Adapted by: Sunny Young TheLunchBox.org blogger

Here are great tips from TheLunchBox.org on how to be a healthy school food advocate:

Why are we throwing a tantrum about school lunch?

Consider these staggering facts:

The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention have stated that out of the children born in the year 2000, one out of every three Caucasians and two out of every three African Americans and Hispanics will contract diabetes in their lifetimes. As a result, that generation will be the first in our country's history to die at a younger age than its parents.

The New York Times reported recently that as a nation we are spending more than $147 billion a year to treat obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes and billions more on cardiovascular disease and the many types of cancer that have been linked to diet.

What our children are eating is crucial. There are numerous ways to get involved with this “food fight” to improve the meals served at school and foster healthy eating habits for our children.

Watch the Video: Changing School Food Advocates

First:

Get active at your school and in the community. Ask questions and drum up awareness. Every school district in America has had a “wellness policy” in place since 2000, however many of them were never implemented. Find your district’s policy and read it.

Then:

a. Eat lunch at your child’s school. Taste and experience what the food is really like.

b. Form a committee of diverse stakeholders including school staff, parents, students and members of the community so that you can work together towards improvement.

c. Attend a school board meeting with actual school food or photos of the food. Tell your elected school board members that you want better food for your children.

d. Volunteer in the school kitchen to help implement change.

e. Help your school to get a Salad Bar! Apply here for a salad bar grant.

e. Start a school or community garden. Enlist students to help. They will love digging in the dirt and will learn where their food comes from.

f. Read "Lunch Matters" to see the path one district took for change.

g. Review the Chez Panisse Foundation’s “What You Need to Know about School Lunch” to get the facts and the big picture on how school food works.

Second:

Get connected with the national movement for real change. .

a. Join the School Food Challenge at: http://www.chefann.com/html/tools-links/food-challenge.html.

b. Utilize and donate to TheLunchBox.org - Healthy Tools to Help All Schools!

c. Sign Jamie Oliver’s School Food Revolution petition at: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

Third:

• ‹ 3 Things Not To Do (When Getting Your Baby To ...
• A Salad Bar in Every School! ›