I just searched the Sysco website for local school lunch program. No results. OK, to be fair, you can’t actually search Sysco’s website content (not sure why that is) except for products and recipes.

This issue came up the other day because Sysco supplies school lunches for so many school districts. Why, we said, can’t a company like Sysco start the process of piloting a few locally sourced, healthier food service options for school lunches? You know, make a small change that could result in healthier kids and help strengthen local economies by sourcing from local growers?

The Sysco website does say they offer some locally sourced food, but it looks to be for the restaurant programs, not school lunch distribution.

Sysco needs a leader who wants to build the goal of dramatically improving school lunches into a long-term corporate strategy that includes vibrant marketing and PR founded upon the momentum of this issue and the long-term positive payoff. Where is the leader who is passionate enough to see the benefits for Sysco, for local economies, for school children and for the future of this country?

Show me the leader who can craft a message to the stockholders and the world about the value of doing the right thing and make the stock soar in the process.

Easier said than done? Of course. We all know this won’t happen overnight. It’s baby steps in the making with research, number crunching, planning, human and operational obstacles, innovative thinking, district and parent buy-in, testing and reworking. Just ask Jamie Oliver.

Here’s my advice Mr. Bill Delaney, cut a tiny sliver of the Sysco pie and try this: Shift the culture just a bit. The issue of kids rampant obesity and declining health is not going away.

Deliver a better product whenever possible.

Sysco going local with school lunches? That’s a story you can start telling immediately.“