Campus and Community Partners Host 4th Annual School Lunch Competition

Local chefs will once again take on the School Lunch Challenge March 24, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from 12-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School. 

Building on increased interest in the National School Lunch Program, and inspired by the 2014 exhibition, Food, Power,Politics: The Story of School Lunch, the Richard B.Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and others partnered in 2015 to create this fun, educational event to engage the Athens community with the past, present, and future of school lunch. “Richard Russell co-sponsored the legislation which created the National School Lunch Program in 1946. We are glad to host this event, now an annual happening that draws attention to the NSLP today,” said organizer Jan Hebbard, outreach archivist at the Russell Library. 

The 2018 event will offer 200 free tickets to the general public. The centerpiece of this event is a cooking competition which invites participating teams, advised by nutritionists from the Clarke County School District (CCSD), to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2018-2019 school year. 

Students from the Clarke County School District serve as judges at the competition,
taking notes and voting for their favorite dish. 

Last year local restaurant Last Resort Grill was voted the overall winner by student judges. Led by chef Larry Vivian, the team won over judges with a chicken parmesan sandwich paired with honey thyme glazed carrots. This recipe debuted on the CCSD School Lunch Menu in September 2017. The Last Resort team will return in 2018 to defend their title against new competitors Taziki’sMediterranean Cafe, Dondero’s Kitchen, and the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. 

Members of the Last Resort team celebrate their victory after being named
2017 Overall Champions by the student judging panel. 

The 2018 event will include cooking demonstrations from local chefs, focused on healthy snacks and meals that can be prepared by kids. Organizations connected to sustainable agriculture, community gardens, childhood nutrition, and farm to school programs in the Athens area will host information tables alongside a display of historical documents and artifacts related to the history of the National School Lunch Program. This year's event will also feature the Junior Food Fight, a live cooking competition in which two teams of high school students from the Athens Land Trust’s Young Urban Farmers program will compete to create dishes based on an assigned seasonal ingredient.

A family attending the event stops to learn more about
Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful (KACCB), one of the information table hosts
at the 2017 School Lunch Challenge. 

 The event is free and open to the public but attendance is limited. Tickets are available beginning Feb. 24 through the Eventbrite website. Attendees are encouraged to bring donation items to benefit the Food 2 Kids program operated by the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia. Requested items include jars of peanut butter, individual oatmeal packs, beef ravioli (pop top cans), chicken and rice (pop top cans), spaghettios with meatballs (pop top cans), mac and cheese (individual dry packs), and granola bars. 

Students in the Athens Land Trust’s Young Urban Farmers program
cook on stage during the event, competing in the first ever
Junior Food Fight event. 

The 2018 School Lunch Challenge is sponsored by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Clarke County School District, Mayfield Dairy Farms, the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department, UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Department of Foods and Nutrition, The Fresh Market, Seed Life Skills, Heirloom Café Athens, Athens Land Trust, and Athens Farm to School.


To obtain tickets visit https://schoollunchchallenge2018.eventbrite.com

For more information, contact Jan Hebbard at jhebbard@uga.edu or (706) 542-5788. 

Campus and Community Partners to Host 3rd Annual School Lunch Challenge!

Local chefs will take on the School Lunch Challenge March 18, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from 12-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School.

Building on increased public interest in the National School Lunch Program, and inspired by the 2014 exhibition, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and others partnered in 2015 to create a fun, educational event to engage the Athens community with the past, present, and future of school lunch. “Richard Russell co-sponsored the legislation which created the National School Lunch Program in 1946. We are glad to host this event, now an annual happening that draws attention to the NSLP today,” said organizer Jan Hebbard, outreach archivist at the Russell Library.

Chef Hugh Acheson demos a healthy recipe for attendees
at the 2016 School Lunch Challenge

The 2017 event will offer 200 free tickets to the general public, and offer hands-on activities and cooking demonstrations to attendees. Once again, the centerpiece of this event will be a cooking competition which invites participating teams, advised by nutritionists from the Clarke County School District (CCSD), to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2017-2018 school year. 

Last year a team made up of family and consumer science teachers from the Clarke County School District was voted the overall winner by student judges. Led by Almeta Tuloss, program director for Seed Life Skills, a non-profit committed to revamping Family and Consumer Science curriculum, the team won over judges with a chicken and spinach pasta with lemon cream sauce alongside a mixed salad with orange vinaigrette. This recipe is scheduled to debut on the CCSD School Lunch Menu in Spring 2017. The CCSD teachers will return to defend their title against new competitors Taqueria del Sol, Last Resort Grill, and The Place.

Student judges rating dishes at the
2016 School Lunch Challenge

A variety of organizations connected to sustainable agriculture, community gardens, childhood nutrition and farm to school programs in the Athens area will host information tables at the event. A display of historical documents and artifacts related to the history of the National School Lunch Program will also be on display. 

The event is free and open to the public but only 200 tickets will be made available, beginning February 24 through the Eventbrite website. The 2017 School Lunch Challenge is sponsored by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Clarke County School District, the Athens Land Trust, Athens Farm to School, UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Department of Foods and Nutrition, The Fresh Market, Earthfare, Seed Life Skills, and Heirloom Cafe.   

To register for tickets, visit https://slc2017.eventbrite.com 

Campus and Community Partners to Host 3rd Annual School Lunch Challenge!

Local chefs will take on the School Lunch Challenge March 18, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from 12-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School.

Building on increased public interest in the National School Lunch Program, and inspired by the 2014 exhibition, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and others partnered in 2015 to create a fun, educational event to engage the Athens community with the past, present, and future of school lunch. “Richard Russell co-sponsored the legislation which created the National School Lunch Program in 1946. We are glad to host this event, now an annual happening that draws attention to the NSLP today,” said organizer Jan Hebbard, outreach archivist at the Russell Library.

Chef Hugh Acheson demos a healthy recipe for attendees
at the 2016 School Lunch Challenge

The 2017 event will offer 200 free tickets to the general public, and offer hands-on activities and cooking demonstrations to attendees. Once again, the centerpiece of this event will be a cooking competition which invites participating teams, advised by nutritionists from the Clarke County School District (CCSD), to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2017-2018 school year. 

Last year a team made up of family and consumer science teachers from the Clarke County School District was voted the overall winner by student judges. Led by Almeta Tuloss, program director for Seed Life Skills, a non-profit committed to revamping Family and Consumer Science curriculum, the team won over judges with a chicken and spinach pasta with lemon cream sauce alongside a mixed salad with orange vinaigrette. This recipe is scheduled to debut on the CCSD School Lunch Menu in Spring 2017. The CCSD teachers will return to defend their title against new competitors Taqueria del Sol, Last Resort Grill, and The Place.

Student judges rating dishes at the
2016 School Lunch Challenge

A variety of organizations connected to sustainable agriculture, community gardens, childhood nutrition and farm to school programs in the Athens area will host information tables at the event. A display of historical documents and artifacts related to the history of the National School Lunch Program will also be on display. 

The event is free and open to the public but only 200 tickets will be made available, beginning February 24 through the Eventbrite website. The 2017 School Lunch Challenge is sponsored by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Clarke County School District, the Athens Land Trust, Athens Farm to School, UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Department of Foods and Nutrition, The Fresh Market, Earthfare, Seed Life Skills, and Heirloom Cafe.   

To register for tickets, visit https://slc2017.eventbrite.com 

For more information, contact Jan Hebbard at jhebbard@uga.edu or (706) 542-5788.

Campus and Community Partners to Host 2nd Annual School Lunch Challenge

Local chefs will once again take on the School Lunch Challenge March 19, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from 12-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School.

Building on increased interest in the National School Lunch Program, and inspired by the 2014 exhibition, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and others partnered in 2015 to host a fun, educational event to engage the Athens community with the past, present, and future of school lunch. “Richard Russell co-sponsored the legislation which created the National School Lunch Program in 1948. We are glad to host this event that draws attention to the NSLP today, and our planning team is excited to make this an annual happening in Athens,” said organizer Jan Hebbard, outreach archivist at the Russell Library.

The 2016 event will expand attendance from 150 to 200 people, and offer hands-on activities and cooking demonstrations, in addition to the cooking competition. Local chef Hugh Acheson will serve as the master of ceremonies. Acheson recently launched Seed Life Skills, a non-profit committed to revamping Family and Consumer Science curriculum, supporting education that teaches skills including hands-on culinary instruction, conscious consumer economics, and D.I.Y. design principles.

Attendees at the 2015 School Lunch Challenge
enjoying samples from the cooking competition. 

Once again, the centerpiece of this event will be a cooking competition which invites participating teams, drawn from local restaurants and advised by members of the Clarke County School District (CCSD), to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2016-2017 school year.

Last year’s student judges voted The National the overall winner. Led by Chef Emmanuel Stone, the team won over judges with a deluxe chicken burrito and a side of broccoli with cheese. Adapted into a burrito bowl to reduce preparation time, this recipe debuted on the CCSD School Lunch Menu on Nov. 1 to rave reviews. The National team returns this year to defend their title against new competitors Pulaski Heights BBQ, The Pine, and a team made up of FACS teachers from the Clarke County School District.

This event is free and open to the public but attendance will be capped at 200 people. Tickets are available beginning February 26 through the Eventbrite website. Attendees are encouraged to bring donation items to benefit the Food 2 Kids program operated by the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia. Requested items include beans-n-franks (pop-top cans) and jars of peanut butter.   

The event is free and open to the public but attendance will be capped at 200 people. Tickets are available beginning February 26 through the Eventbrite website.

The 2016 School Lunch Challenge is sponsored by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Clarke County School District, the Athens Land Trust, Athens Farm to School, UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Department of Foods and Nutrition, The Fresh Market, Seed Life Skills, and Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market.  

To obtain tickets visit http://schoollunchchallenge2016.eventbrite.com  

For more information, contact Jan Hebbard at jhebbard@uga.edu or (706) 542-5788.

Student judges going through the lunch line.

School Lunch Challenge, Saturday March 28th, 2-4PM

Documentary Screening, Yuck!

Join the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies on Saturday, March 21st from 4:00-5:00PM in the auditorium of the Special Collections Libraries Building (300 S. Hull Street) for a free community screening of Yuck!, a short documentary film chronicling fourth grader Zachary’s efforts to document the school lunch offered in his New York City public elementary school. The film will be followed by a discussion about school lunch in the Athens area. Doors open at 1:45.

This screening is connected to the Russell Library’s ongoing exhibition, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch, on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery through August 2015. For more information call (706) 542-5788 or email russlib@uga.edu

We're Having a Food Fight!

Are you ready for a good food fight?

Then we hope you'll join us on Saturday, March 28th in the cafeteria of Barrow Elementary School (100 Pinecrest Drive) as local chefs take on the School Lunch Challenge -- creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program for attendees to sample!

Building on the increased public interest in school lunches, and inspired by the ongoing exhibition, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch currently on display in our gallery, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the Clarke County School District, the Athens Land Trust, Athens Farm to School, and UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences have partnered to plan a fun, educational event to engage the Athens community with the past, present, and future of the National School Lunch Program. 

The centerpiece of this event will be a cooking competition which invites participating teams, drawn from local restaurants and non-profit organizations, and advised by members of the Clarke County School District (CCSD) nutrition staff, to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. Each team will create plates including meat/meat alternate, grain, and vegetable components that can appeal to a K-12 audience. Event attendees will be invited to a sample-size serving of each plate created, and will vote for a crowd favorite in each category. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2015-2016 school year.

Attendees can also pick up information and talk to local representatives about sustainable agriculture, community gardens, and farm to school programs in the Athens community, and explore a display of materials related to the history of the National School Lunch Program. 

Competing teams will include The National, Heirloom Café and Fresh Market, newly opened Goodie Two Shoes, and the non-profit Athens Land Trust. Each team has been paired with one of the four local middle schools, and encouraged to incorporate that school’s colors, mascot, or other identifying features into their dish or plate presentation. The event will be free to the public but attendance will be capped at 150 people. Tickets are available through the Eventbrite website. 

Members of the planning committee hope parents and families associated with the local school system, as well as community groups and individuals interested in school lunch and related food initiatives will come out to the event. But, they hope that anyone who has a passion for healthy, delicious food will join the fun. 

“We hope to engage the Athens community with the topic of school lunch, providing some information about the history of the program, and helping to connect that history to the ongoing changes to the program through recent legislation on the federal level,” said organizer Jan Hebbard, outreach archivist at the Russell Library. “Hopefully this is a chance for community members to have some fun and also get a better understanding of school lunch locally, especially ongoing efforts to incorporate community gardens and local produce into cafeterias in CCSD.”

For more information, contact Jan Hebbard at jlevinso@uga.edu or (706) 542-5788. To obtain tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/school-lunch-challenge-tickets-15847094085

Reflections on School Lunch #1

We opened our new exhibit, Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch, this past Friday (Sep. 26) in the Harrison Feature Gallery. In addition to helping visitors learn more about the history of this program since the original legislation was passed in 1948, we also want to know what visitors remember about their own experiences with school lunch over the years.

At the end of the exhibit, visitors enter our Reflection Area -- a room filled with questions asking what YOU (the visitor) think and remember about the topic treated in the feature gallery. So, naturally the six questions on the wall right now tie into all things school lunch. For you blog readers that haven't had the chance to see the physical exhibit yet, we hope you've been keeping up with our #schoollunch posts where our interns Kaylynn and Ashton have featured some of the text and photos/artifacts on display.

Our staff would like to start a larger discussion about some of the questions we have posted in the gallery space -- we want to hear what you think! So here goes, question #1....tell us what you think:

Over the new weeks as we get some responses in the gallery, we will post those here, so keep up with us here and on Twitter @RussellLibrary. 

The Story of School Lunch: Competitive Foods in the Cafeteria

Over the past two summers Russell Library interns Ashton Ellett and Kaylynn Washnock assisted in curating the new exhibit, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” opening September 26th in the Russell Library’s Harrison Feature Gallery. The exhibit examines the complicated past of the National School Lunch Program, from feeding malnourished children and putting excess commodities to good use, to the more recent debates over childhood obesity and nutrition in America. This post is one in a series where Ashton and Kaylynn provide a preview of key documents featured in the exhibition.   

Changes during the 1960s and 1970s resulted in a greatly expanded, more expensive school lunch program. School districts had to manage providing meals to more children, purchasing increasingly expensive food, hiring additional food service personnel, and expanding cafeteria facilities. As schools looked for ways to fund their growing programs in a deflated economy they turned increasingly to private partners.

During the Nixon administration, the passage of HR 14896 extended the provision for free breakfast and summer food programs. Another provision, however, that allowed for the “sale of competitive foods” in schools caused great controversy. While the sale of these fatty and high-sugar items would surely increase revenue, many citizens feared these items could negate the program’s original purpose—to provide American school children with access to a nutritious meal. According to Dr. John Perryman, executive director of the American School Food Service Association in Washington, D.C.:

Letter from Dr. John Perryman to Congressman
John W. Davis (Ga.) September 15, 1972.
John W. Davis Papers, Russell Library.

"We have now opened the door to the sale of ANY food item to ANY child of ANY age in ANY school location at ANY time. We have further made the proceeds available to virtually ANY group, thereby assuring that never ending pressures will be brought upon school authorities to permit constant revenue-producing promotions. By the few words of Section 7 we have translated in a tragic number of instances, school food service from a child nutrition program into a money making gimmick."

Ultimately, the provision passed and competitive foods were allowed in the  nation’s schools. Debates over the lingering effects would continue for the next two decades as awareness of childhood obesity increased.

Want to find out more about School Lunch? Visit Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. from September 26, 2014 through May 15, 2015. The Russell Library gallery is free and open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, email russlib@uga.edu or call 706-542-5788

Athens Science Café to Spotlight Nutrition and Childhood Obesity

ATHENS, GA – University of Georgia foods and nutrition professor Caree Cotwright will speak about nutrition and childhood obesity at the October meeting of the Athens Science Café on Oct. 22 at Chase Street Elementary School. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the event will start at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Science cafes are informal meetings commonly held in coffee shops, pubs or community centers where people have an opportunity to learn from and interact with a scientist. Unlike traditional lectures, science cafes involve more open discussion and debate among the audience.

For this event, organizers of the Athens Science Café decided to branch out from their traditional downtown venues. “While we typically hold our cafes at bars and coffeehouses, we welcome the occasional opportunity to develop community partnerships," said ASC representative Stephanie Pearl. “ASC is excited about partnering with the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and the Clarke County School District for this edition of the cafe.”

On Sep. 26 the Russell Library, a political archives at the University of Georgia, will open the new exhibition, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” examining the complicated history of the National School Lunch Program. “We approached the organizers of Athens Science Café about developing an event connected to the issues explored in this exhibit,” said lead curator Jan Levinson. “It seemed only fitting that a discussion about childhood nutrition should take place in one of our local schools.”

The event will take place in the cafeteria of Chase Street Elementary School. Cotwright will give a short introductory talk before leading an informal discussion among participants about nutrition and innovative interventions to combat the problem of childhood obesity. Healthy snacks will be generously provided by Heirloom Café and Fresh Market.

For more information about this event visit the Athens Science Café website at http://athenssciencecafe.wordpress.com or follow @AthScieCafe on Twitter. For more information about the new exhibit “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” visit the Russell Library’s website at http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell or follow @RussellLibrary on Twitter.

Russell Library to Open New Exhibit, Food, Power, Politics: The Story of School Lunch

The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia will feature the exhibition, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” Sep. 26, 2014 to May 15, 2015. The exhibition examines the complicated past of the National School Lunch Program, signed into law by President Harry Truman on June 4, 1946.

With a focus on people and events in Georgia, the exhibition was developed in celebration of the Russell Library’s 40th anniversary in 2014. U.S. Sen. Richard B. Russell, Jr. authored the original legislation establishing the NSLP and played a crucial role in steering it through both houses of Congress. Russell said that the creation of this program was his proudest legislative achievement during his long career in the U.S. Senate.

School lunchroom in Georgia, ca. 1955.
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection, Russell Library

What began as a way to strengthen the nation through better nutrition for school children soon became a complicated program administered by local, state, and federal partners with competing interests. “The story behind this initiative is one of twists and turns, as the program evolved to meet the changing needs of children, politicians, and corporate interests over time,” said lead curator Jan Levinson. A bigger and broader program more than 60 years after its original passage, the National School Lunch Program continues to be a political hot-button today.

In addition to Russell, U.S. Sen. Herman Talmadge, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1968-1979), also played a key role in school lunch. Talmadge’s support of the Childhood Nutrition Act (1966) and subsequent amendments greatly expanded the NSLP, including the creation of the school breakfast program.

The exhibit script was assembled by two PhD students in the University of Georgia’s Department of History: Ashton Ellet and Kaylynn Washnock. Both served as summer interns, conducting research, writing, and editing, as well as selecting original documents and artifacts for display. “We were lucky to have two very talented historians working on this project, and I think the finished product shows their commitment and talent for public history,” said Levinson.

The exhibit features historic images depicting schools and children in Georgia dating back to the 1920s as well as related ephemera, including lunch pails, sample menus, and classroom activity packets.  Letters, speeches, and assorted publications document the legislative battle to create and expand the program from the 1940s to the 1990s, complemented by video and oral histories.
The Russell Library is collaborating with UGA’s Athens Science Café and the Clarke County School District to sponsor an event focused on childhood nutrition featuring speaker Dr. Caree Cotwright, associate professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, taking place on Oct. 22 at Chase Street Elementary School. Other events complementing the exhibit are scheduled for spring 2015.

The exhibit is free and open to the public through May 15, 2015. More information about the complementary program series can be found by visiting http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/programs/events.html. The galleries of the Special Collections Libraries are open from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday and 1-5pm on Saturdays. The building is not open on the Saturdays of home football games. Admission is free. For more information contact Jan Levinson at jlevinso@uga.edu or by calling 706-542-5788. To schedule a tour of the Special Collections Libraries Galleries, contact Jean Cleveland at jclevela@uga.edu or by calling 706-542-8079.

The Story of School Lunch: Increased Participation in the 1950s

Over the past two summers Russell Library interns Ashton Ellett and Kaylynn Washnock assisted in curating the new exhibit, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” opening September 26th in the Russell Library’s Harrison Feature Gallery. The exhibit examines the complicated past of the National School Lunch Program, from feeding malnourished children and putting excess commodities to good use, to the more recent debates over childhood obesity and nutrition in America. This post is one in a series where Ashton and Kaylynn provide a preview of key documents featured in the exhibition.   

Chart showing participation of Georgia schools in
NSLP from 1943-1960. Richard B. Russell Collection, Russell Library.

With participation in the school lunch program growing during the 1950s, local administrators felt constant financial pressure. During the 1943-1944 school year just over 1,000 Georgia schools took part; by 1960, this number of participating schools had increased to nearly 1,800. These Georgia schools served an average of 500,000 meals per day -- 9 million meals per month. Despite this growth, the funding for the program was based on the decade old data.

On December 28, 1960 Claude Purcell, state superintendent of schools, wrote to Senator Russell about proposed amendment HR 12896.  Given the National School Lunch Program’s success in Georgia, Purcell was especially concerned with the government’s reimbursement rate for school lunches. He hoped to see the reimbursement rate increase from 3.6 cents to 5 cents per meal, so that the price of the meal for paying students would not have to be raised, fearing any increase would force more students into the free or reduced lunch. As Senator Russell noted in his response, Congress did not pass the amendment. (See letter exchange below).

Several amendments to the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) in 1962 sought to improve the under representation of low-income participants in the program. However, Congress did not appropriate additional funding to make these reforms a reality until the passage of the Childhood Nutrition Act (CNA) in 1966, which expanded institutional eligibility and enacted a pilot breakfast program. The consequences of making good on the mandate would steer the program into uncharted territory in the following decades as school lunch transformed from a farm subsidy into an antipoverty program.

Want to find out more about School Lunch? Visit Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries from September 26, 2014 through May 15, 2015. The Russell Library gallery is free and open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, email russlib@uga.edu or call 706-542-5788.

The Story of School Lunch: Congressional Food Fight

Over the past two summers Russell Library interns Ashton Ellett and Kaylynn Washnock assisted in curating the new exhibit, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” opening September 26th in the Russell Library’s Harrison Feature Gallery. The exhibit examines the complicated past of the National School Lunch Program, from feeding malnourished children and putting excess commodities to good use, to the more recent debates over childhood obesity and nutrition in America. This post is one in a series where Ashton and Kaylynn provide a preview of key documents featured in the exhibition.  
At the end of World War II, proponents of ongoing school lunch programs worried that the federal government’s ad hoc, hand-to-mouth funding scheme discouraged local school districts from participating. Many districts were reluctant to invest scarce funds into capital intensive projects like cafeteria construction and kitchen equipment purchases without guaranteed federal funding.

Letter from M.D. Collins to Richard B. Russell
January 17, 1946. Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection,
Russell Library. 

Despite a fierce legislative battle over the responsibilities of parents and the role of schools, President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act on June 4, 1946. The passage of the bill was due in large part to the lobbying of a select group of politicians—including Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell. A letter from Dr. Mauney Douglas Collins, State Superintendent of Schools, dated January 17, 1946, to Senator Russell demonstrates the widespread appreciation among education officials in Georgia for his support of the legislation.

A letter from Bob Shields (pages 1-3 below), administrator of the USDA’s Production and Marketing Administration, to Russell in June 1946 stresses the historical importance of the newly passed national school lunch program, which he saw as both a challenge and an opportunity. In his speech before Product and Marketing Administrators, Shields indicated the legislation marked “a new era in farmer-consumer relationship” and reaffirmed the program as “a measure of national security.” During World War II, Major General Lewis B. Hershey, director of the Selective Service System, testified before the House Committee on Agriculture that many young men were rejected for military service because of nutritional deficiencies. With the nation at war and the memory of farmers suffering during the Great Depression at the forefront of many minds, how could the nation’s nutrition and farm problems be solved? The original legislation intended to serve as both a childhood nutrition and surplus commodity program. Since 1946, the U.S. government has been involved in both the “production and marketing” of food because of, according to Shields, the “humanitarian vision and constructive statesmanship.”

    

In spite of lofty goals, the original National School Lunch Act lacked the legislative provisions and enforcement abilities to serve America’s neediest children. Reform and expansion of the program would come later from another war – one inspired by grassroots activism and social movements of the 1960s.  

Want to find out more about School Lunch? Visit Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery of the Special Collections Building from September 26, 2014 through May 15, 2015. The Russell Library gallery is free and open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, email russlib@uga.edu or call 706-542-5788.

The Story of School Lunch: FDR and Surplus Commodities

Over the past two summers Russell Library interns Ashton Ellett and Kaylynn Washnock assisted in curating the new exhibit, “Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch” opening September 26th in the Russell Library’s Harrison Feature Gallery. The exhibit examines the complicated past of the National School Lunch Program, from feeding malnourished children and putting excess commodities to good use, to the more recent debates over childhood obesity and nutrition in America. This post is one in a series where Ashton and Kaylynn provide a preview of key documents featured in the exhibition.   

Amidst the Great Depression, the Roosevelt administration began disbursing donations of surplus commodities through several New Deal agencies, including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the Federal Surplus Commodity Corporation (FSCC), and the Surplus Marketing Administration (SMA). But the onset of World War II in 1941 reshaped federal support for lunch programs. Although Congress began rationing supplies and diverting labor to support the war effort, federal grants offered subsidies to school lunch programs for the purchase of food and milk.

Miscellaneous Publication 467,
produced by the USDA, October 1941.

The USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 467 demonstrates the effect of war on the program. The lunch program peaked during the 1941-1942 school year with nearly 6 million children served annually.

By March of 1941, most states in the economically depressed South and West had enrolled and worked with the Surplus Marketing Administration to receive foodstuffs. Georgia had the highest average for school enrollment in the nation at 61.7 percent. Ultimately, rising food and labor costs forced cuts in lunch service during the war years, which saw numbers dwindle.

At the close of World War II, school lunch proponents found a new advocate in Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. With his leadership, the still piece-meal initiative would navigate both houses of Congress and become a mandate of federal law. In 1946, Congress passed the National School Lunch Act establishing a nationwide program.

Want to find out more about School Lunch? Visit Food, Power, and Politics: The Story of School Lunch on display in the Harrison Feature Gallery inside the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries from September 26, 2014 through May 15, 2015. The Russell Library gallery is free and open to the public weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 1-5 p.m. For more information, email russlib@uga.edu or call 706-542-5788.