I purchased the book "Fed Up With Lunch" in December after hearing about it from a food blog I follow. I read it this month in just a few short sittings. It does read very quickly, and I like that the author, Sarah Wu, gives resources if the reader would like to investigate and change their own school lunches.
Like the author, I too teach in a very low-income elementary school where, for some families, school lunch may be the only "healthy" hot meal they get all day. I rarely ate school lunch when I was a child, and I never eat school lunch as a teacher. When I see my students eating, it bothers me greatly that french fries are considered a vegetable, that sugar filled "fruit pops" (popsicles) are a fruit, and that raw cookie dough is an acceptable dessert. As a teacher, I feel like there isn't much that I can do, but as a parent I find those lunch options unacceptable. I think that I was so intrigued by this book becuse Sarah Wu had the courage to do something - she started a blog and then wrote a book!
I learned information from this book; for example how much the USDA is a factor in how school lunches are planned, prepared and served. I learned how low a family's annual income actually has to be to qualify for reduced or free lunch: "According to the USDA, from 7/1/10 through 6/30/11, 130 percent of the poverty level was an annual income of $28,665 for a family of four; 185 percent was $40,793."
I cannot imagine my family of four living on an annual income of $28,665 - $40,793. That fact gives me new respect for the parents of my students who really are trying to work, raise a family, and put healthy food on the table. I am trying to move my family towards more organic foods and less processed foods on a budget, but my students' parents are trying to put ANY food on the table with a considerably lower budget. I find it appalling that so many families in this country, supposedly one of the most priviledged countries in the world, are forced to live on such meager incomes.
As a teacher, Sarah Wu has helped me change my interaction with my students. I cannot change what they eat for lunch, or at least I am not willing to take on that fight right now. What I can do, is provide them with healthy snacks every afternoon, thanks to a fruit and vegetable grant from our local grocery store. I have also made a pledge to myself to not give them any CRAP food for treats. My class celebrations have moved away from treats to things like a dance party, pajama day, bring a stuffed animal to school. I really want to do what I can to cut the excess sugar from their diet. I also have tried to incorporate more movement into their afternoons. I learned from this book that school lunches have more sugar in them than I ever imagined. Once that sugar burns through their bodies, they become sluggish and learning is more difficult. So I am trying to get them up and moving in the afternoons to activate their bodies and brains. It may not be much, but I want to do what I can.
Thank you, Sarah Wu, for educating me in many ways through this book. And for having the courage to not only eat school lunch every day for a year, but to write about it and stand up for our children. I hope that others in position of power also read your book and see the value in making necessary changes to our school lunches.
