[May 30, 2014] There has been criticism of the Federal School Lunch Program. A number of experts and pundits rightly pointed out the hasty and ill-conceived program rollout. The faults were outlined in an article I wrote earlier (link here). Yet, today some good news for the program. The First Lady wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times (link here).
She is providing much-needed leadership by articulating arguments for the program’s continuation – she claims its existence is in jeopardy for political reasons. The program, she notes, is designed to provide healthy food choices for all children in schools. No one can deny the necessity of getting children and teenagers to eat higher quality foods. There is a long list of medical reasons for doing so.
We can only hope this opinion piece does some good. There will be some who criticize her and the opinion article she wrote. I predict we will read about them today. One reason she will be criticized is because she blames the House of Representatives as the main obstacle. This was an unnecessary shot at the Republican political party. There is a lesson here; don’t criticize those people you want and need on your side as an ally. I noted earlier that a characteristic of senior leaders is their ability to create partnerships, not alienate them.
Creating partnerships has little downside to it. An opportunity may be lost if they are not pursued and the future of a program can be at risk if those partnerships are not maintained.
Good luck to the First Lady and the Federal School Lunch Program. It needed this “shot in the arm.” Let’s not forget however that success will depend upon great leadership and establishing the right partnerships.
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