Demand school lunches, minus childhood obesity
Everyone seems to have a favorite food TV show these days. Me, I read foodie blogs, my favorite being Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifershmoo. No, I'm not vegan -- I just wouldn't mind a cute, gourmet lunch box made for me everyday. To the right's what Jennifershmoo's lucky kid got for St. Patrick's Day.
That said, many working parents have to rely on school lunches -- which are often made entirely of over-processed, chemical-infused "foods." (For a brief overview of why school lunches suck so bad, read Tim Philpott's primer at Grist)
Now, a movement's afoot to change the way lunch is done in school cafeterias -- and you're invited to join in. In fact, two separate actions targeting school lunches are happening during School Nutrition Association's annual National School Lunch Week, Oct. 15 - 19, 2007.
First, Two Angry Moms, who made a film documenting their angry crusade against lunches that consist of "neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies," want you to join their National Lunch In (PDF). All you have to do is simply follow the USDA guideline that suggests parents go to school and have lunch with their child -- but "to do it with their eyes open and to ask a lot of questions."
Then, document your visit by writing in to producers@angrymoms.org, and sending school food photos to photos@angrymoms.org. Two Angry Moms will put your contribution up on the site, building up the momentum to get healthy lunches in schools.
Second, Anne Cooper, Director of Nutrition Services for the Berkeley school system, wants schools, families, and advocates to take the National School Food Challenge. Families and advocates are challenged to help kids make nutritious meal choices and to speak with local administrators about the foods served in school lunches. Schools are challenged to seek out local, fresh foods and to examine the nutrition messages being distributed to their students
Sign up to take the National School Food Challenge here, and share the invite (PDF) to get your friends to join in. I'm not sure our school lunches will ever have the aesthetic merits of the Vegan Lunch Box fare, but hopefully we can adopt some of the nutritional values.
Photo courtesy of Vegan Lunch Box
