Guatemalans Visit Owatonna to Learn About School Lunch

Owatonna school nutritional director and registered dietitian Rachel Valasano was a guest on AM 1390's Talk of the Town. She mentioned that this year for a change there were very few changes in nutritional requirements for school meals. Congress is in the midst of reauthorization in regards to school meals. Every five years Congress discusses regulations and guidelines and looks into any possible changes that are needed.

Recently the University of Minnesota Extension service reached out to the Owatonna schools and a few other districts in regards to visitors from Guatemala who wanted to learn more about the school lunch program in the United States.The group and their interpreters spent several hours eating, observing, taking pictures and asking questions. The visitors reported there is no such thing as a school lunch program in Guatemala. Food is sometimes brought in from families or even cooked outside over a pit.

The National School Lunch Act was passed by Congress in 1946, so you can see countries like Guatemala have a long ways to go to catch up.

Valasano stated that there are several openings for cooks and lunch help at some of the Owatonna schools. You can learn more by going to the Owatonna School District website.