Want kids to learn well? Feed them well | Sam Kass

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

Translator: Jian He Reviewer: Sylvia He

I am a chef

我係廚師

and a food policy guy,

同時負責制定食品政策

but I come from a whole family of teachers.

我嘅屋企有好多係老師

My sister is a special ed teacher in Chicago.

我家姐喺芝加哥，係一個特殊教育老師

My father just retired after 25 years teaching fifth grade.

我阿爸教咗 25 年五年級，啱啱退休

My aunt and uncle were professors.

我叔叔同阿姨係大學教授

My cousins all teach.

我嘅堂表兄弟姊妹全部都教書

Everybody in my family, basically, teaches except for me.

基本上，除咗我，我成家人都教書

They taught me that the only way to get the right answers

佢哋教我知，揾到正確答案嘅唯一方法

is to ask the right questions.

就係問正確嘅問題

So what are the right questions

喺改善小朋友嘅教育成效方面

when it comes to improving the educational outcomes for our children?

咩先至係正確嘅問題？

There's obviously many important questions,

顯然有好多緊要嘅問題

but I think the following is a good place to start:

但係我諗以下係一個好嘅出發點

What do we think the connection is

我哋諗下， 小朋友心智嘅成長

between a child's growing mind

同佢哋身體嘅成長

and their growing body?

有咩關係

What can we expect our kids to learn

如果小朋友食嘅嘢，冇營養又多糖

if their diets are full of sugar and empty of nutrients?

我哋點期望佢哋學得好

What can they possibly learn

如果佢哋好肚餓

if their bodies are literally going hungry?

佢哋點學到嘢

And with all the resources that we are pouring into schools,

我哋畀學校 大量嘅資源嘅同時

we should stop and ask ourselves:

應該停落來問下：

Are we really setting our kids up for success?

我哋有冇為小朋友嘅成功提供條件

Now, a few years ago,

幾年前

I was a judge on a cooking competition called "Chopped."

我喺一個叫「 Chopped 」嘅 廚藝節目度做評委

Four chefs compete with mystery ingredients

四個廚師用即場提供嘅食材

to see who can cook the best dishes.

睇邊個可以做出最好嘅菜

Except for this episode -- it was a very special one.

但係今次特殊啲

Instead of four overzealous chefs trying to break into the limelight --

今次冇四個狂熱，爭先表演嘅大廚

something that I would know nothing about --

我唔知你喺度講邊個

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

these chefs were school chefs;

今次係啲學校裡邊嘅廚師

you know, the women that you used to call "lunch ladies,"

既係簡稱 「廚娘」嘅師奶群體

but the ones I insist we call "school chefs."

但係我堅持稱佢哋為「校園廚師」

Now, these women -- God bless these women --

宜家呢啲令人尊敬嘅女人

spend their day cooking for thousands of kids,

成日為幾千個小朋友煮嘢食

breakfast and lunch, with only $2.68 per lunch,

早餐同午餐 每餐預算得 2.68 美金

with only about a dollar of that actually going to the food.

其中食材嘅成本得 1 美金左右

In this episode,

節目裏邊

the main-course mystery ingredient was quinoa.

比赛嘅食材係藜麥

Now, I know it's been a long time

我諗大家都好耐

since most of you have had a school lunch,

冇食校園餐喇

and we've made a lot of progress on nutrition,

我哋喺營養學上有咗好大進步

but quinoa still is not a staple in most school cafeterias.

但係藜麥喺啲校園裏邊仲唔多見

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So this was a challenge.

所以呢係個挑戰

But the dish that I will never forget was cooked by a woman

我最記得其中一位女士做嘅菜

named Cheryl Barbara.

佢叫雪利爾．芭芭拉

Cheryl was the nutrition director

雪利爾喺康康涅狄格州一個社區中學

at High School in the Community in Connecticut.

做營養師

She cooked this delicious pasta.

佢做咗一道好好味嘅意麵

It was amazing.

好好食

It was a pappardelle with Italian sausage,

係闊麵配香腸

kale, Parmesan cheese.

羽衣甘藍（一種蔬菜）帕爾馬芝士

It was delicious, like, restaurant-quality good, except --

味道係高級餐廳級別不過

she basically just threw the quinoa, pretty much uncooked,

佢将冇煮熟嘅藜麥

into the dish.

直接放喺啲面上邊

It was a strange choice,

呢個選擇好奇怪

and it was super crunchy.

口感好脆

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So I took on the TV accusatory judge thing that you're supposed to do,

於是乎我做個扮嘢評委

and I asked her why she did that.

問佢點解咁做

Cheryl responded, "Well, first, I don't know what quinoa is."

雪利爾話︰「呃，第一， 我唔知咩係藜麥。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"But I do know that it's a Monday,

「不過我知道今日係星期一。

and that in my school, at High School in the Community,

喺我返工嘅社區中學度，

I always cook pasta."

我成日都煮意麵。」

See, Cheryl explained that for many of her kids,

雪利爾話佢學校好多细蚊仔

there were no meals on the weekends.

週末冇嘢食

No meals on Saturday.

即係，周六冇嘢食

No meals on Sunday, either.

周日亦冇嘢食

So she cooked pasta because she wanted to make sure

佢星期一煮意麵

she cooked something she knew her children would eat.

因爲啲細蚊仔肯定食

Something that would stick to their ribs, she said.

佢話意麵頂肚

Something that would fill them up.

食完咁飽

Cheryl talked about how, by the time Monday came,

雪利爾話，到咗星期一

her kids' hunger pangs were so intense

佢啲細路肚餓到

that they couldn't even begin to think about learning.

唔會去諗學嘢

Food was the only thing on their mind.

只會諗住

The only thing.

食嘢

And unfortunately, the stats -- they tell the same story.

好唔好彩，統計數據帶出同樣嘅故事

So, let's put this into the context of a child.

我哋就講一個細蚊仔

And we're going to focus on

就講一日裡邊

the most important meal of the day, breakfast.

最重要嘅一餐︰早餐

Meet Allison.

呢個係艾莉森

She's 12 years old,

佢 12 歲

she's smart as a whip

好聰明

and she wants to be a physicist when she grows up.

大個咗想做物理學家

If Allison goes to a school that serves a nutritious breakfast

如果艾莉森去一間為全部細蚊仔

to all of their kids,

提供營養早餐嘅學校

here's what's going to follow.

以下事情會發生

Her chances of getting a nutritious meal,

佢食到營養餐

one with fruit and milk, one lower in sugar and salt,

即係有水果同牛奶、低糖低鹽

dramatically increase.

嘅機率大咗好多

Allison will have a lower rate of obesity than the average kid.

艾立森比一般嘅細紋仔冇咁容易肥

She'll have to visit the nurse less.

會冇咁經常去睇醫生

She'll have lower levels of anxiety and depression.

患焦慮症同抑鬱症嘅機率會細啲

She'll have better behavior.

佢會有良好嘅行為

She'll have better attendance, and she'll show up on time more often.

會更經常更準時咁返學

Why?

點解？

Well, because there's a good meal waiting for her at school.

因為學校有一餐飯等住佢

Overall, Allison is in much better health

咁樣，艾立森會有比一般細紋仔

than the average school kid.

更好嘅健康狀況

So what about that kid

咁個啲冇營養早餐食

who doesn't have a nutritious breakfast waiting for him?

嘅細紋仔會點呢

Well, meet Tommy.

呢個係湯米

He's also 12. He's a wonderful kid.

亦係 12 歲，佢好乖

He wants to be a doctor.

佢想做醫生

By the time Tommy is in kindergarten,

湯米仲喺幼稚園時

he's already underperforming in math.

佢嘅數學已經唔得喇

By the time he's in third grade,

喺三年級時

he's got lower math and reading scores.

數學和閱讀都係低分

By the time he's 11,

喺佢 11 歲時

it's more likely that Tommy will have to have repeated a grade.

湯米睇怕要留級

Research shows that kids who do not have consistent nourishment,

研究發現，如果細紋仔營養唔夠

particularly at breakfast,

特别係早餐

have poor cognitive function overall.

咁佢學嘢會好難學得好

So how widespread is this problem?

呢個問題有幾廣泛呢？

Well, unfortunately, it's pervasive.

好唔好彩，係非常之普遍

Let me give you two stats

我畀你兩個

that seem like they're on opposite ends of the issue,

看似相互矛盾

but are actually two sides of the same coin.

但實際上冇矛盾嘅數據

On the one hand,

一方面

one in six Americans are food insecure,

六分之一嘅美國人冇三餐温飽

including 16 million children -- almost 20 percent --

包括一千六百萬嘅兒童，即 20% 國民

are food insecure.

冇糧食安全

In this city alone, in New York City,

喺紐約

474,000 kids under the age of 18 face hunger every year.

每年有近 50 萬個 18 歲以下 嘅細路面臨飢餓

It's crazy.

真係冇辦法想像

On the other hand,

另一方面喺美國

diet and nutrition is the number one cause of preventable death and disease

可預防死亡同疾病嘅首要原因

in this country, by far.

係飲食同營養不當

And fully a third of the kids that we've been talking about tonight

我哋今晚講嘅細紋仔

are on track to have diabetes in their lifetime.

有 1/3 會糖尿病

Now, what's hard to put together but is true

兩件事一齊講，就係話

is that, many times, these are the same children.

呢啲食得唔健康

So they fill up on the unhealthy and cheap calories

食廉價同唔健康卡路里嘅細紋仔

that surround them in their communities and that their families can afford.

以後最容易得病

But then by the end of the month,

到咗月尾

food stamps run out or hours get cut at work,

食物券用曬或者父母嘅工時被減

and they don't have the money to cover the basic cost of food.

佢哋冇錢買基本嘅食物

But we should be able to solve this problem, right?

但係我哋應该點解決呢啲問題？

We know what the answers are.

我哋知道答案

As part of my work at the White House, we instituted a program

我喺白宮時，開展咗個項目

that for all schools that had 40 percent more low-income kids,

任何有超過 40% 嘅細紋仔 係來自低收入家庭嘅學校

we could serve breakfast and lunch to every kid in that school.

全部細紋仔都食到

For free.

免費嘅早餐和午餐

This program has been incredibly successful,

呢個項目成功到超乎想像

because it helped us overcome a very difficult barrier

佢克服咗一個

when it came to getting kids a nutritious breakfast.

提供營養早餐時嘅大阻礙

And that was the barrier of stigma.

嗰個阻礙就係耻辱同自尊嘅問題

See, schools serve breakfast before school,

以前學校只對

and it was only available for the poor kids.

窮細紋仔提供早餐

So everybody knew who was poor and who needed government help.

你睇到邊個食免費早餐，就知道邊個窮

Now, all kids, no matter how much or how little their parents make,

宜家，全部嘅細紋仔，有冇錢都好

have a lot of pride.

都可以保持自尊

So what happened?

然後發生咩？

Well, the schools that have implemented this program

啲學校實行咗呢個計劃之後

saw an increase in math and reading scores by 17.5 percent.

學生嘅數學同閱讀成績 提高 17.5%

17.5 percent.

17.5%

And research shows that when kids have a consistent, nutritious breakfast,

研究顯示，如果細紋仔持續有營養早餐

their chances of graduating increase by 20 percent.

佢哋畢業率會提升 20%

20 percent.

20%

When we give our kids the nourishment they need,

細紋仔吸收到必需嘅營養

we give them the chance to thrive,

就等於

both in the classroom and beyond.

有好好成長嘅機會

Now, you don't have to trust me on this,

你哋唔使信我

but you should talk to Donna Martin.

問下唐娜．馬丁就得喇

I love Donna Martin.

唐娜．馬丁好勁嘅

Donna Martin is the school nutrition director at Burke County

唐娜．馬丁係伯克縣 佐治亞州韋恩斯伯勒

in Waynesboro, Georgia.

嘅學區營養總監

Burke County is one of the poorest districts

伯克縣係其中一個最窮嘅地方

in the fifth-poorest state in the country,

而佐治亞州係全国第五窮州

and about 100 percent of Donna's students live at or below the poverty line.

唐娜嘅學生幾乎都 喺貧困線以下

A few years ago,

幾年前

Donna decided to get out ahead of the new standards that were coming,

唐娜決定提早修訂

and overhaul her nutrition standards.

同推廣新嘅營養標準

She improved and added fruit and vegetables and whole grains.

仲加咗水果、蔬菜，同全麥食品

She served breakfast in the classroom to all of her kids.

佢為全部細紋仔提供早餐

And she implemented a dinner program.

仲有晚餐

Why?

點解？

Well, many of her kids didn't have dinner when they went home.

好多細紋仔喺屋企冇晚餐食

So how did they respond?

呢個項目有乜效果

Well, the kids loved the food.

啲細紋仔好鍾意食嘢

They loved the better nutrition,

佢哋鍾意更好嘅營養

and they loved not being hungry.

佢地好鍾意唔使挨餓

But Donna's biggest supporter came from an unexpected place.

出乎大家嘅意料，唐娜最大嘅支持者

His name from Eric Parker,

叫埃里克．帕克

and he was the head football coach for the Burke County Bears.

佢就係伯克縣小熊隊嘅足球教練

Now, Coach Parker had coached mediocre teams for years.

以前，小熊隊麻麻地

The Bears often ended in the middle of the pack --

成日都中挻位置

a big disappointment in one of the most passionate football states

對一個對美式足球狂熱嘅州嘅人嚟講

in the Union.

好令人失望

But the year Donna changed the menus,

喺唐娜改革咗營養餐之後

the Bears not only won their division,

小熊隊不但止赢咗小組賽

they went on to win the state championship,

仲攞埋州冠軍

beating the Peach County Trojans

打敗咗桃子縣嘅勇士隊

28-14.

28 比 14

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And Coach Parker,

帕克教練話

he credited that championship to Donna Martin.

呢個歸功於唐娜．馬丁

When we give our kids the basic nourishment,

我哋畀細紋仔基本嘅營養時

they're going to thrive.

佢哋會成功

And it's not just up to the Cheryl Barbaras

我哋唔可以淨係靠雪利爾．芭芭拉

and the Donna Martins of the world.

同唐娜．馬丁佢哋

It's on all of us.

要靠我哋全部人

And feeding our kids the basic nutrition is just the starting point.

畀細紋仔基本嘅營養只係個開始

What I've laid out is really a model

我所講嘅只係解決好多

for so many of the most pressing issues that we face.

緊急嘅問題嘅模式

If we focus on the simple goal of properly nourishing ourselves,

如果我哋注意畀自己恰當嘅飲食

we could see a world that is more stable and secure;

我哋會有一個更加安全、可靠嘅社會

we could dramatically improve our economic productivity;

我哋可以大大咁提高經濟生產

we could transform our health care

可以改善醫療系統

and we could go a long way

同持續發展

in ensuring that the Earth can provide for generations to come.

確保地球可以為後代提供足夠資源

Food is that place where our collective efforts

喺食物領域，我哋微小嘅努力

can have the greatest impact.

可以有好大嘅影響

So we have to ask ourselves: What is the right question?

所以我哋要問︰咩係正確問題

What would happen

如果我哋食更加營養、更加可持續嘅食物

if we fed ourselves more nutritious, more sustainably grown food?

會發生咩？

What would be the impact?

有咩影響？

Cheryl Barbara,

雪利爾．芭芭拉

Donna Martin,

唐娜．馬丁

Coach Parker and the Burke County Bears --

帕克教練同伯克縣小熊隊

I think they know the answer.

我諗佢哋知道答案

Thank you guys so very much.

多謝大家

(Applause)

（鼓掌）