by Justin Crum

Here are a few things that we’ve been reading around the office recently. Are there any stories you’d like to share? Leave a link in the comments!

The USDA projects free and reduced price lunches to reach a 41-year high for the 2009–10 school year, McClatchy reports.

Daily Dish, the LA Times food blog, writes about Food Bank partner Whole Foods and the “Renegade Lunch Lady” teaming up to help improve the quality of school lunches. 

In the New York Times Magazine, David Leonhart discusses the policy implications of approaching obesity as a serious health risk like smoking. While we certainly don’t condone any form of employment discrimination — one rather extreme example — the article provides an outline for how to reshape the fight against obesity. 

In an NPR story about migrant children’s health in China, they explore healthy eating in schools as a tool to better not only physical health, but also school performance.