Monthly Archives: March 2010

"It happens every noon"

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My husband enjoys watching old government films for laughs. He’s the kinda guy that trolls the Prelinger Archives for old gems (like “How to keep a job” -1949). Most of the films are pretty campy.

Anyway, he told me about a government film about school lunch made in 1966 entitled “It happens every noon.” There are so many things wrong about this film (too many to list) so please do not think I endorse anything related to this movie in terms of subject matter. That aside it did gave me some insight into the beginnings of National School Lunch program and what students ate in the 1960’s. Sadly it looks like school lunches have gone downhill in the past 40 years.

Day 36: meatloaf

School Lunches, , , ,

Today’s menu: meatloaf, bread, fruit cup, mystery greens (!), milk

 To qualify for the label “meatloaf” I think meat should be baked in a loaf pan and then sliced. So given that definition, it is obvious that what I ate today is not meatloaf, but instead a meat patty.

And I was so thrilled to see what I assumed to be spinach!! I was floored. But then when I took a bite they were so very bitter. After work I chatted with my mom about it and she thinks they are collard greens. Frankly, it looks like spinach. But I’m not sure it was. All I can say is that this was the first time I could not finish my veggies during this experiment. I had three bites of the most bitter greens I have ever tasted. Can someone enlighten me as to what I ate?

So basically I ate the meat and the bread for lunch.

Additionally, yesterday’s “day-glo” cornbread muffin was normal colored in real life. There are flourescent lights in school and I also use a cell phone camera so I guess that made it look funny. The picture didn’t look very distorted to me though.

Day 35: chili

School Lunches, , , ,

Today’s menu: chili, carrots, fruit icee, cornbread muffin, and milk

I chose the vegetarian option today. Most of the kids got chicken nuggets. But it really doesn’t seem to matter what the main course is because the first thing the kids told me they ate at lunch was the “icee.” 

The chili looks worse in the picture than it was in real life. So I took a close up. The chili had a dark taste to it as if it were over-seasoned. In the picture it looks like poo. It was not poo!

Recess not on the menu

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When I posted about the lack of recess at my school over the weekend, I didn’t fully comprehend how big of a deal it really is. That’s because the culture of my school has completely normalized not having recess. It’s just not done!

I chatted very briefly with another teacher about recess last week and that teacher told me that all the kids used to have recess many years ago. At some point it was cut out of the day. At the time I bet the teachers were upset about it, but those teachers have long since retired or moved on. Over the past five years alone there have been [redacted: double digit] new teachers at my school (some brand-new and others with prior teaching experience). So when you start working at a school where there is no recess, you don’t make waves since you are untenured.

Let’s review what my students have on their plate (pun intended):
1) The school lunch that you have seen me eat for two months
2) The only opportunity to run around: a once-a-week gym class
3) No recess

The lack of recess is not just a concern where I work, but all over the country. And we’re surprised that kids are getting fat, having trouble focusing, and not achieving at the levels seen in other countries? Certainly we can’t control what happens at home. I’m just trying to make schools reflect about their role in the increase in childhood obesity. Are schools contributing to the problem?

February recap

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Two months down…

February Stats:
16 school lunches eaten:
(3 – burger-like lunches)
(3 – chicken lunches)
(2 – pizza lunches)
(2 – chili lunches)
(2 – hot dog lunches)
(2 – pasta lunches)
(1 – cheese croissant)
(1 – meatball sub)
…
(6 – fruit cups)
(3 – oranges)
(3 – green beans)
(3 – tater tots)
(2 – baby carrots)
(2 – apples)
(2 – pears)
(2 – beans)
(2 – corn)
(1 – fruit icee)
(1 – fruit jello)
(1 – broccoli)
(1 – fries)
…
BUT I didn’t barf this month!

What I learned about school lunch:

What I learned about myself:

  • I am getting addicted to getting comments — keep ’em coming!
  • I’m spending more time online than I did before, which squeezes out household duties (like dishes and laundry). My house is a pit until the weekend, but so what!
  • The biggest lesson thus far is that the project absolutely has an effect on my husband and my family. I have to post every day; it’s a commitment. My husband, who wasn’t crazy about my project idea when I came up with it in December, now is enjoying it. He is helping me with some of the more mindless work too and I enjoy involving him. But if I have a freakout about losing my job, it’s him who bears the brunt of my anxieties.

Coming in March:

  • More school lunches yet unknown!
  • Results of impending visit to a gastroenterologist.
  • Guest blogger(s) – email me if you want to do a post
  • Who knows what drama awaits!

An interview with the Good folks

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I backed off interview requests this month due to my own paranoia about losing my job, but I had agreed to an email interview in January so I finally followed through with that just a bit ago. You can read this fun interview here:

Q & A: Mrs. Q Is Fed Up With School Lunch

To everyone who has requested an interview, I really want to do more, but I’m working closely with a family member who is a lawyer just to make sure I’ve got myself covered. Feel free to (re)contact me in the months that follow if you are still interested at that time. Thanks for your understanding.