National parks to offer healthier food under new standards

[alp227]

Source: Washington Post

The consumption of rubbery hot dogs and cellophane-wrapped sandwiches of indeterminate age is a time-honored rite of passage for generations of families making the trek to national parks around the country.

But the National Park Service is determined that the American experience now include the option of free-range chicken breast with sweet potato cake and fennel salad, or cumin-scented rockfish tacos, maybe topped off with a locally grown berry yogurt parfait, all washed down with shade-grown coffee picked by workers whose rights have been protected under fair-trade agreements.

The park service last week introduced new food standards that will eventually require concessionaires at all national parks, from the Statue of Liberty to Denali, to offer healthy food options, including fruits and vegetables, low-sodium and low-fat meals, reduced portion sizes, and non-sugary drinks.

The initiative also includes guidelines encouraging concessionaires to use local, sustainable foods when possible, including seafood certified as sustainable, meat without hormones and antibiotics, and coffee harvested using worker-friendly standards.

The effort, part of first lady Michelle Obama’s healthy diet initiative, is based on the premise that a family journey to Yellowstone, Yosemite or the Grand Canyon should not compromise one’s nutritional well-being.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/national-parks-to-offer-healthier-food-under-new-standards/2013/06/09/64d9cd44-cd8a-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_singlePage.html

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I KNEW IT! Michelle Obama really was going to take away our hot dogs and sodas! If the national parks weren't enough what's next, our own homes?

[JI7]

1. those sound good, i usually use times like this to eat whatever junk i want

while i try to eat better in my usual working days . but the below sounds good and i might get it instead of the junk just because it sounds more tasty.

"chicken breast with sweet potato cake and fennel salad, or cumin-scented rockfish tacos"

[ForgoTheConsequence]

2. Meh.

I always bring a sack lunch or snack. I'm cheap like that.

[petronius]

7. Me too - not just cheap, but I begrudge the time. I don't want to stand in

a line, in a building, surrounded by people, when I could be far away and alone in the wilderness. But I applaud the Park Service for improving options for those who do want to experience the parks in a more constructed way...

[liberal N proud]

3. Prior to 1995, National Park food was pretty good

We used to make a trek to Yellowstone every other year. About 1992, they privatized the proprietors in the national parks and we noticed two things.

1. The food sucked
2. Getting a room or cabin was nearly impossible because they booked groups first.

[RobinA]

4. What Freakin' Food????

I just spent two weeks touring 6 National Parks in northern Arizona and southern Utah. One (1) had food (Zion), one had food that wasn't open in the middle of the day (Bryce), and the rest had exactly nothing. On edit, Grand Canyon did have limited food away from the village, but nothing that would sustain a hike of a couple miles. As we weren't in a camper and these parks are miles from anywhere, it was a major problem for me and definitely affected my enjoyment of the parks. As someone who cannot go from breakfast to dinner, while hiking a couple of miles, with no real food, this was a problem. You can carry some food, but not really anything that is going to sustain an active day. Energy bars have their limits, rental cars don't come with refrigeration, so carry options are limited. Back in the day... Don't get be started.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Check the maps, call ahead.

Has to be a pretty big, staffed site to have food.

I prefer to roll my own, but to each his own. Can't carry everything with you.

[loli phabay]

8. buy some mre's that should be more than enough to keep you going

[RobinA]

10. I Will Check

this out.

[yellowcanine]

5. Some National Parks should be a good venues for a Road Kill Cafe.

Gotta be some good eatin' on the roads in a place like Yellowstone.

[uh clem]

9. It should be noted....

...that food service in National Parks is provided by private contractors. Otherwise it would appear to some that this is another example of poor performance by another government bureaucracy. I don't know what parks this writer has visited, but I don't recall the food being that bad in parks I've visited.