Op-ed: School meals key to controlling diabetes rate – UM Today

‘It’s in all of our best interests’

March 17, 2020 —

The following is an op-ed written by Joyce Slater, associate professor of community nutrition and principal investigator for the FANS (Food and Nutrition Security) study in the department of food and human nutritional sciences at UM. It was originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Mar. 17, 2020.

If Premier Brian Pallister thinks he shouldn’t implement a universal school-meal program because families should be having breakfast together, maybe he should chew on this: happy nuclear families dining on stacks of pancakes served by mom is the stuff of TV.

The Free Press has recently highlighted the myriad of food-related challenges real families face, including the lack of money to regularly purchase healthy food, lack of time, the demands of single parenting, and working multiple jobs at irregular hours. Poorly nourished kids don’t learn well.

Read More: https://news.umanitoba.ca/op-ed-school-meals-key-to-controlling-diabetes-rate/