Program finds eating healthier helps students focus

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Eating healthier food not only helps the body, but the brain.

Students at the Alternative Education Center at Sorter School are calmer and more focused now that they are eating the right food, said Lynn Todman, a research affiliate in the department of urban studies and planning with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She coordinated an eight-week program that started April 13 in which students are served a breakfast and lunch each school day that is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical to brain health. Omega-3 can be found naturally in salmon, flax seed and walnuts.

She said teachers told her they have started to see a difference.

"One teacher said he noticed aggression levels go down three weeks into the program, and it's making his job easier," she said.

Todman said American diets tend to be heavy in omega-6 fatty acids, which are found in corn oil. It's not that omega-6 fatty acids are bad, but she said there needs to be a balance.

What do the students think of the food?

"It's excellent," said eighth grader Ja'Quon Evans. "It makes me feel better in class because I have more energy."

He said he used to fall asleep a lot in class before the program.

"I do my work more when I have healthier food," he said.

Although he said he's not so sure about the wheat berry salad.

"It's OK," he said. "I would eat it again if I was hungry."

Brenda Matthews, the school's administrative assistant, said students weren't eating the school lunches before the program started. She said they would regularly walk in the door with Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

Now, she said she sees a lot less of that and the children appear to be less agitated.

Sorter Director Wil Bledsoe said suspensions have dropped since the food program began.

"We see a new calm in them now," he said during a recent meeting with the Benton Harbor school board. "I understand how important nutrition is and how connected with behavior, and through this program, it's been demonstrated."

Todman said it has been a coordinated effort.

"It's not just healthy food that we're giving them," she said. "We had biochemists figure out what they should be eating and (synchronized) it with USDA requirements."