Students Testify About Stigma of Eating in BCC Cafeteria

Reposted from Real Food for Kids Montgomery (RFKM), E-News, March 8, 2016

Students Testify About Stigma of Eating in BCC Cafeteria

On February 22, two students from Bethesda Chevy Chase (BCC) High School spoke before the MCPS Board of Education about the deplorable conditions that exist at the school’s cafeteria. Helena Hailu, a senior at BCC and leader of the Minority Scholars Program, described the cafeteria as one the most unappealing rooms in the school, and denounced the inadequacy of the school meals.

Hailu (in bottom of photo at right) stated that during freshmen and sophomore years, when she qualified for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMs): “I didn’t even want to eat in the cafeteria. If I walked out with a lunch tray in my hand, people would come up and ask, ‘Are you really going to eat cafeteria food?’ ” She also shared that “The stigma is widespread throughout the school and from what I’ve heard from other schools, everyone views the government-provided food the same way. . . this overarching stigma is caused by poor quality food which the county could change by providing healthier foods.”

Elena de Toledo (in top of photo above), who also attends BCC and serves on RFKM’s Advisory Board, testified that “there is no place more segregated in the school than the cafeteria,” and also described the stigma of eating in the cafeteria, stating: “I see many kids who would rather eat a lunch made up of several vending machine items, or not eat at all, because eating in the cafeteria targets them as ‘poor’ ”.  She testified further that “We have given so much effort to closing the achievement gap but the cafeterias are promoting it. The food offered in the cafeteria is simply not healthy or tasty enough to draw in kids willing to pay for lunch.” We congratulate these two courageous students for speaking to the board about their concerns about the school lunch.

Watch Video of Testimonies (click on Public Comments)

Wellness Night

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ESS celebrated it’s first Wellness Night on March 22. We had yoga, Kids Zumba, PE activities, Rethink Your Drink with Crossroads Community Food Network, Manna Nutrition Education and Sugar Shockers, Zero gravity chairs and acupuncture with Pulse Community Care, mindfulness … Continue reading →

Thanks Sweetgreen, Cava Grill and Trader Joe’s

Hope everyone’s super excited about Tuesday’s Wellness Night, 6:30pm to 8pm.

The picture below is just some of the goodies being raffled away! The goodies include:

$30 giftcard for salad, chilled soups and unique drinks at Sweetgreen.

$25 giftcard for yummy Mediterranean food from new-to-the-neighborhood Cava Grill. Menu includes a kid’s meal featuring a mini pita with hummus, meat or falafel, chips or carrot sticks, rice, and organic milk or juice. Both restaurants use organic, locally sourced ingredients from area farms.

And Trader Joe’s is donating a number of whole grain, fruit snack items for when you get the munchies, including dill flavored popcorn, Peruvian Inca Salted Corn, dried mandarins, banana chips, New Zealand sweet apple rings and much more.

Are you hungry for wholesome snacks?! Come to Wellness Night and your student will have an opportunity to win some goodies.

And thank you Sweetgreen, Cava Grill and Trader Joe’s for your generosity!

Wellness Night March 22

ESS’s first ever Wellness Night is coming! On March 22 join us for a light (and healthy) dinner followed by Kids Zumba, yoga, a Rethink Your Drink and Healthy Eating session, a mindfulness session led by Pulse Community Care, a bike and pedestrian safety session and much, much more! Plus, we’re have raffles for a bike, bike accessories, gift cards to Sweetgreen, Cava Grill and a healthy snack pack from Trader Joe’s. Let’s be active, healthy and mindful! Join us! Here’s the flyer with more info: Wellness Night flyer