Dana Woldow

The Problem:

In the fall of 2002, cafeterias in San Francisco middle schools and high schools had à la carte cafes called "beaneries." These cafes offered students a wide array of junk food for lunch; there were no healthy options. Students could choose between hot dogs, hot wings, hot links, giant pizzas and cheeseburgers, chips, and snack cakes. Vending machines on campus offered only soda. The principal at Aptos noticed that students would often eat only chips and a soda for lunch.

Making a Change:

The principal at Aptos was concerned about the lunch situation at her school.

Dana went straight to the top. In October she approached Superintendent Ackerman at a public event and asked if the superintendent would support a pilot program that would bring healthy food options to Aptos for the rest of the school year. She promised to carefully track profits and losses so the district would know for the future how healthy options would affect its budget. The superintendent's support made it more difficult for other administrators to try to stall the project.

Next, Dana pulled together a group of interested parents and got to work. By December, the Board of Education had approved the plan for Aptos and the new menu debuted in January. The parent group surveyed students about what types of healthier food they'd like. Dana worked with the district SNS employee in charge of Aptos to ensure that no "empty" calories, including those in baked chips, were served in the beanery. Deli sandwiches loaded with veggies, salads, homemade soups, and baked chicken with rice replaced candy bars and giant cheeseburgers. The Coca Cola vendor replaced sodas with bottled water, 100% fruit juice, and nonfat milk. Cafeteria profits went up and up and up. At the end of the school year, Aptos had made a profit of $6,000, one of only three school cafeterias in the district to finish the year in the black.

Getting Other Parents Involved:

It wasn't hard to get parents to support this effort. Dana started a school nutrition committee that met as an email group. She recognized that no one needed an extra meeting to go to, and virtual "meetings" offered busy parents the chance to participate on their own time. Almost all of the committee's decision-making happened online, including assigning tasks, voting, and tracking the project's success.

Working With the School:

The school food campaign started with the principal, so the school was solidly behind the effort. A few teachers were initially concerned about taking away the kids' "freedom to choose" their food, but Dana quickly pointed out that the junk food industry was spending 30 billion dollars a year persuading kids to eat junk. She helped the teachers understand that kids need some guidance to counteract that influence.

Major Challenges:

Resistance from district administration was the biggest obstacle to the project. Dana found several ways to get around the bureaucratic roadblocks. First, she got the support of Superintendent Ackerman, the district's top administrator. She also discovered that the best way to deal with an entrenched bureaucracy is to convince them that it is easier to give you what you want than to keep saying no. Dana said, "Make up your mind that you won't ever, ever, ever give up. When the bureaucracy understands that if they send you to Joe down the hall, you'll be back with more supporters, they will do what you want." Dana also carefully tracked the success of her project by calculating profits and the numbers of kids who bought lunch. She recommends finding a measurable way to show results.

How the School Has Benefited:

Of course kids are eating healthier food at Aptos now, but there are many other benefits, too. The amount of litter at the school has decreased noticeably now that kids in the school yard sit down for lunch instead of snacking. After-lunch discipline referrals to the counselor's office dropped off right away as students consumed less caffeine and sugar. Teachers also noticed that students were more attentive in after-lunch classes. The benefits to the children and the school were so compelling that the School Board implemented a healthier food policy district-wide the following year!

Tips for Other Parents:

Dana recommends that parents interested in making changes start by volunteering to help with an existing project, especially if there is a distasteful job available! The other active parents will be grateful for your help, and they'll be much more likely to back your idea in the future. You'll also build trust with the principal, who will know you're a reliable volunteer. Dana also encourages parents to not be afraid of approaching important people like principals and the superintendent. She notes that they are all public servants. Finally, to gain broader support, she believes parents should publicize their efforts through Internet chat boards, calling the media, and just by talking to people.

October 2006