"In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children,
or more prosperous than its farmers." - President Harry Truman, on signing the 1946 National School Lunch Act.
Through the Years
The National School Lunch Program was created in 1946 when President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act into law. The National School Lunch Program is a federal nutrition assistance program. Through the years, the program has expanded to include the School Breakfast Program, Snack Program, Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, and the Summer Food Service Program. In 1962, Congress designated the week beginning on the second Sunday in October each year as "National School Lunch Week."
The video below looks at the school lunch program from the late 1930s to the present day and includes President Obama signing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. One can see from the photographs some of the changes in the foods provided. There is an increase in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. (Part of the video has clips from a film produced by the USDA in the mid-60s.)
School Lunch Resources
Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, stated: “National School Lunch Week reminds us how important it is that our children be healthy and active, that they do not go hungry, and that they have access to nutritious meals."
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Monday, October 14, 2024
National School Lunch Week
Friday, October 11, 2024
World Arthritis Day - Cooking Tips for People with Arthritis
Common arthritis joint symptoms include swelling, pain, stiffness, and decreased range of motion. Arthritis can cause permanent joint changes. These changes, such as knobby finger joints, may be visible, but the damage can often be seen on an X-ray.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. Over time, joints can lose strength, and pain may become chronic. Risk factors include excess weight, family history, age, and previous injury.
When the joint symptoms of osteoarthritis can be managed by:
- balancing activity with rest
- using hot and cold therapies
- regular physical activity
- maintaining a healthy weight
- strengthening the muscles around the joint for added support
- using assistive devices
- taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers or anti-inflammatory medicines
- avoiding excessive repetitive movements
If joint symptoms are severe, causing limited mobility and affecting the quality of life, some of the above management strategies may be helpful, but joint replacement may be necessary.
Osteoarthritis can be prevented by staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding injury and repetitive movements.
Cooking can be difficult for people with arthritis, physical limitations, pain, and fatigue. Here are some meal-prep strategies to help you fuel your body with nutritious and delicious food, even when arthritis has left you feeling tired and in pain.
2. Use tools for chopping and stirring. Actions that force you to exert a lot of pressure on your joints in the hands and wrists can be painful, which is why chopping, cutting, and stirring are perhaps the hardest kitchen tasks for those with arthritis. Food processors help people with arthritis who have difficulty with manual cooking tasks like chopping, cutting, and slicing. The food processor will automatically chop, shred, or slice after you load it. Choose a food processor which is manageable.
3. Get help with jars. Jars can be a pain to open. Flat, rubber grips may make it a little easier but still require some effort. You can also try a mounted under-cabinet opener, and there are even electric jar openers. For hard-to-pop-open plastic containers, like yogurt use an inexpensive ring on your thumb and place the ring under the edge to lift it up.
4. Rocker Knife or Specialty Knives Simplify Cutting. Rocker knives are an example of a specialty cooking tool. The two-handled design puts strength and controls back into cutting and chopping. The rocker blade design has the motion built right in.
5. Lighten your load. Use lighter-weight pots and pans. This also goes for plates, prep bowls, cookware, and storage containers. Be extra careful with large pots of food. Pots and pans can be heavy, clumsy, and hard to manage for people with painful, arthritic joints. Using a pot or pan with two handles distributes the weight evenly between your hands and wrists.
6. Pull Up a Stool. Sit on a chair to do all the chopping and prep work. Work at your kitchen table, or sit there if you have stools under the counter. If you are standing, use an anti-fatigue kitchen mat. Non-trip mats can take some of the stress off your legs and feet.
7. Store Foods Conveniently. Make sure you have food storage containers that are easy for you to open and easy for you to stack. Whether you choose plastic storage containers with easy-open lids or Ziploc bags, make sure they are convenient for you.
8. Make Kitchen Shelves Accessible. Your kitchen shelves should be easily accessible so that you don't strain your muscles and hurt painful joints when trying to reach dishes, cookware, or food. Have your most commonly used items closest to where you use them. Make sure kitchen items are not stacked precariously so that they can fall as you reach for them. Set up your kitchen with safety in mind and convenience too.
9. Invest in a slow or instant cooker. One-pot meals are the way to go to simplify your prep and cleanup. Slow cookers and Instant Pots make it easy to throw the ingredients in and forget about them until they’re ready.
10. Get help from the grocery store. Grocery shopping doesn’t have to be difficult as it used to be. Home delivery or pickup services take this task off your shoulders. If you do venture to the store, take advantage of any assistance the store can give you. Shop for precut veggies in both the fresh and frozen sections, ask the butcher and fishmonger to cut up meat and debone fish or buy precooked foods like a roast chicken to doctor up at home.
11. Delegate. A good manager knows what tasks to hand off to others. If you find something really painful, ask your partner or kids to help.
12. Simplify cleanup. Use the dishwasher. You can also prepare ahead of time for less mess by placing liners in your slow cooker, aluminum foil in your roasting pans, and parchment paper on your cookie sheets.
13. Planned Leftovers. Make extra food and plan for leftovers. By doubling your recipe, you can create planned leftovers which you can freeze and have available for another day.
People who take arthritis medications that suppress the immune system are particularly vulnerable to E. coli, hepatitis C, and other food-related illnesses. Stay apprised of food recalls, and remember to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables.
1. Arthritis Foundation, Arthritis Diet
2. Nutrition and Rheumatoid Arthritis, by Kristine Duncan, RDN. TodaysDietitian
3. Rheumatoid Arthritis: Cooking Made Easier, Everyday Health.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Home Food Safety
When the Power Goes Out
When the Power Goes Out
Stock up on non-perishable foods that don't require refrigeration, and choose single-serve sizes if available to avoid the need for refrigeration of unused portions. Consider these easy, healthy, shelf-stable foods:
Friday, September 27, 2024
National Chocolate Milk Day - Should My Child Drink Chocolate Milk?
Should My Child Drink Chocolate Milk?
Resources
1. Should Children Drink Chocolate Milk? United Dairy Industry
Thursday, September 26, 2024
National Johnny Appleseed Day
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
National Lobster Day - Nutrition and Recipes
Healthy and Avoid a Mess (or make a mess)
*Ask for Lemon, Olive Oil, and Dijon Mustard
and Make Your Own Dressing.
From Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association (AOLA)
The difference between a hard shell and soft shell lobster. Lobsters will periodically shed their shells as they grow. This can happen as many as 25 times before they are 6-7 years old; then males shed every year and mature, females every two years. When lobsters become very large molting is less frequent. After they shed they have a paper-thin shell, which can take up to two months to harden and are called soft-shell, new shell, or shedders. The debate goes on as to which is most tasty, though the soft-shell is definitely easier to crack!
The teeth of the lobster are in its stomach. The stomach is located a very short distance from the mouth, and the food is actually chewed in the stomach between three grinding surfaces that look like molar surfaces, called the "gastric mill".
Lobster Cooking and Eating
The Lobster and the Beer,
A Story of Survival
Monday, September 23, 2024
National Cholesterol Education Month - What You Need to Know

There are two kinds of cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). HDL is also called "good" cholesterol. LDL is called "bad" cholesterol. When we talk about high cholesterol, we are talking about "bad" LDL cholesterol.
Seventy-one million American adults have high cholesterol, but only one-third of them have the condition under control.1 September is National Cholesterol Education Month—a good time to resolve to get your cholesterol screened.
For more information about cholesterol and how you can prevent high cholesterol or keep it in check, see "Your Guide to Lowering Your Cholesterol with TLC" from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Reference
CDC, Cholesterol
Sunday, September 22, 2024
National Family Meal Month and
Family Day: a Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children
Family Day: a Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children
More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Dinners Make A Difference! While there are no silver bullets – substance abuse can strike any family regardless of ethnicity, affluence, age, or gender – the parental engagement fostered at the dinner table can be a simple, effective tool to help prevent substance abuse in kids.
Family mealtime is an ageless tradition shared by people all around the world. Eating dinner together keeps the doors of communication open. It's a perfect time to show your children they are your priority. Studies have shown children who eat dinner with their families are less likely to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs and more likely to develop good eating habits.
Sesame Street: Eat Together!
Quick and Easy Meals to
Bring Families Together at Meal Time
Website. Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™
Friday, September 20, 2024
International Day of Peace
International Day of Peace
The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") allows individuals, organizations, and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.
In 2002, the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. By creating the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to cooperate for this goal. During the discussion of the U.N. Resolution that established the International Day of Peace, it was suggested that:
"Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples…This day will serve as a reminder to all people that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace."
observed each year on 21 September
and for human rights.
Together, let us build bridges. Together,
let us transform fear into hope.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
2024 Theme: Cultivating a Culture of Peace
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration on a Culture of Peace. The declaration reminds us that peace is more than the absence of conflict – it requires active participation, dialogue, and mutual understanding.
In today’s world of rising tensions, the values laid out in 1999 are more important than ever: respect for life, human rights, non-violence, and a commitment to dialogue over confrontation.
As UNESCO’s Constitution states, “wars begin in the minds of men,” and so must the defenses of peace. The International Day of Peace isn’t just about ceasefires – it’s about recognizing our shared humanity and cultivating peace through education and cooperation across generations and nations.
Our survival as a global community depends on it.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
National Cheeseburger Day - Healthy Homemade Cheeseburger
Ingredients
3/4 lb extra-lean ground beef
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp chili sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 slices (3/4 oz each) reduced-fat cheddar
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns
Lettuce and tomato slices
Preparation
1. Mix first 4 ingredients.
2. Form mixture into four 1-inch-thick patties.
3. Broil 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium to well-done burgers.
4. Top each burger with a cheese slice right before removing from the oven.
5. Transfer burgers onto buns, top with lettuce and tomato and serve.
Thursday, September 12, 2024
September 13, National Celiac Disease Awareness Day
The Awareness Campaign provides current, comprehensive, science-based information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of celiac disease, also known as celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, and gluten-sensitive enteropathy.
1. Celiac Disease Foundation
2. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Celiac Disease
3. Shelley Case, RD
Monday, September 2, 2024
National Nutrition Week in India - The Indian Cuisine
Vision
To achieve optimal nutrition of vulnerable segments of the population such as women of reproductive age, children, adolescent girls, and the elderly.
Mission
To enable food and nutrition security conducive to good health, growth & development and increase productivity through dedicated research, so as to achieve the national nutrition goals set by the government of India in the national nutrition policy.
Dietary Guidelines of Indians
2. Indian Cuisine, Wikipedia - Spices at a grocery shop in India
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