Lynn Walsh

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

What’s for lunch at HISD, and who’s chewing on it?
Mon Aug 23 13:53:00 2010 CST
By Lynn Walsh

As students in the Houston Independent School District head back to class this week new items will be dished out on their school lunch trays.
An article in the Houston Chronicle Sunday detailed some of the new items students may choose for lunch:

“Among the items debuting on Houston-area school lunch menus this academic year: yams, Brussels sprouts, acorn squash, edamame and bok choy. Sushi, Cuban pork tacos and spinach salads also will be served up as some area school districts try to meet increasing pressure to offer more nutritious school lunches. Old favorites, such as chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, remain on most menus but have been overhauled to be healthier.”

The nutritional value of the food HISD serves students is not a new issue. HISD trustees regularly discuss food nutrition values at board meetings.

Trustee Anna Eastman has pushed Aramark, the food service company HISD has contracted this year for $5.8 million, to improve food nutritional values and make more food from scratch.

“You guys are looking at making your own yogurt next year, and it would be nice if we did not have the Trix yogurt anymore. Trix are for kids, but it is also sugary,” Eastman said at a board workshop meeting in May.

Earlier in the year, while an expanded breakfast program was being implemented at schools across the district, the debate over healthy food continued.

Eastman again encouraged Aramark to make more food from scratch. View her comments in the clip below.

The debate over healthy food in HISD has not been confined to board meetings and trustee conversations. Two blogs, First Class Breakfast? and The Lunch Tray weigh in on the food being served to HISD students.

First Class Breakfast? provides a history of the expanded breakfast program and pictures of what students are eating for breakfast at schools in HISD. The Lunch Tray, linked today by Off the Kuff and highlighted in the Chronicle story, looks at the nutritional value of school lunches across the country while using the Houston Independent School District as an example in many blog posts.

The debate over nutritional food options in HISD does not seem to be ceasing anytime soon. We want to know what you think. Are the new food options being offered enough?

Contact Lynn Walsh at at 713-228-2850 or lynn@texaswatchdog.org. Follow news about the Houston Independent School District on Twitter, #HISD.

A story written for the Buckeye Institute:

Food, Family, and A Search Warrant
Monday, April 20th, 2009 By Lynn Walsh

A family living in LaGrange, Ohio likes to know where the food that they eat comes from. That is why they eat all organic, all natural, and locally grown food. Little did they know that by helping their family and friends eat the food that they want they would find themselves facing possible misdemeanor charges. In December of 2008, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department went through with a search warrant delivered to them by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of the Lorain County General Health District, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Officers with guns drawn entered and secured the property while the family was held in their living room for hours. No one in the home was allowed to answer a phone call or the door.

All of this because the Department of Agriculture thinks the Stowers’ food giving organization, “The Manna Storehouse,” needs to have a retail license in order to continue operation. “Manna StoreHouse” is described by members as an organization that made it easier for them to get the healthy food they wanted to feed their family. Watch the Stowers tell their story and look for more information on this case as it develops.

A story written for the Buckeye Institute:

Police Enter Family’s Home with Guns Drawn, Stowers Part 2
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 By Lynn Walsh

A family in Lorain County faces possible charges for a third degree misdemeanor for organizing a food co-op for their family and friends. Authorities in Ohio entered their home with guns drawn to “secure the surroundings,” and confiscate all of their food.

The Sheriff’s Department says this is the typical way their police force and most others across the state handles situations in a residential neighborhood.

A story written for the Buckeye Institute:

Food Modernization Act of 2009
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 By Lynn Walsh

The Stowers case in Lorain, Ohio has raised concerns and worries for gardeners throughout the country. Why? One of the reasons involves “The Food Modernization Act of 2009.”:

A story written for the Buckeye Institute:

Where is the Food?
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 By Lynn Walsh

Last December the Stowers family had all of their food taken from them. Almost six months later they still have not got it back. The Buckeye Institute’s Maurice Thompson finally has some answers.

An article written for the Buckeye Institute:

Stowers Family Finally will get Food Back
Thursday, October 8th, 2009 By Lynn Walsh

After nearly a year of waiting the Stowers family from LaGrange, Ohio will finally have their food returned to them from Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County General Health District. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law won a court order for all of the food that was seized back in December of 2008 to be returned to the Stowers within two weeks.

According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Lorain County General Health District the food has been properly stored in freezers, therefore should still be edible. If the food is determined to not be edible the Stowers will seek compensation. The fight in court will continue later this month when the rest of the case is decided. The complete story can be viewed here.

A family living in LaGrange, Ohio likes to know where the food that they eat comes from. That is why they eat all organic, all natural, and locally grown food. Little did they know that by helping their family and friends eat the food that they want they would find themselves facing possible misdemeanor charges. In December of 2008, the Lorain County Sheriff’s Department went through with a search warrant delivered to them by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of the Lorain County General Health District, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Officers with guns drawn entered and secured the property while the family was held in their living room for hours. No one in the home was allowed to answer a phone call or the door.

The Stowers Story

All of this because the Department of Agriculture thinks the Stowers’ food giving organization, “The Manna Storehouse,” needs to have a retail license in order to continue operation. “Manna StoreHouse” is described by members as an organization that made it easier for them to get the healthy food they wanted to feed their family. Watch the Stowers tell their story and look for more information on this case as it develops.