For several years now Jamie Oliver (celebrity chef) has been campaigning, first in his native Great Britain, and now here in the US for improved school lunches (and breakfasts where provided.)
I was a hot lunch kid, I remember standing in line for my green tickets, not the yellow ones which were reserved for paying families, nope I was one of millions of children who eat subsidized school lunch every year. Sometimes it was the best or only meal I ate all day. So it follows that school cafeterias provide a substantial amount of food, whether it is nutritious or not to our nation's children. The children who are the future, our future as we age they will be the ones leading, maintaining our infrastructure, teaching and so on. Or not considering obesity and the related ailments are higher than ever in children in the United States. Click here to gain a better understanding of the school lunch program.
I grew up and had the good fortune to taste real food, fresh food from the earth. When I returned to the cafeteria with my own children I was appalled at what I had eaten (it was much the same, chop suey anyone?) and what was being offered my kids.
I joke that I'm a food snob, but I'm not, I just require prefer to provide and consume wholesome food as close as possible to its natural state as the staples in my diet. Cookie butter on occasion, but after I know that I've had a few square meals under my belt. Food is meant to be fun and pleasurable, but out of the food eaten over the course of the week it is made up of mostly whole grains, greens, fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans with the occasional organic dairy item.
So what my kids, what our kids eat, is important to me so I just on board with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and you can too!
Click here for the site and to educate yourself, your school system and your community. You won't find any "Go-Go Juice" on this menu.
I encourage parents and people who care to work in your community to make it clear that what we eat matters and why and the positive impact it has, not only on our bodies and health, but on local agriculture, businesses and the future.