Leah, age 13, from Girl Scouts of the Chicago, Illinois council, has been described as an "ace Girl Scout cookie seller." She sold 1,510 boxes during the last cookie sale. She is an eighth grader at Francis W. Parker Middle School.
CFK: Why did you volunteer for this interview?
L: It is a very under-represented issue. I don't think there is enough information out there that we have access to as girls. There are medical studies, but no one wants to read a long medical study about teenage health.
CFK: What did you eat for lunch today? What did you notice other kids eating?
L: I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grapes, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookie. Most kids eat pizza. The school serves pizza every day. We have a salad bar. Some kids buy chips for lunch.
CFK: Private schools do not have to come up with wellness policies. Do you think your private school could benefit by being asked to come up with its own wellness policy? Why?
L: Absolutely. Too many people in my school do nothing to help themselves be healthy. Their lives are controlled by them, no one else, and they should realize that they need to take control of their lifestyles in order to ensure they live long and happy lives. We spend so much of our time in schools that I feel they are a major influence on our lives. Our parents can only teach us so much, we need to be exposed to information outside of our immediate family, and school should be the first place that happens.
CFK: How can schools engage students more to get their ideas about getting students to eat well and exercise more?
L: A lot of the times, just letting kids know that their opinion is valued does a lot. Having meetings to let kids know about wellness policies, clubs they can join and opportunities to voice their opinions. If someone told me that the school would actually listen to what came out of the meeting and would take our suggestions into consideration, then I would definitely go.
CFK: What kinds of meals are healthy and tasty? What kinds of meals are healthy, but gross tasting?
L: I like almost all different kinds of food: ethnic food, pasta, pizza, salads. At school, I like something that I can pick up and eat quickly because I usually don't have very long for lunch. A good sandwich or wrap would be the perfect thing. Things like plain vegetables or tofu are not very appealing to kids. They can be delicious, but the cafeteria needs to make hundreds of servings and usually the veggies are so unappetizing-looking that no one goes near them. Also, soy in general sounds bad to kids. It may be really healthy but in general, when we hear something like soy, tofu, GrapeNuts etc. we are immediately turned off.
CFK: How can schools make lessons about reading nutritional labels and recommended calorie intake interesting?
L: I think that it is all about making things relevant to our lives. I recently had an English class where we compared Shakespeare's Macbeth to lyrics from our favorite popular songs. If school could make nutrition relevant to us and our lifestyles, with hands-on activities and real discussions, then I think we would enjoy it much more.
CFK: Why do you think your school does not offer a health class to cover topics like nutrition and physical activity?
L: I think that (my) school thinks that we do not need to care about our health until we get into high school. That should not be the case. We are at a very important age where the things we do can affect our health for our whole lives, and school should take that into consideration.
CFK: Do you think your school has a responsibility to you and your classmates to ensure that you eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and learn about leading a healthy life? Why?
L: Our school feels that it is responsible for teaching us math, Spanish and science, so why not health? They are trying to better our minds, why not our bodies? We cannot learn if we are not healthy people so I think that school should pay more attention to our health.
CFK: What have the Girl Scouts taught you about those topics?
L: I have earned numerous badges relating to eating right and exercising through Girl Scouts. My troop always makes it a point to discuss whatever issues in our lives we want to talk about. I feel so lucky that I have a place where I can talk safely about whatever I need to talk about, and I can get advice from my leader and other girls in my troop. We recently had a whole weekend devoted to our well-being. We cooked healthy delicious food, did yoga, talked about self-esteem and media messaging, and had fun.
CFK: Girl Scout cookies are your most well-known fundraiser, but they fit most people's definition of junk food. Would you want your school to ban the sale of Girl Scout cookies?
L: That (not being able to sell cookies on campus) would not be good because I just wouldn't sell as many Girl Scout cookies. I could still sell them outside of school to the same people (who would have bought them on campus).
CFK: During the school day, your school already regulates what you can wear, what you can learn, where you can go, etc. How much can the schools regulate what you eat?
L: I think that our school can regulate what we eat to a certain extent. After awhile, we will just find other ways to get the food we want, but if the school were to slowly start changing our cafeteria toward more healthy options we might be more receptive.
Sara is a junior at Southern New Jersey Academy of Performing Arts (SNJAPA) in Deptford, N.J. where she dances and takes part in Girl Scouts of the USA activities. Her council is planning to introduce some new Healthy Living activities later this year.
CFK: So this is what the wellness policy mandate is:
The federally mandated Local School Wellness Policy gives schools an opportunity to create a healthy school environment for students to learn in. The legislation requires the development of the local policies by all school districts with federally-funded school meal programs (most schools offer federally-funded meals). Each district is charged with forming a committee, drafting a wellness policy, and implementing the policy by the start of the 2006-2007 school year. Policies are to include:
1. Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness. 2. Nutrition guidelines for all foods available on campus during the school day with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity. 3. Assurance that guidelines for school meals provided under the federal reimbursement program will, at a minimum, meet regulations and guidance issues by the Secretary of Agriculture. 4. A plan for measuring the impact and implementation of the policy. 5. Involvement from parents, students, and representatives of the school authority, school board, school administrators, and the public, in development of the policy.
Do you think your school could benefit by being asked to come up with its own wellness policy? Why?
S: Yes. I think our school can benefit by coming up with its own wellness policy. The number of obese students in my school as well as in America is growing rapidly. For the most part, I would say my school serves healthy food. If there was more healthy food being served, I think more students would eat healthy.
CFK: How can schools engage students more to get their ideas about getting the students to eat well How can they better teach to improve their eating habits?
S: Schools should place ballots in the cafeteria. Students can select the food they would prefer to eat. One way to make kids enjoy learning about healthy eating would be to keep track of everything they eat for a week. At the end of the week the teacher will help students tally the number of calories, vitamins, etc in all the food they ate. The students can then try to eat healthier the next week.
CFK: Do you think your school has a responsibility to you and your classmates to ensure that you eat nutritious food, exercise regularly, and learn about leading a healthy life? Why?
S: I think your school shares the responsibility with your parents to teach healthy habits. Between health class and P.E. all students learn healthy habits. It is then put in the parent's hands to enforce these healthy habits.
CFK: What have the Girl Scouts taught you about those topics?
S: In Girl Scouts, you can learn about these topics when you earn a select group of badges or attend special workshops.
CFK: During the school day, your school already regulates what you can wear, what you can learn, where you can go, etc. How much can the schools regulate what you eat? Is it effective to ban unhealthy food options? Why or why not?
S: Schools should not be allowed to ban unhealthy food altogether. They can't limit what a student eats for lunch, but school staff can urge students to purchase healthier lunches
CFK: Do you think your school would lose money by not selling popular but non-nutritious items like soda, candy, and fried foods? Is a ban worth it, if kids can just go out and buy junk food when they leave school?
S: I don't think school would loose money by banning unhealthy foods. All kids need to eat and they will always find something they like.
CFK: How would you feel if your school district banned the sale of Girl Scout cookies on campus because some might say that they are junk food?
S: It would not bother me because not that many girls sell Girl Scout cookies through school.
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