Devil's Cut | The Importance Of School Lunch w Julia Bauscher
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What is the importance of school nutrition for students?
Welcome back, everyone, to another brand new edition of Truth in the Barrel Devil's Cut. We aren't talking whiskey or bourbon today, sadly. We are talking about the super important topic of school lunches. I know. School lunches? Yes, its value to our kids and society is way underrated. There's massive data out there showing that when kids are fed healthy meals, they learn more, they get better grades, and they're overall just better students. So seriously, imagine trying to learn in grade school on an empty stomach.
How do school meal programs operate in different regions?
Unfortunately, that is still the case for many across the country and in Kentucky. But why? Today, we're talking to a Kentuckian who made it her mission to make sure the kids of Jefferson County had what they needed to succeed. And we'll talk about how our country is helping and hurting kids in this area. Julia Boucher, former director of school and community nutrition services for Jefferson County Public Schools, is with us today. Welcome, Julia. Thank you, Amy. It's good to be here.
What challenges do schools face in providing healthy meals?
Well, I want to start out and ask you a little bit about yourself. Are you from Louisville? And how did you start out working in the business of school lunches and helping our kids?
Yes. So, yes, Amy, I am a native Louisvillian. I actually began my food service career in Blazer Cafeteria on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
What misconceptions exist about school meals?
I eventually worked as a student supervisor. And while I was in graduate school, I went to work part time for a food broker in food service sales. So I got into the sales side of it. And eventually worked for the Campbell Soup Company and finally for the Nabisco Company. I moved back to Louisville and one of my customers was Jefferson County Public Schools. And while I was calling on the coordinator of food procurement, she said, you know, I'm about to retire to spend more time with my grandkids and I think you'd be a great replacement. And ironically, I interviewed for the job right before the big snowstorm of 1994. So it took several weeks for me to get the official call that I had received the job.
But I began that in 1994. I was coordinator of food procurement and I was responsible for menu planning, food and supply procurement, the catering program and the USDA commodity program. I did that job for five years and then went to work as the manager of, at the time, brand new central kitchen and warehouse, the Nutrition Service Center. I was manager of that facility for 10 years, overseeing food production and warehouse, and then I became the director of nutrition services in 2009 after my predecessor retired. I have officially retired from school food service in 2021. But during that time with JCPS, I also had the privilege to serve on the nutrition committee for the school nutrition association, which is the national professional association for school nutrition professionals.
I also During 2014, 15 served as president of that organization.
How do federal policies impact school lunch programs?
And one of my responsibilities was to advocate for school meals in Washington, D.C., calling on our elected president. Senators and representatives test testifying about school meal programs before House and Senate committees and highlighting the importance of healthy school meals for kids.
And just listening to your background there, you are like the nation's expert on this stuff. You know, I mean, I listen to all of that. It's pretty amazing. Can you tell everyone, how do these school lunch programs work? Is it different for every region, different for every school? Are there standards? Like, how does it work in Jefferson County?
So there are actually a variety of programs. There's the National School Lunch Program, which provides lunch. There's the School Breakfast Program, which provides breakfasts. There's the supper program, which provides supper at schools. There's the CACFP snack program that provides snack at schools. And there's the summer food service program. These are available to school food authorities across the country. And many districts take advantage of all of those programs, just like JCPS did.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the importance of school nutrition for students?
0:06–0:42
2
How do school meal programs operate in different regions?
0:42–1:15
3
What challenges do schools face in providing healthy meals?
1:15–1:41
4
What misconceptions exist about school meals?
1:41–3:32
5
How do federal policies impact school lunch programs?
3:32–5:36
6
What benefits do students gain from healthy school meals?
5:36–7:39
7
How do local farms contribute to school meal programs?
7:39–12:51
8
What are the future challenges for school nutrition services?
12:51–29:25