AS USUAL, the Virginia Film Festival has come and gone with only one possible complaint: It was physically impossible to make all of its features, and although this annual proceeding brought certain disappointments, it also provided a number of pleasant surprises. One in particular was the thought-provoking "Cafeteria Man," a documentary about an innovative chef's efforts to revolutionize the Baltimore public schools' food system, which had been serving tasteless, unhealthy meals to 83,000 students. The film presents the possibility of changing the lousy eating conditions which many students accept as an unavoidable part of the public school system, and offers lessons that can be applied on the University level, as well.
In the film, professional chef Tony Geraci quickly identified the Baltimore school system's primary dining problem: Too much of the food was processed, pre-plated and shipped in from several states away. Geraci undertook the effort to "green" the school system's lunches, introducing "school vegetable gardens, student-designed meals, meatless Monday's and nutrition education in the classroom," according to the Cafeteria Man website. His approach addressed not only the menus, but also a number of the problems that plague the inner-city students of Baltimore.
First, students who grow up in impoverished conditions often have little knowledge of what constitutes nutritious food and less of an incentive to go get it. There does not seem to be much point in choosing fruit over McDonald's if, at first glance, eating healthy food appears to be more costly for no apparent benefit. Seeing young children in the movie eat and actually enjoy locally-grown radishes, however, was certainly telling. It spoke volumes about the potential of quality, non-processed food, which is often cheaper for the schools than the mass-produced, unhealthy garbage that had been the schools' bread and butter.
Second, students who are well-fed tend to display better behavior and achieve higher performance on tests. Grade school students who cannot afford to have breakfast at home have a harder time focusing in the mornings, turning teachers into disciplinarians. As many of you probably heard when you were being barraged by SAT prep advice, a proper meal tends to give one higher test scores. One can imagine that any added advantages help in Baltimore a great deal.
Furthermore, students who plan and prepare their own meals are gaining a sort of independence by exploring food outside of the pre-packaged, microwave-ready variety. This might sound dramatic, but the satisfaction gained by putting together a nutritious meal for oneself, a friend or family
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