Even in schools where all children are still lucky enough to get some food education, the lessons are often immediately contradicted when they enter the cafeteria for lunch.  When students are offered  an array of sugary drinks, cookies the size of their heads, and nachos as a main meal, it’s all too easy to forget the nutrition lessons they had just been taught that advise keeping junk food intake to a minimum. Whatever happened to practice what you preach?

The lack of food education and cooking instruction leaves our children more vulnerable to the 24/7 onslaught of junk food marketing targeted at kids as young as two years old. Not surprisingly, a 2011 study found that while 76 percent of obese teens report that they are trying to lose weight, their actions show that they likely lack the proper information on how to eat healthfully and slim down.

As a mother, a food reformer, and a graduate of a public school home economics program that instilled in me a lifelong love of real food, I appeal to the nation’s school boards, education departments, and legislators to pass policies that will bring food education back to our schools.  The U.S., which ranks last among 20 surveyed nations in terms of time spent in the kitchen cooking, has adopted one of the unhealthiest food lifestyles on the planet.

It’s time to teach our children in school classrooms about the bounty of nutritious foods – vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and meats — that have sustained humanity for a millennium. We must educate them how to shop wisely, read labels and cook simple but delicious meals from scratch. Food literacy lessons should be built into other core subjects like math, science and social studies. Cooking classes should be required for every student. And by all means, we must make sure that what is being served and sold in our school cafeterias and classrooms model the nutrition lessons being taught.

On Food Day this year (October 24), I encourage every household to cook a fresh, healthy family meal at home or use the day to teach a child how to cook. I would also urge parents to reach out to local and state policymakers and demand that food education be brought back into America’s schools. Continuing to ignore this important topic in our nation’s classrooms is done solely at the expense of our children’s health and longevity.

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Photo: Kids cooking by Shutterstock