Elin Katz, a Democratic candidate for the West Hartford Board of Education, has called for a thorough review of school nutrition policies. 

“I think there is too much emphasis on what is fast, easy or convenient.  Those things matter, of course, but nutrition should come first,” said Katz, an attorney and educator who is running for her first term on the board of education.

Katz believes that revamped food service policies should reduce the amount of processed food that is served, increase food that is fresh or freshly prepared and integrate locally grown foods as much as possible. 

“Kids learn better when they have decent, nutritious and healthy food. That’s no secret. Other school districts that have reduced the use of processed foods have also seen a reduction in disciplinary incidents,” she said.

Clare Kindall and Naogan Ma, who are running with Katz as Democrats in the fall election for the board of education, support the initiative.  Kindall, a member of the board since 2006 who is running for re-election, said, “We need to review nutrition policies every few years. There is a great deal of work that is being done in this area, and we should make sure our students get the benefit of it.”  

“This is important.  It makes a difference to each student and to every school,” said Ma, a Trinity College professor.

Katz noted that there are many free resources available from companies such as Whole Foods that have programs on school nutrition, as well as non-profits such as the Green Earth Institute.