With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Beefing Up the Veggies, Banning the Candy Milk: Is the LAUSD Actually Saving School Food Today?
A couple of the little customers the LAUSD would not allow LAist to interact with today during their press event (Photo via KFINews/Twitpic)
()
After months of kerfuffle with Jamie Oliver and local, community food and environmental activists, today the LAUSD board takes action on the dreaded pink milk. While pink milk is an atrocity (it has more sugar than Coca-Cola) in a school district with a childhood obesity epidemic, it calls into question the rest of the USDA mandatory 5 items on a lunch tray. The Oliver camp is calling this a win, and in the light of ABC re-scheduling and lower-than-hoped-for ratings, perhaps it is. But milk is just one part of the equation.The board is voting today on over $250 million in 5-year food contracts, including possibly substantially beefing up (with soy) their vegetarian offerings.
From what little public information has been made available, it appears the vegetarian options will be highly processed, pre-packaged affairs (like the "Asian Pad Thai" they previewed to the press recently). This is not Real Food Daily vegan-style. No. Also included is something called "farmers' market salad." With no publicly-posted itemized contract published we can only guess what that means. Perhaps we will be enlightened and we will share.
What will not be re-visited is the reported 80% "waste" rate for existing LAUSD food. That's right 4 out of 5 pounds of school food, some $300 million worth, is thrown away. Last month the board voted to donate the uneaten chow to local hunger agencies. No reports of large numbers of homeless populations exiting L.A. as soup kitchen clients exit LA, but we, again will keep you posted.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
This is the one time you can do this legally! -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
Best of LAist