Improving school lunches is a heated topic from coast to coast. My journalist daughter wrote about it extensively from the East End of Long Island, NY and I am inundated by it at the K-8 in Agoura Hills, CA, where I work as the school office manager. It's such a controversy... but does it have to be? I am as much in favor of school cafeterias serving healthier, wholesome lunches as any Wellness Committee parent. I am also sympathetic to parents who desire options for their children with dietary restrictions. Chocolate milk vs. non-fat milk. Trans-fats. Corn syrup. Processed ingredients. Governmental bureaucracy. All this can be solved by bringing a lunch (trash-free, I might add) from home. My daughters brought fresh and wholesome lunches prepared at home to school every day and avoided the perils of the vending-machine. Yes, I would like to see all school cafeterias, public and private, serve organic fruits and vegetables from student-tended gardens, non-processed proteins, whole-grains, and natural beverages, especially for the children who rely on free- and reduced-cost lunch programs. But, until that day comes, there is an obvious choice. It starts at home.
There... that's the end of my rant!
