I’m giving the opening keynote at the Maine Grain Alliance’s 2025 Kneading Conference, which culimiantes in the Maine Artisan Bread Fair on July 26. My talk is at 8:30 a.m. at the Strand Cinema in Skowhegan, Maine. I’m really looking forward to this one.
USDA commodities in school meals
Oh dear. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has just released a summary of a new report on the use of USDA surplus commodity foods in school meals, mainly in California. The major findings? More than half the commodity foods are processed before they get to the schools and that means added fat, sugar, or salt (example: chicken to nuggets). More than 80% of funds for commodities are used for meat and cheese; only 13% is spent on fruits and vegetables. There is so little correlation between foods recommended by the USDA pyramid and those purchased by schools that the report displays a nifty side-by-side illustration of a commodities pyramid next to a USDA pyramid (the useful old one). It is an almost perfect inverse. The complete report has lots more good stuff in it. High marks to the groups that collaborated on this one, the California Food Policy Advocates and Samuels & Associates.