New research on breakfast in the classroom

Educators and school nutrition personnel in recent years have been discussing and debating the merits of serving breakfast in the classroom at the start of the school day, rather than in cafeterias. Participation is higher for breakfast in the classroom, leading to high hopes for increased impact on beneficial health and learning outcomes, while at the same time raising concerns about over-consumption for children whose in-class breakfast is their second meal of the morning.

New research in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management uses a "difference in difference" design before and after implementation in a large urban school district in the southwest, finding that breakfast in the classroom rather than the cafeteria has a positive effect on test scores. It is possible that the benefits are due to improved performance on the day of the test (perhaps because the kids were less hungry that morning) rather than longer term learning, but the favorable results are still notable.

This research, and related research, is discussed in a new video from ChildObesity180, an initiative led by Christina Economos and many colleagues here at the Friedman School at Tufts. This video, which briefly summarizes both sides of the debate before arguing in favor of breakfast in the classroom, is part of an extensive video series on school breakfast issues.

Brassicas, Soufflés & Okra: Single Subject Cookbooks

Brassicas: Cooking the World's Healthiest Vegetables 
Remember when people hated broccoli? And Brussels sprouts? And kale and collard greens were something only Southerners ate, but that was about it. Happily the brassicas which also include bok choy, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, mizuna and tatsoi are in vogue. But if you only know a few ways to cook those glorious cruciferous greens, you should check out this book. The recipes sound like dishes you’d find on a trendy menu— Kimchi Pancakes, Moroccan Turnip and Chickpea Braise, Smoky Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds and Eggs. While it's a shame this book didn't come out in the Fall, that is my only quibble with it.



The French Cook: Soufflés
I love soufflés. I just need the encouragement and reminder to make them more frequently. That is the role of Greg Patent aka The Baking Wizard, who offers up sound advice regarding the importance of separating whites and yolks, the freshness of eggs, the use of salt and sugar and the most crucial question of all, when are the whites beaten enough? As a chronic overbeater, this is something I desperately need to learn.  From savory to sweet to frozen, there are recipes for 2, 4-6 and 8-10 so for just about any occasion. If you’ve only ever had a cheese or chocolate soufflé, try your hand at the Spinach and Mushroom Soufflé, Fresh Apricot and St. Germain Soufflé or Meyer Lemon Soufflé.

Okra: A Savor the South® Cookbook
A whole cookbook on okra? Yes! This book takes on a vegetable that some love and others don’t. But seasoned chef and all around charmer, Virginia Willis can do magic with okra, frying it crisp, turning it into gumbo and also shares African, Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indian recipes for this odd vegetable. This book is a must for okra lovers, but also those, like me who don’t have a clue how to prepare it. I bought some okra just the other day and plan on making the West African Chicken Stew with Okra and Peanuts as well as the Limpin’ Susan, with rice, okra and bacon. When tomatoes are in season I want to try the Old School Okra and Tomatoes.



Disclaimer: These book were provided to me as review copies. This post includes Amazon affiliate links. 

Economists and the restaurant industry offer input on the minimum wage debate

With support from the Obama administration, Congress is contemplating an increase in the minimum wage, in small annual steps to $10.10 per hour by 2016. After that, the minimum wage would rise automatically with inflation.

A group of several hundred economists signed a letter of support sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute. The letter said the proposal would help 17 million workers directly, and perhaps another 11 million workers by boosting wage expectations at the low end of the labor market. The letter said the weight of recent research shows "that increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market."

A competing group of several hundred economists signed a letter of opposition. The letter says the consequence of the minimum wage proposal is "that business owners saddled with a higher cost of labor will need to cut costs, or pass the increase to their consumers in order to make ends meet. Many of the businesses that pay their workers minimum wage operate on extremely tight profit margins, with any increase in the cost of labor threatening this delicate balance."

In my own profession, several leading agricultural and applied economists signed each letter.

The New York Times this week pointed out that the letter of opposition was not really written by Vernon Smith, the lead signatory, who is a Nobel-winning economist. The letter was circulated by a firm hired by the National Restaurant Association (NRA), which has much to lose from the new minimum wage proposal. Smith is quoted saying he hadn't known who originated the statement, but he didn't mind that it turned out to be the restaurant industry, because the content of the letter is what mattered.

I asked a couple of my favorite agricultural and applied economists who had signed each letter if they wanted to respond to the controversy. One who signed the letter of support just confirmed that he supported the proposed minimum wage increase, but preferred not to say more.

Dan Sumner, a leading food policy thinker and economist at UC Davis, who signed the letter of opposition, gave this response. I had asked him if he felt "ill-used" by the restaurant industry. His email tackles the concern that the NRA support was non-transparent, discusses anti-poverty policies he judges superior to the minimum wage, and casts the minimum wage unfavorably in the context of other governmental efforts to set prices.

Parke:

I just assumed the min wage letter was developed and circulated by an interest group. Interest groups are the ones with enough interest to organize such an effort.

But, like Lucas and Smith, the proposition and argument itself is what matters to me. I have no connection with fast food places.

I put the minimum wage in the category with farm subsidies as a silly policy ill-targeted and worse than worthless for three reasons.

a. It uses policy resources, effort and attention, that would be better spent doing effective things to help the poor, such as earned income credits or targeted education programs or quality day-care or ...

b. It sends the signal that government price fixing is good policy more broadly. I know from my own specialty that government-set prices are generally bad policy. Thinking we can fix labor market problems or ill-trained workers or any other problem by having members of Congress set some favored price based on what their favorite lobby says it should be just encourages shoddy thinking.

(You will recall that is my problem with the press and the Congress continuing to act as though food stamps had anything to do with food. The reason I like the SNAP program is that is is unrelated to nutrition and the nanny notion that the feds should tell people how to spend their money, even charity.)

c. Minimum wage is so ill targeted as a poverty program and really does make it harder for some poor gal with very little to offer to get that first job. If I have to pay $10 anyway I can turn her away and hire only her sharper cousin, who already had a leg up.

Anyway, that's my off the cuff thinking.

By the way, the interest groups I have least time for are the ideological lobby groups and NGOs that seem to be very loose with the facts and analysis. These range from Heritage to HSUS to the Union of Concerned Scientists. My sense is these folks are just as likely to have an underlying bias to everything they do, and they pretend they act in the "public interest" relative to firms and groups of firms who have clear financial motivations.

Dan

Off The Grid Fort Mason, 2014

I’ve been going to Off The Grid, the street food event at Fort Mason since it first began, five years ago. Each year the event grows and evolves. Early on there was a mostly Asian theme that linked all the vendors and there were just a handful of food trucks relegated to a small section of the parking lot, now it’s really spreading its wings. 

So what’s new this year? There is no theme as there has been in some previous years, and the food is a little more approachable, perhaps a little less adventurous. But it’s still pretty darn delicious. Also this year? A DJ before and after the live music begins, arcade style games and extended hours (5-11pm). Here’s an inside tip, if you can’t deal with crowds, arrive between 5 and 6:30 pm before it gets too jam-packed. 

I got a chance to check out a number of the new vendors and some of the new food from returning vendors. Here are some my top picks:

Nora Spanish Cuisine featured a savory paella with pancetta, bacon and chicken. It's a great dish for sharing. 

This is just a sample of the shrimp taco done nacho style from The Taco Guys. Plump juicy perfectly cooked spicy shrimp are offset by cool and creamy avocado. If the taco tastes like the nachos, I’m in! 

From Il Pipila, Guadalupe Guerrero’s nopales sope was bright a fresh tasting, very herbal and earthy. This is a specialty from Guanajuato, by the way.

Drewski’s fried macaroni and cheese bacon balls were ooey gooey comfort food, reimagined. 

While sadly the Hapa SF truck has ceased operation, Jeepney Guy’s deep fried kettle pork is destined to become a new classic. It’s basically a riff on Filipino lechon. 

I’m a big fan of Casey’s Pizza. While normally I would never choose pepperoni, Casey’s is made by Zoe’s Meats in Petaluma and is outstanding. It's spicy and dry and makes this pizza something special. 

New this year is a roaming beer cart from Magnolia. I recommend the Oysterhead Stout. 

The Boneyard is offering Texas style brisket and pulled pork. I wrote about The Boneyard for 7x7 last year. 

Looking for something sweet to nibble on while waiting for your turn at skeeball or shuffleboard? You might want to try some Sugar and Spun cotton candy in flavors such as li hing or matcha green tea. A little too sweet for me! 

Another sweet treat that’s messy but not a bad choice if you’re willing to share, is the Johnny Doughnuts version of a Cronut, the CroDo with layers of flaky dough and a pastry cream filling. Next time I think I’ll try the lime mascarpone bismark….