The Two Angry Moms National School Lunch-In will run from October 15th
- 19th. It will be held concurrently with the School Nutrition Association's
(SNA) annual National School Lunch Week and follows the USDA
guideline suggesting that every parent should go to school and have lunch
with their child.
Here's what they recommend:
While you're there read more than the menu.
• Ask to see a list of ingredients for every item in the cafeteria.
• Read labels, check out what's in the vending machines.
• Don't be fooled by health claims and "low calorie" branding. How
much of the food being served is real food and how much of it
includes flavorings, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, binders and
unpronounceable ingredients?
• Find out from your child if this is normal fare or if the school is
sprucing things up to make a good impression for your visit.
• More tips of what to do/look for while you are visiting for lunch: Kate
Adamick - Searching For Food In The School Cafeteria, Better
School Food – Lunch In Check List
Ask yourself how healthy you would be if you ate this food as your primary
They then suggest that you ask your school board for school wellness policies that require healthy food, and report back to them.
Note that this is about quality food, not necessarily farm-to-school, but you could easily add your own questions about the sourcing of the food if you're interested in how far the food travelled and how it was produced.
