Ah school. The new teachers, friends, pencils and the wonderful sight of the cafeteria's mystery meat.
Wait a second? We're still talking about mystery meat in the 21st century?! Something is wrong here. Last time I checked, there was beef, chicken, pork and fish. Maybe a few bugs found there way in there too but what makes this meat so mysterious?
What makes our school lunches so disgusting and unhealthy anyway? The average lunch costs $1.92. How in the world are schools supposed to serve a full balanced meal on that much per student? The answer: they can't.
The Child and Nutrition Departments in schools are often in the red for their budgets and are always rejected the money that they so desperately need. Cheap food may be great for our wallets, but it does have long term effect. Cheap food in general has been led to environmental degregation, worker abuse, animal abuse, health scares and much much more (remember E. Coli in spinach???).
So what does this mean for us students? Studies have shown that a well-fed child (and by well-fed, I mean low in fat, calories and very high in good nutrients) are more likely to score higher on their tests, have longer attention spans, and feel less stressed.
So if the schools are obviously too concerned with state test scores, somebody needs to show them just how good of an educational investment it is to head for better, more nutritious (and maybe even local) food. And who better else than a school-wide movement of students sticking their tounge out at the food making its way across the serving counter?
Interested or totally grossed out? How about both? What will you do?
Need some ideas to get started? Check out this awesome site created by Chef Anne Cooper with help from Chef Alice Waters:
http://www.thelunchbox.org/
