Making a Difference in School Cafeterias

Making a Difference in School Cafeterias

Amy Johnson is the American Diabetes Association’s 2010 National Youth Advocate. A recent high school graduate, Amy is looking forward to starting her freshmen year at the University of Missouri – Kansas City in the fall.  But as she looks back her high school career, one of the things she’s most proud about leaving behind, is the change she made in her school district’s cafeterias. 

Amy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 14 years old.   “When I started at my school, I realized I wouldn’t be packing my own lunches anymore,” says Amy.  But since her school did not provide nutrition labels in the cafeteria, it was nearly impossible for Amy to accurately calculate the carb count in her lunch.  “As a person who has to count every gram of carbohydrate, guessing the carb counts of food is something I want to keep to a minimum.” 

So an idea was born.  “I thought, if restaurants in New York City are required to have nutritional information available, why shouldn’t school cafeterias?” says Amy.

At first, Amy was nervous.  “I wasn’t confident in my power to create change within the school so I wasn’t reaching as far as I could in the beginning to get the ball rolling,” she says.  “But I finally met with the principal. He was so supportive and I realized he believed in me more than I believed in myself.  This got me motivated to get out there and try as hard as I could to make menu labels available at my school.”

The principal connected Amy with the district food service manager and they’ve been working together since.  Though diabetes played a big part in getting this project started, Amy says it goes beyond her own needs. 

“An informed person is an empowered person, and with more and more kids who are overweight or obese, I think it’s important for all of us – teachers and students to have the opportunity to make healthful choices.”  Amy may not have been able to prevent her diabetes, but she wants to do what she can to prevent it for others.

Currently, the district is calculating the nutritional value of all the food it serves so it can be viewed by all.  Amy has also recorded a few video clips to be aired throughout elementary and middle schools in her school district.  “They’re quick snippets of information with tips on making healthy food choices as well as the importance of exercise for the younger kids,” says Amy.

What started out to be just an idea, has turned into a district-wide wellness initiative. 

In her downtime between graduation and the start of her freshman year, Amy will be busy in her role as the Association’s National Youth Advocate.  She attended the American Diabetes Association’s 70^th Annual Scientific Sessions as well as the Children with Diabetes’ Friends for Life Conference and will be traveling to several Diabetes Camps. 

Her summer is jam-packed, but Amy is looking forward to it.  “I can’t wait to visit Diabetes Camps, talk to others living with type 1 diabetes and share my story with them.  I hope I can get them fired up to become a diabetes advocate and join the movement to Stop Diabetes!”

Follow Amy Johnson’s blog as the National Youth Advocate at diabetes.org/planetd.