Apples and orange slices rest in trays for student lunch at the Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School, in Essex Junction, Vt., Thursday, June 9, 2022. The pandemic-era federal aid that made school meals available for free to all public school students — regardless of family income levels — is ending, raising fears about the effects in the upcoming school year for families already struggling with rising food and fuel costs.
Lisa Rathke / AP
Lisa Rathke / AP
Apples and orange slices rest in trays for student lunch at the Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School, in Essex Junction, Vt., Thursday, June 9, 2022. The pandemic-era federal aid that made school meals available for free to all public school students — regardless of family income levels — is ending, raising fears about the effects in the upcoming school year for families already struggling with rising food and fuel costs.
Airdate: Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Processed and ultra-processed foods have become a dominant part of the American diet, raising concerns about their effects on public health, nutrition and sustainability. On The Spark, we tackled this pressing issue with two guests: Alexandra Hardy, a Licensed and Registered Dietary Nutritionist with Pennsylvania Nutrition Services, and Stacy Woodson, a Registered-Dietitian Nutritionist and author.
Not all processed foods are created equal, Woodson shared the distinctions between minimally processed, processed, and ultra-processed foods.
“If you have like an orange, you imagine taking an orange off of a tree. That is an unprocessed food. You haven’t changed it in any way when you eat it. And then the next step would be orange juice, right? If you buy orange juice from a store, they’re squeezing lots of different oranges by a machine and maybe adding flavoring to have the brand that you’re purchasing. Have a consistent flavor, right? And so that would be a processed food Whereas ultra processed would be something like an orange soda. Where it’s primarily, you know water well carbonated water sugar and food colorings That give it the flavor.”
Processed and ultra processed foods have a major impact on the average American diet today. Hardy shared one of the biggest roadblocks to healthier eating is accessibility.
“A lot of my clients, for instance, if they are on a limited budget, they are looking to shop at like a dollar store, dollar tree type of place. And if you walk in there, you’re not finding fresh, minimally processed foods, right?”
Woodson also said most people consume processed food due to time.
“You can imagine being a working mom and you have what? It takes half an hour to feed your family and you can pop something in the microwave and in the oven. It makes it extremely.”
However, there are options for healthier options for those shopping on a fixed income, listen to the podcast to hear their suggestions.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
