Misstep puts healthy school lunch initiative on back burner

A proposal to cook up an advisory committee on nutritious school lunches was sent back to the "kitchen" Tuesday night.

Board of Education Chairman Sue Brand drafted the motion for the new committee in response to a discussion and presentation at last month's board meeting, but it turns out Brand skipped a step in the recipe.

"I felt it was a time-sensitive issue," Brand said of the proposed committee, which would review the Fairfield public schools' food service program and develop a plan for freshly prepared, high-quality foods. But, she said, the issue must first be discussed by the board's policy subcommittee.

"I was in error," Brand said about bringing the matter before the full board Tuesday.

Board member Sue Dow said she would like the issue reviewed by the subcommittee in time to have the item on the board's July 27 agenda.

Another board member, John Mitola, said he would like to see a specific charge for the advisory committee so that it "has some direction" that would include reviewing the foods now served and more specifics about what "healthier foods" means.

In May, the board heard a presentation from the Fuel for Learning Partnership on healthy school lunch alternatives. The partnership, a PTA Council committee, was established last year and gave the school board information on the negative impact of some foods on students' learning, academic performance, behavior and health.

The goal is to phase out food with unhealthy ingredients and phase in fresh foods prepared on site.