9 Comments
My new favorite woman, teacher, mom and activist is the blogger Mrs. Q.
Have you heard of her? She’s the anonymous teacher-blogger who ate school lunch (162 school lunches,) took pictures with her cell phone and blogged about it at “Fed Up with Lunch”.
“It’s actually not just food – it’s everything. It’s the basis of learning,” she said last week at Mom Congress.
“I was really naive,” Mrs. Q. added. She explained that she didn’t start eating school lunches because of a passion for nutrition or social change, she just was a busy mom who didn’t have time to make herself lunch every day. “This changed my whole relationship with food.”
Her presentation started with photos of the lunches. Looking at the putrid mush of pale-colored food items, slide after slide, sent murmurs of shock around the room.
She narrated the slides, “Some of the meals are better than others. Some have vegetables. Often they are frozen and reheated.”
- Photo courtesy of Mrs. Q.
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Q.
Then, Mrs. Q shared a recent report from Share Our Strength, an organization which mobilizes individuals and industries to fight childhood hunger, that reported 86% of teachers saying that many of their kids are coming to school hungry and 65% of these teachers saying that most kids rely on school meals as their primary source of nutrition.
Is it important to know this even if it’s not directly affecting our children? Even if you pack a lunch.
You bet. Because those children are in our community. Consider the adverse affects of poor nutrition — lower brain function, obesity and diabetes.
If you haven’t, you need to eat your child’s school lunch, says Mrs. Q. Yes, you really do. Then, if you want to convince other parents, invite your friends to have lunch with you at school and yes, all of you eat the lunch. If you can’t eat it, why would you want children to? Children who don’t have a voice in the system.
But children have YOU. You can advocate for better school lunches on behalf of children in your community. You can be the voice.
What Now?
Find out more.
Gather your tribe.
Take a stand.
Links for More Info
School Lunch in France – Five Courses? and School Lunches Around the World
How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food, picture book written by Chris Butterworth
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Goes to Mom Congress
USDA Food and Nutrition Service – School Lunch
TED Talk from Ann Cooper on School Lunches
RECENT POSTS:
Playworks Makes Recess Awesome
Michelle Rhee Tells It Like It Is
Juno’s Music and DVDs for Preschoolers + Giveaway
Melissa Taylor is a mom and educator from Denver who is passionate about playful learning. Thanks for visiting the site!
9 Comments
Thank you so much for this amazing post!!! I’m so happy to have met you! This project has taken me on an incredible journey and I feel so fortunate to have connected with people like you. If I ever go to Colorado, I’m going to look you up!! We’ll have to have coffee!
[...] Mrs. Q. Goes to Congress [...]
I am a HUGE fan of Mrs. Q’s too!!!!! I love her blog and her tweets
She is shining a bright light on the subject of school food and we should all be grateful for that!!!!
[...] Mrs. Q. Is My New Favorite Blogger [...]
What a great idea. Those day-by-day photos really say a lot.
Hi Ms. Q, it was nice meeting you in Washington at Mom Congress! I’m nearby and was hoping you could join some of us from MC. Email me pls.
[...] The Gates Foundation Jumpstart Let’s Move Arnie Duncan Reach Out and Read Bryon Garrett Mrs. Q Playworks Michelle Rhee Jamie Oliver’s Food [...]
[...] Mrs. Q. Fights School Lunch [...]
[...] Up With (School) Lunch – The Book 24 Jan | No Comments » I met Sarah Wu when she was Mrs. Q., the anonymous teacher blogger, chronicling her year-long experience eating school lunch. Since then, she’s officially come [...]