14 DAY TRIAL // The US National School Lunch Program is often in the headlines for the wrong reasons, the most frequent being that it does not serve children healthy meals but rather encourages unhealthy eating by putting fast food on their plate at lunch. This is also one of those times.
British chef and television personality Jamie Oliver tried to get schools in two states to change their school lunch program but, in the end, he admitted defeat and saw the series that documented his efforts bite the dust.
As he pointed back then, the biggest problem was that the kids’ health was never what mattered the most, because the program was run by people who had only their own financial gain at heart. Jamie also stressed that offering kids healthy lunches wasn’t more expensive than the caloric bombs they were being served, but it did imply a bit more effort and commitment.
It also meant that the “right” people would no longer get contracts.
Do Something’s FedUp project aims to make a change by showing Americans the kind of lunches are being served to kids in schools across the country. It is actually a platform that offers users the possibility to upload photos of their school lunches, and thus motivate parents into action.
“71% of students who reported their schools serve unhealthy lunches were not satisfied with their lunches. There is no major cost difference between nutritious and not nutritious food at schools: 55% of student being served very healthy food report their lunch costing under $2, compared to 55% of students being served food with no nutritional value,” the website says.
“We're compiling a map and report that displays the real state of school lunch across the nation. This report will be distributed to school districts across the country, as well as school nutrition advocates to be used as a tool to make a case for better school lunches in your cafeteria,” it states.
Because decisions on the menu served to kids are made locally, FedUp encourages parents (but not only, because, obviously, anyone can get involved) to start the conversation on healthier options for school lunches at their local school and with competent authorities.
The future is our children and if we let them eat “garbage,” as Oliver called it, they will grow up to be unhealthy adults whose countless medical issues will put even more strain on the national health service.
Browsing through some of the photos posted on FedUp, the future is not looking too bright right now, as options include burgers and fries, deep-fried nuggets, pizza and nachos.