I am a chef and a food policy guy, but I come from a whole family of teachers. My sister is a special ed teacher in Chicago. My father just retired after 25 years teaching fifth grade. My aunt and uncle were professors. My cousins all teach. Everybody in my family, basically, teaches except for me. They taught me that the only way to get the right answers is to ask the right questions. So what are the right questions when it comes to improving the educational outcomes for our children? There's obviously many important questions, but I think the following is a good place to start: What do we think the connection is between a child's growing mind and their growing body? What can we expect our kids to learn if their diets are full of sugar and empty of nutrients? What can they possibly learn if their bodies are literally going hungry? And with all the resources that we are pouring into schools, we should stop and ask ourselves: Are we really setting our kids up for success?
我係廚師 同時負責制定食品政策 我嘅屋企有好多係老師 我家姐喺芝加哥,係一個特殊教育老師 我阿爸教咗 25 年五年級,啱啱退休 我叔叔同阿姨係大學教授 我嘅堂表兄弟姊妹全部都教書 基本上,除咗我,我成家人都教書 佢哋教我知,揾到正確答案嘅唯一方法 就係問正確嘅問題 喺改善小朋友嘅教育成效方面 咩先至係正確嘅問題? 顯然有好多緊要嘅問題 但係我諗以下係一個好嘅出發點 我哋諗下, 小朋友心智嘅成長 同佢哋身體嘅成長 有咩關係 如果小朋友食嘅嘢,冇營養又多糖 我哋點期望佢哋學得好 如果佢哋好肚餓 佢哋點學到嘢 我哋畀學校 大量嘅資源嘅同時 應該停落來問下: 我哋有冇為小朋友嘅成功提供條件
Now, a few years ago, I was a judge on a cooking competition called "Chopped." Four chefs compete with mystery ingredients to see who can cook the best dishes. Except for this episode -- it was a very special one. Instead of four overzealous chefs trying to break into the limelight -- something that I would know nothing about -- (Laughter) these chefs were school chefs; you know, the women that you used to call "lunch ladies," but the ones I insist we call "school chefs." Now, these women -- God bless these women -- spend their day cooking for thousands of kids, breakfast and lunch, with only $2.68 per lunch, with only about a dollar of that actually going to the food. In this episode, the main-course mystery ingredient was quinoa. Now, I know it's been a long time since most of you have had a school lunch, and we've made a lot of progress on nutrition, but quinoa still is not a staple in most school cafeterias.
幾年前 我喺一個叫「 Chopped 」嘅 廚藝節目度做評委 四個廚師用即場提供嘅食材 睇邊個可以做出最好嘅菜 但係今次特殊啲 今次冇四個狂熱,爭先表演嘅大廚 我唔知你喺度講邊個 (笑聲) 今次係啲學校裡邊嘅廚師 既係簡稱 「廚娘」嘅師奶群體 但係我堅持稱佢哋為「校園廚師」 宜家呢啲令人尊敬嘅女人 成日為幾千個小朋友煮嘢食 早餐同午餐 每餐預算得 2.68 美金 其中食材嘅成本得 1 美金左右 節目裏邊 比赛嘅食材係藜麥 我諗大家都好耐 冇食校園餐喇 我哋喺營養學上有咗好大進步 但係藜麥喺啲校園裏邊仲唔多見
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So this was a challenge. But the dish that I will never forget was cooked by a woman named Cheryl Barbara. Cheryl was the nutrition director at High School in the Community in Connecticut. She cooked this delicious pasta. It was amazing. It was a pappardelle with Italian sausage, kale, Parmesan cheese. It was delicious, like, restaurant-quality good, except -- she basically just threw the quinoa, pretty much uncooked, into the dish. It was a strange choice, and it was super crunchy. (Laughter) So I took on the TV accusatory judge thing that you're supposed to do, and I asked her why she did that.
所以呢係個挑戰 我最記得其中一位女士做嘅菜 佢叫雪利爾.芭芭拉 雪利爾喺康康涅狄格州一個社區中學 做營養師 佢做咗一道好好味嘅意麵 好好食 係闊麵配香腸 羽衣甘藍(一種蔬菜)帕爾馬芝士 味道係高級餐廳級別不過 佢将冇煮熟嘅藜麥 直接放喺啲面上邊 呢個選擇好奇怪 口感好脆 (笑聲) 於是乎我做個扮嘢評委 問佢點解咁做
Cheryl responded, "Well, first, I don't know what quinoa is." (Laughter) "But I do know that it's a Monday, and that in my school, at High School in the Community, I always cook pasta."
雪利爾話︰「呃,第一, 我唔知咩係藜麥。」 (笑聲) 「不過我知道今日係星期一。 喺我返工嘅社區中學度, 我成日都煮意麵。」
See, Cheryl explained that for many of her kids, there were no meals on the weekends. No meals on Saturday. No meals on Sunday, either. So she cooked pasta because she wanted to make sure she cooked something she knew her children would eat. Something that would stick to their ribs, she said. Something that would fill them up. Cheryl talked about how, by the time Monday came, her kids' hunger pangs were so intense that they couldn't even begin to think about learning. Food was the only thing on their mind. The only thing. And unfortunately, the stats -- they tell the same story.
雪利爾話佢學校好多细蚊仔 週末冇嘢食 即係,周六冇嘢食 周日亦冇嘢食 佢星期一煮意麵 因爲啲細蚊仔肯定食 佢話意麵頂肚 食完咁飽 雪利爾話,到咗星期一 佢啲細路肚餓到 唔會去諗學嘢 只會諗住 食嘢 好唔好彩,統計數據帶出同樣嘅故事
So, let's put this into the context of a child.
我哋就講一個細蚊仔
And we're going to focus on the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Meet Allison. She's 12 years old, she's smart as a whip and she wants to be a physicist when she grows up. If Allison goes to a school that serves a nutritious breakfast to all of their kids, here's what's going to follow. Her chances of getting a nutritious meal, one with fruit and milk, one lower in sugar and salt, dramatically increase. Allison will have a lower rate of obesity than the average kid. She'll have to visit the nurse less. She'll have lower levels of anxiety and depression. She'll have better behavior. She'll have better attendance, and she'll show up on time more often. Why? Well, because there's a good meal waiting for her at school. Overall, Allison is in much better health than the average school kid.
就講一日裡邊 最重要嘅一餐︰早餐 呢個係艾莉森 佢 12 歲 好聰明 大個咗想做物理學家 如果艾莉森去一間為全部細蚊仔 提供營養早餐嘅學校 以下事情會發生 佢食到營養餐 即係有水果同牛奶、低糖低鹽 嘅機率大咗好多 艾立森比一般嘅細紋仔冇咁容易肥 會冇咁經常去睇醫生 患焦慮症同抑鬱症嘅機率會細啲 佢會有良好嘅行為 會更經常更準時咁返學 點解? 因為學校有一餐飯等住佢 咁樣,艾立森會有比一般細紋仔 更好嘅健康狀況
So what about that kid who doesn't have a nutritious breakfast waiting for him? Well, meet Tommy. He's also 12. He's a wonderful kid. He wants to be a doctor. By the time Tommy is in kindergarten, he's already underperforming in math. By the time he's in third grade, he's got lower math and reading scores. By the time he's 11, it's more likely that Tommy will have to have repeated a grade. Research shows that kids who do not have consistent nourishment, particularly at breakfast, have poor cognitive function overall.
咁個啲冇營養早餐食 嘅細紋仔會點呢 呢個係湯米 亦係 12 歲,佢好乖 佢想做醫生 湯米仲喺幼稚園時 佢嘅數學已經唔得喇 喺三年級時 數學和閱讀都係低分 喺佢 11 歲時 湯米睇怕要留級 研究發現,如果細紋仔營養唔夠 特别係早餐 咁佢學嘢會好難學得好
So how widespread is this problem? Well, unfortunately, it's pervasive. Let me give you two stats that seem like they're on opposite ends of the issue, but are actually two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, one in six Americans are food insecure, including 16 million children -- almost 20 percent -- are food insecure. In this city alone, in New York City, 474,000 kids under the age of 18 face hunger every year. It's crazy. On the other hand, diet and nutrition is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in this country, by far. And fully a third of the kids that we've been talking about tonight are on track to have diabetes in their lifetime. Now, what's hard to put together but is true is that, many times, these are the same children. So they fill up on the unhealthy and cheap calories that surround them in their communities and that their families can afford. But then by the end of the month, food stamps run out or hours get cut at work, and they don't have the money to cover the basic cost of food.
呢個問題有幾廣泛呢? 好唔好彩,係非常之普遍 我畀你兩個 看似相互矛盾 但實際上冇矛盾嘅數據 一方面 六分之一嘅美國人冇三餐温飽 包括一千六百萬嘅兒童,即 20% 國民 冇糧食安全 喺紐約 每年有近 50 萬個 18 歲以下 嘅細路面臨飢餓 真係冇辦法想像 另一方面喺美國 可預防死亡同疾病嘅首要原因 係飲食同營養不當 我哋今晚講嘅細紋仔 有 1/3 會糖尿病 兩件事一齊講,就係話 呢啲食得唔健康 食廉價同唔健康卡路里嘅細紋仔 以後最容易得病 到咗月尾 食物券用曬或者父母嘅工時被減 佢哋冇錢買基本嘅食物
But we should be able to solve this problem, right? We know what the answers are. As part of my work at the White House, we instituted a program that for all schools that had 40 percent more low-income kids, we could serve breakfast and lunch to every kid in that school. For free.
但係我哋應该點解決呢啲問題? 我哋知道答案 我喺白宮時,開展咗個項目 任何有超過 40% 嘅細紋仔 係來自低收入家庭嘅學校 全部細紋仔都食到 免費嘅早餐和午餐
This program has been incredibly successful, because it helped us overcome a very difficult barrier when it came to getting kids a nutritious breakfast. And that was the barrier of stigma. See, schools serve breakfast before school, and it was only available for the poor kids. So everybody knew who was poor and who needed government help. Now, all kids, no matter how much or how little their parents make, have a lot of pride. So what happened? Well, the schools that have implemented this program saw an increase in math and reading scores by 17.5 percent. 17.5 percent. And research shows that when kids have a consistent, nutritious breakfast, their chances of graduating increase by 20 percent. 20 percent. When we give our kids the nourishment they need, we give them the chance to thrive, both in the classroom and beyond.
呢個項目成功到超乎想像 佢克服咗一個 提供營養早餐時嘅大阻礙 嗰個阻礙就係耻辱同自尊嘅問題 以前學校只對 窮細紋仔提供早餐 你睇到邊個食免費早餐,就知道邊個窮 宜家,全部嘅細紋仔,有冇錢都好 都可以保持自尊 然後發生咩? 啲學校實行咗呢個計劃之後 學生嘅數學同閱讀成績 提高 17.5% 17.5% 研究顯示,如果細紋仔持續有營養早餐 佢哋畢業率會提升 20% 20% 細紋仔吸收到必需嘅營養 就等於 有好好成長嘅機會
Now, you don't have to trust me on this, but you should talk to Donna Martin. I love Donna Martin. Donna Martin is the school nutrition director at Burke County in Waynesboro, Georgia. Burke County is one of the poorest districts in the fifth-poorest state in the country, and about 100 percent of Donna's students live at or below the poverty line. A few years ago, Donna decided to get out ahead of the new standards that were coming, and overhaul her nutrition standards. She improved and added fruit and vegetables and whole grains. She served breakfast in the classroom to all of her kids. And she implemented a dinner program. Why? Well, many of her kids didn't have dinner when they went home.
你哋唔使信我 問下唐娜.馬丁就得喇 唐娜.馬丁好勁嘅 唐娜.馬丁係伯克縣 佐治亞州韋恩斯伯勒 嘅學區營養總監 伯克縣係其中一個最窮嘅地方 而佐治亞州係全国第五窮州 唐娜嘅學生幾乎都 喺貧困線以下 幾年前 唐娜決定提早修訂 同推廣新嘅營養標準 仲加咗水果、蔬菜,同全麥食品 佢為全部細紋仔提供早餐 仲有晚餐 點解? 好多細紋仔喺屋企冇晚餐食
So how did they respond? Well, the kids loved the food. They loved the better nutrition, and they loved not being hungry. But Donna's biggest supporter came from an unexpected place. His name from Eric Parker, and he was the head football coach for the Burke County Bears. Now, Coach Parker had coached mediocre teams for years. The Bears often ended in the middle of the pack -- a big disappointment in one of the most passionate football states in the Union. But the year Donna changed the menus, the Bears not only won their division, they went on to win the state championship, beating the Peach County Trojans 28-14.
呢個項目有乜效果 啲細紋仔好鍾意食嘢 佢哋鍾意更好嘅營養 佢地好鍾意唔使挨餓 出乎大家嘅意料,唐娜最大嘅支持者 叫埃里克.帕克 佢就係伯克縣小熊隊嘅足球教練 以前,小熊隊麻麻地 成日都中挻位置 對一個對美式足球狂熱嘅州嘅人嚟講 好令人失望 喺唐娜改革咗營養餐之後 小熊隊不但止赢咗小組賽 仲攞埋州冠軍 打敗咗桃子縣嘅勇士隊 28 比 14
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
And Coach Parker, he credited that championship to Donna Martin.
帕克教練話 呢個歸功於唐娜.馬丁
When we give our kids the basic nourishment, they're going to thrive. And it's not just up to the Cheryl Barbaras and the Donna Martins of the world. It's on all of us. And feeding our kids the basic nutrition is just the starting point. What I've laid out is really a model for so many of the most pressing issues that we face. If we focus on the simple goal of properly nourishing ourselves, we could see a world that is more stable and secure; we could dramatically improve our economic productivity; we could transform our health care and we could go a long way in ensuring that the Earth can provide for generations to come. Food is that place where our collective efforts can have the greatest impact.
我哋畀細紋仔基本嘅營養時 佢哋會成功 我哋唔可以淨係靠雪利爾.芭芭拉 同唐娜.馬丁佢哋 要靠我哋全部人 畀細紋仔基本嘅營養只係個開始 我所講嘅只係解決好多 緊急嘅問題嘅模式 如果我哋注意畀自己恰當嘅飲食 我哋會有一個更加安全、可靠嘅社會 我哋可以大大咁提高經濟生產 可以改善醫療系統 同持續發展 確保地球可以為後代提供足夠資源 喺食物領域,我哋微小嘅努力 可以有好大嘅影響
So we have to ask ourselves: What is the right question? What would happen if we fed ourselves more nutritious, more sustainably grown food? What would be the impact? Cheryl Barbara, Donna Martin, Coach Parker and the Burke County Bears -- I think they know the answer.
所以我哋要問︰咩係正確問題 如果我哋食更加營養、更加可持續嘅食物 會發生咩? 有咩影響? 雪利爾.芭芭拉 唐娜.馬丁 帕克教練同伯克縣小熊隊 我諗佢哋知道答案
Thank you guys so very much.
多謝大家
(Applause)
(鼓掌)