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EDUCATION
March 10 -16, 2016 » Page 17 A
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DeKalb nutrition official lobbies for schools
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
C onsidering the
numbers, it may
seem easy to
determine the
importance of school
nutrition in DeKalb County.
The DeKalb County
School District is
responsible for providing
73,500 lunches and
26,300 breakfasts per day,
according to its website.
These 99,800 daily meals
eventually equal 18 million
per school year. As of
2015, the district sets
aside approximately $50
million for school nutrition,
covering costs ranging from
healthy meals to proper
equipment.
According to Joyce
Wimberly, DeKalb
County School District’s
executive director of school
nutrition services, with
the increase in meal and
health standards, this is not
enough.
From Feb. 28 to
March 1, Wimberly
joined hundreds of other
nutrition directors in
Washington D.C. for the
44th annual Legislative
Action Conference hosted
by the School Nutrition
Association (SNA), a
nonprofit organization
representing 56,000 school
districts throughout the
country.
For three days,
Wimberly joined the
Georgia SNA, which
represents 6,000 nutrition
officials across the
Peachtree State.
“[Attending the
conference] gives me an
opportunity to network
with other districts and
directors,” Wimberly said.
“It gives me opportunities
to discuss the challenges
school districts are having
in terms of funding.”
According to a
news release from the
organization, SNA’s
main goal in hosting
the conference is to
lobby the Child Nutrition
Reauthorization bill. The
bill would see federal
investment in school
meals and help provide
‘Any product with a greater
nutritional value comes with
a higher cost.'
- Joyce Wimberly
DeKalb County School District’s executive
director of school nutrition services, Joyce
Wimberly
healthier menus to students
statewide.
Wimberly said the
conference would help
her seek aid in covering
ever-rising nutrition costs
in DeKalb schools. Many
of the increases in costs
come from updated
nutrition standards from
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA). These
include not only a fruit and
vegetable requirement per
meal, but also whole wheat
requirements.
By the end of the 2016
fiscal year, SNA estimates
this will cost school districts
a combined $3 billion in
food and labor costs.
The executive director
said these whole grain
requirements are difficult
to implement on a financial
level as well as the student
enjoyment level.
“Any product with a
greater nutritional value
comes with a higher
cost,” Wimberly said.
“We’re having difficulty
finding products that are
acceptable. Whole grain
crusts on pizza are OK,
but in Georgia, whole grain
grits are not us.”
The area that
concerns DeKalb County
the most, according to
Wimberly, is per-meal
reimbursement. The school
nutrition director said
the Reauthorization bill
would allow DeKalb to be
reimbursed 35 cents per
meal for lunch and 10 cents
per meal for breakfast.
If the county website’s
statistics are correct, these
proposals would reimburse
Wimberly attended the 44th annual Legislative Action Conference, hosted by the School Nutrition As
sociation (SNA), in Washington D.C.
the district over $5 million
per year.
Wimberly and
other members of the
Georgia SNA scheduled
appointments with
such officials as U.S.
Representatives Buddy
Carter (R-GA 1st District),
Lynn Westmoreland (R-
GA 3rd District), Austin
Scott (R-GA 8th District),
Jody Hice (R-GA 10th
District), Rick Allen (R-GA
12th District), David Scott
(D-GA 13th District) and
Tom Graves (R-GA 14th
District).
“I’m looking forward
to telling our local
representatives about
the healthy changes in
our cafeterias, and how
we need their support to
sustain this progress,”
Wimberly said. “I’m also
looking forward to telling
the numbers of students we
serve (102,000) and some
of the challenges we’re
having.”
Wimberly said the best-
case scenario for her and
other members of SNA
would be an adoption of the
reauthorization bill. If the
bill does not pass, however,
she said the county would
seek all avenues to ensure
students receive the best
nutrition possible.
“We will do what we
normally do in DeKalb
and continue to apply for
different grants,” Wimberly
said. “We will form
partnerships with different
groups and continue to
work with our district to
get funding from different
areas.”
The school nutrition
director said healthy meals
stand as the foundation for
a good education.
“The whole idea
behind getting a good
education is to be a well-
nourished child,” Wimberly
said. “It helps when
receiving instruction, class
participation, test taking
and being an overall good
student.”
For more information
on DeKalb County’s School
Nutrition Services, visit
www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/
www/school-nutrition.