News & Events
WMST health eating initiative favors natural food over processed, fatty foods
When it comes to serving healthy lunches, Mark Holbrook of Washington Math Science Public Charter High School (WMST PCHS) has one simple mantra: natural is better.
Mark Holbrook
Head of School
After Holbrook became head of school at WMST PCHS in 2008, he hired Revolution Foods to serve as the school's lunch caterer. Founded in 2006, the Bay Area-based company has a key partnership with Whole Foods that enables Revolution Foods to serve school meals that are both affordable and nutritious.
A former high school football coach and the great grandson of farmers who showed respect for the land and their livestock, Holbrook is concerned that U.S. school children are eating too much processed food with high cholesterol and fat. Two of his goals as head of school are to build up WMST's physical education program and to introduce more healthy eating choices for WMST students.
He's not the only one concerned about the diet of students. Legislation approved in late March by the Senate Agriculture Committee would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create new standards for all foods in schools, including vending machine items, to give students healthier meal options. The legislation would spend $4.5 billion more over 10 years for nutrition programs.
D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D-At Large) have co-sponsored the "Healthy School Act of 2009." The bill would require that school meals, and after-school program means, consist of foods high in nutrients.
Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Weight trends are even more pronounced among African Americans with 60 percent of African American men and 78 percent of African American women identified as overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, 28.8 percent of men and 50.8 percent of African American women are considered obese. Black women lead the population both in the numbers who are overweight and obese.
Holbrook's moves to introduce more healthy eating to WMST's nearly 375 students have been noticed.
“People eat it. I see a change in that,” said Shaquan Moore, a quick-witted senior who was dining inside the Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell restaurant next door to WMST, waiting for her Metrobus to arrive with two classmates.
“It's more nutritious,” agreed Lidia Foster, a WMST senior who was sitting with Shaquan Moore. She'd recently received acceptance letters to attend Howard University and Marymount University.
It sometimes takes time for young people to develop a taste for carrots, broccoli and bananas, and the lure of “quick service” restaurants can be overpowering for some.
“If you can't read the ingredients, the food is probably not good for you,” Holbrook says. He is concerned about processed foods with heavy fat content.
Over time, initiatives such as WMST's could lead to dietary changes in families, as children and their parents could begin to purchase more fruits and vegetables from grocery stores, making it more profitable for grocers in the city to offer healthy foods, which could over time make such natural food more affordable.