It started with blogs like The Lunch Tray and national press exposure of Alice Water's Edible Schoolyard program. The public consciousness was really heightened with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution tv program. All of the sudden, everyone has school lunches on the brain.
The Child Nutrition Act has been floating around Congress for a while now, and is due to expire next week. While the bill itself does not provide the financial support for making the sweeping changes that are truly necessary to overhaul the school lunch program, it is a step in the right direction. The Senate passed their version of the bill in August (Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act) however, they funded the program by cutting money from food stamps. Does that make any sense at all to you? It sure doesn't to me.
In the next 7 days the House will be considering their version of the bill, I urge you to contact your Representative to ask that they not only pass the bill, but do so without cutting other nutritional programs. This link will take you to a site that will automatically fax your representative (why fax, paper wasters) with either a prepared message or one you can personalize yourself.
It just takes a minute to voice your opinion! While this may seem slightly off topic for me - as someone who grows their own food, and forces my kids to eat lots of vegetables (it's working with one, not so much with the other) I'm very concerned about the status quo when it comes to school lunches.
UPDATE
Things are heating up at the White House and not just in the kitchen.
[via The Lunch Tray]
Shira: I love your blog and thank you for spreading the word about the CNA reauthorization in Congress right now. People who are concerned about school lunch may not realize that this opportunity only comes up once every five years, so I hope everyone uses your link to contact their own representative. - Bettina at The Lunch Tray.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words Bettina. I'm a huge fan of your blog!
ReplyDelete