit in this mess. With about 8 teaspoons of sugar added in each can of soda, it essentially puts most women over their recommended daily limit.

Parents, however, can do quite a lot to make sure that their teenagers eat responsibly.

The first and most obvious way is a concept called "modeling." In it, parents practice what they preach - because, as the AHA points out, adults aren't exactly living up to the golden standard as far as sugar intake goes.

The second way is to ensure that when parents aren't around to feed their children, they're able to get a good and nutritious meal on their own. An article published yesterday by Forbes discusses how children can be better educated about food through effective use of the National School Lunch Program.

In the article, a director of nutrition services for a school district in Missouri, Jane Hentzler, discusses how healthy fare can be designed "to teach the schoolchildren about the proper ratio of nutrients and how to create balanced meals," according to reporter Rebecca Ruiz.

"We're educating them through the meals we provide," says Hentzler.

Parents also have "more help from school cafeterias than ever before," says the article. Ruiz points to a recent survey of 1,200 food service directors. In it, nearly 60% reporterd that they currently provide or are considering offering local fruits and vegetables." Since 2007, "vegetarian options have increased by 12% and low-fat prepared and packaged foods have increased by 11.5%."

Continuing these successes depends on proper funding for local and state wellness initiatives. "This fall," says Ruiz, "Congress will also determine whether or not to increase funding and institute national guidelines for the Child Nutrition Act."

You can help to ensure that an improved Child Nutrition Act is instituted by Congress by writing your Congressperson and stressing its importance. Click here to be taken to our online letter writing tool: http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/nutritionact.

With young students and their parents fully in "Back To School" mode, local papers have started to swirl around the topic of school lunches and the Child Nutrition Act, which is set to expire at the end of September.

In today's Daily Comet, a local paper in Louisiana, reporter Thad Angelloz gives an overview of how important the National School Lunch Act was, and talks about the strides that their schools are taking to ensure a healthy school meal.

Monica Walthers, the child nutrition supervisor from that school district, says that the National School Lunch Program - which is funded through the Child Nutrition Act - changed the entire culture of school cafeterias.

"This happened as a direct result of the Depression. They (government) understood how important it was for them to provide meals to children attending school."

Walthers' district, especially, is trying to ensure that the lunches they put out are nutritious. Gumbo, for instance, is now made without oils and is made with turkey sausage.

Child-nutrition supervisor Lauren Fletcher added that the program "continues to get better." "There's always things you can change...but we think we're hitting the mark for our students."

Over in North Carolina another child nutrition director, Nicole Mayernik, is working hard to provide "a healthy start and a happy belly" to her students, says the Watuga Democrat. Among her tasks are meeting and exceeding federal guidelines for nutrition, and closing the eligibility gap that exists so that low-income students have access to school meals.

"We want to ensure we're meeting the needs of the community and the students. Right now, we're working hard on our free and reduced lunch applications to let parents know they can receive free and reduced lunches and breakfasts."

She also credits her staff of food service workers, recognizing the important role they play. "I couldn't do this job without the staff's hard work. They have a relationship with the children and school administration."

Ultimately, she thinks everyone would benefit if the school meals program provided more access to school breakfasts. Only half of the children eligible for free or reduced lunches - 10 million out of the total 20 million children - have access to school breakfasts.

"Unhealthy students cannot learn," said Mayernik. "We see that when students don't eat breakfast. Their test scores go down. We try to offer them something here. Something is better than nothing. Can we meet those needs within financial restraints? We'd love to, but right now in child nutrition, we're taking it one bite at a time."

Here at the Campaign for Quality Services, we've been pushing the notion of an improved Child Nutrition Act that works to close the eligibility gap, expand the school breakfast program, and raises standards for food service workers. You can check out our plan and give your support here: http://campaignforqualityservices.org/a/schoolmeals/index.php.