A variety of people enjoyed the "Time for Lunch" awareness campaign on the lawn area outside BYU–Hawaii cafeteria on September 5. The event was a joint effort between SIFE, BYU–Hawaii Food Services and other community organizations as part of a national movement trying to "draw attention to The Child Nutritional Act … [and] to bring awareness to healthier school lunches," said Natalie McKinsey who ran the event. (pictured top: sample food from the potluck)
The child nutritional act is a "federal law that governs the National School Lunch Program which sets the standard for the food that more than 30 million children eat every school day." The program is reviewed every 5 years so that the necessary changes can be made to ensure that "quality, healthy, safe meals are provided to children every school day" (Child Nutrition Association Web site).
The current program expires September 30, and Time for Lunch is a call for parents to contact their Congressional delegates and ask them to include four changes into the new Act. This includes increasing the "federal school lunch reimbursement by $1/child/day, [protecting kids] against junk food that puts [them] at risk, [funding] farm to school and school garden programs through grants, [and include] incentives to buy local."
BYU–Hawaii Assistant to the President Bill Neal (at far left) and his wife, Dianna, popular North Shore singer Jack Johnson (center), and Representative Michael Magaoay, Representative to the Hawaii Legislator for the 46th District, were among the crowd of about 65 that were present.
Educational displays and activities kicked off the event with snacks and treats provided by local producers. After two hours of mingling, the group moved to the McKay Auditorium where the movie Food, Inc. was shown.
Clark Cannon, freshman from Bountiful Utah, said the movie contained "lots of insight which is kind of shocking." Laura, a teacher at Sunset Beach Elementary School, had similar feelings; she stated that the movie was very informative.
The event wrapped up with a panel discussion between five of the local producers here in 'Oahu who emphasized the need for everyone to be more actively involved in order to influence the types of foods made available. (pictured right: Jack Johnson and David Keala)--Photos by Jokke Kokkonen