It looks like the Nightline piece has been bumped due to news coverage of the passing of Steve Jobs. So sad that he has died. Hopefully my appearance on Nightline will re-air, but I’m satisfied. Today has been wonderful.
Chicago Tribune (I was on the front page — holy cow)
The blog was covered online all over the place — sorry if I’m missing some. I’ll try to share more later. So happy today is over.
Thank you so much for doing this project. I excited watched you this morning on The View. It was so exciting to see and hear you. I think you did great. Thanks for the awareness.
I just wanted to say that I am so inpressed with the article that was in the Chicago Tribune. I came across this through Food Inc that is posted on my Facebook. I am currently a mother of 3 getting my degree in Psychology and am very interested in how food is related to people. I took a Psychology of Foods class last semester and have totally turned my life around. I am looking forward to getting a copy of your new book.
Thank you so much for your insight and I love your website.
Chris
So excited and proud of all you have accomplished Sara…and I’m so happy I can type your name and not be worried about letting your secret identity out accidentally 😉
I watched you on the shows today and was really impressed with how cool and collected your were!! Thanks for sharing such an important message!
Can’t wait to read your book!!!
Cheers
Kia aka @eatingarainbow lol 😉
So happy for you Sarah! Loved how worked up Whoopie got on The View today. Your segment seemed a bit rushed and I know it’s tough to talk with all the opinions the ladies share, but you did great! Loved the big reveal on Good Morning America. You looked great!
Thank you for all that you’ve done to help our children get better food. For inspiring parents to advocate as well. Wish you continued success now that you are revealed.
Good for you doing this! I watched you this am on Today show. I hope nothing bad becomes of this since you were undercover and now everyone knows. I hope only something good and positive could come out of this. Maybe your creativity, and ambition might make schools wake up and they could offer you a better job in educating them.
I started making lunches for my 13 year old since he is in the middle of a growth spurt and the school lunches are leaving him “starving” (his words, not mine). However, the turning point was when he told me the lunch at school was a bbq chicken pizza omelet. He could not eat it. I could not blame him.
I make the lunches so that I am sure they are getting a balanced meal now.
Stumbled on your website the Food Inc. Currently live in the UK but moving back to the US at the end of the year. After living here, my eyes are far more open about the state of the food system in the US. Kudos, kudos, kudos to you for opening many, many eyes. Can’t wait to read your book. You’re my hero today!
Congratulations on your successful reveal! You’ve done an awesome thing here, kudos to you.
It was only very recently that I found you because I read “Lunch Wars” by Amy Kalafa and had my eyes opened to all this crazy cafeteria lunch business. Thank you for doing what you do. I’m following you on FB and Twitter and subscribed to the blog via email so I can keep up with your efforts!
Congrats again!
Mandi
So so proud of you! XOX
You were FANTASTIC! Very poised, very articulate!!!
One point that stuck out in the interview, you said most parents do not know what is served in their students lunch room. True, in addition, most parents do not know what is going on in their childs class room. After all, where can you get a full time babysitter for under a dollar and hour?
Most parents would not know a “healthy” meal anyhow. Is this type of food, (processes, fried) is served at home, why is it a problem our schools are serving it?
I have not read your book, nor will I.
My question is; Do you continue to spotlight the deficiencies or step up and use your “status” to improve the situation?
How easy, it appears, to profit, while on the outside looking in, pointing fingers.
This is an incredibly complex issue that has no simple fix. All we can do is start the dialog and take small steps in our own communities and our own families. There’s no way childhood nutrition issues (or nation-wide nutrition issues for that matter) that involve federal and state governments, local school boards, big businesses, a lack of nutrition education among adults, and basic food availability can be repaired quickly or easily.
There is no magic bullet.
Shining a light on the need for change is an incredibly important first step, and if you decide to read the book, you’ll see the excellent suggestions for change the author provides.
I don’t think it’s all that complex. They feed our kids slop as if it were free. It has been that way for generations. It needs to stop.
I’ve seen some of the gray matter they are feeding our kids. In a lot of cases, they’d be better off with the choices at McDonald’s, much less a hoard of other restaurants.
Maybe that’s the answer? Free market.
Enough with the single lowest bidding vendor stuff. Maybe we should allow our schools to sell or have a lottery for cafeteria space, and give a small piece to different vendors. Each one gets to compete for our business. Like a lot of corporate cafeterias are set up now. Then also set it up so the PARENTS can pre-order their child’s food on the web, so that they can only buy what their parents want them to eat for that day.
The school lunch problem would go away in no time at all. Hell, if McDonald’s took it over we’d be better off. They have salads and grilled chicken sandwiches that are MUCH better for the kids than those mystery slaughterhouse floor meat nuggets and the like.
So that’s my answer. Force the schools to allow competing vendors in, and allow the parents to pre-order what their kids can buy. Case closed, now lets try to catch up to Asia in the academic department.
Having people out there talking about this subject and educating parents on what’s going on in our country’s public school system IS helping to improve the situation. Sarah’s blog has been a wealth of information for me and thousands of other readers, and we’re taking that new found knowledge into our own schools. Also, if you actually read her book you’d know Sarah did take steps to make changes in the school she worked at while doing this project, as well as other things to help educate others to what’s happening.
How easy it is to state your uninformed opinions on someone’s book that you have not read, and how easy it must be to quite confidently state that you do not plan on reading it either.
Nice Job! Now just hoping all goes well in your school district for you. I cannot see how they can possibly retaliate.
Awesome, well done! You’re a natural!
I’ve read your blog since nearly the beginning, and my copy of the book arrived yesterday. I read it in one sitting well into the wee small hours last night — awesome job! It was very well written, very clear, and (of course) addresses such an important issue. You should be very proud of yourself — congratulations!!!!
Hooray for Mrs. Q!
Congrats Mrs Q! What a journey it’s been, can’t wait to read the book and I hope I get to catch one of your TV spots.
Charlie is one of the cutest little men ever!
I’ve followed your blog quietly for the better part of the project, and I am so happy for you and the positive feedback you are now receiving. I hope your colleagues reactions are as favorable. Keep up the good work – for those of us just starting to plan families, I have hope for real change in the near future. Can’t wait to read your book!
You’re a hero in my eyes! I was ranting ALL day yesterday about school lunch. Which is terrible but our school also sells “snack” to our 3rd,4th, and 5th graders. They get to choose from RED AND BLUE SLUSHIES, Gatorade, chips, cookies and ice-cream bars. I’m guessing this brings in $100 of dollars a day for the school. How can one mom fight this? After seeing you on TV I am inspired. Thanks for your courage.
I’ve been reading since about halfway through the project and just wanted to say bravo! You looked and sounded great in your interviews. It must have been scary to come out like that but you didn’t seem nervous at all! I wonder if you’ve ever read Marion Nestle’s Food Politics? It talks about how the food and nutrition guidelines are formed at the government level (which can be summed up in one word: lobbyists) and about the corporate contracts in schools. When Whoopie on The View was talking about how the school districts should be ashamed, I was yelling at my TV, “But they are following the guidelines set forth by the government! That’s who should be ashamed!”
Anyway, I have really enjoyed your journey and wish you much success with the book — I can’t wait to read it!
Sarah, thank you for addressing such an important issue in our schools. Congratulations on your media blitz, you did a terrific job!
Long time no speak! CONGRATULATIONS on the book. I just watched your GMA segment and am about to watch The View. You rock. I’m so proud of you.
Hope our paths cross again soon … and I sure hope your book and all the media exposure continues to push school food service directors and their staff to get more and more creative in the cafeteria!
I’m shocked that in your interview you mentioned parents being unaware of how bad the food is. Weren’t we all kids before? Weren’t we all eating or seeing the slop that was served to us when we were in school? Don’t we have a childhood obesity problem? This is a major wake-up call for parents to slow their lives down and see what is really going on in their children’s lives. People get too wrapped up on paying bills, peer gossip, and how much they hate their boss that their health takes a back seat. Take responsibility for your family’s health and pay more attention to your kids!
Sarah–Wow! This is absolutely spectacular. I am so happy you’ve had such great media success! We are sharing the USA Today article with our national office and food bank members today in our daily media newsletter. Once things settle down, I’d love to get back in touch with you about a couple opportunities with Feeding America. Again, congrats!
-Shannon Traeger
just wondering if you had thought about pairing up with Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution. Seems like by joining together with Food Revolution, which is doing something very similar, there could be even more awareness and results for kids.
I think what you did was fantastic and am going to buy the book today. How does one contact you? I just joined a foodservice management company I am VERY proud to represent – http://www.taher.com – who is a pioneer in the healthy school lunch movement for children. Thank you!
I am so happy to see someone stepping up and being the Voice for the school lunch program. I was a ‘Lunch Lady’ at my local school district. It’s not just the food! Please look into the sanitation of the lunch cafeteria. I worked for less then 6 months in the cafeteria preparing,serving,and cleaning up after lunch. It’s so dirty! The other servers would wipe the floors up with the same towels they use to clean the counters. I have seen mold on utensils. They do not clean everything the way it should be cleaned. I was removed from my duties when I ‘spoke up’ . This is something that should be investigated further.The lunch area is not clean! Our kids are eating out dated foods and the foods are being served from an unsanitary place.
Gross, if they do that at school, do they do that in their own kitchens?!
Not all are that way, thank goodness! I worked in an elementary school that had a spotless cafeteria and loving Ladies making it happen everyday. Kudos to those who care!
Good for you for speaking up, I hate that you lost your job over it. Very brave of you.
Thank you for all that you have done to raise awareness around the issue of food & our children. I have been a “lurker” for over a year now and have come out of hiding to say that you did an awesome job!
I would also like to add that I do agree with the ladies on The View. Change has to come from the top down but only if the bottom puts pressure on the system. You, your readers, and I are the 99% and the folks in charge of feeding our children are the 1%. This is not about political parties. This is about people becoming aware, spreading the awareness, and “becoming the change they want to see in this world”, as the great Ghandi said.
I encourage everyone reading this to do what you can, in your way, to make a difference. To make yourself heard as the 99% and to reach out to others around you and share the gifts and wealth you DO have, because building communities and relationships is exactly what is needed for unity, and in my opinion for survival of freedom and more importantly the survival of humanity.
Thank you again Sarah, for your great contribution to creating awareness around an issue that affects millions! May your continued journey as an educator, author and advocate be filled with many blessings, much joy and lots of Love!
~Namaste
YOU GO GIRL! I have been lurking since the beginning, I am so proud of what you have done. Just watched all the clips. Horay for Ms Q! I mean Ms Wu!
Mrs. Q,
So excited to see a face to put with your wonderful blog entries that I’ve been reading for almost a year now. I hope that your new found fame brings only good things to you and to school lunch reform!
Yay for you! I hope you have great fun with it. I can’t even get the media to play, it’s so busy right now! But I’m looking forward to it when it happens!
What a great project that you have taken on. You have opened the eyes of many with this and the only thing I can say is I really wish I had known this blog existed a year ago. Thanks for the care you have shown to our children accross the nation. Maybe your actions will help inspire change.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…..I am so happy/proud/excited for you!! Cannot wait to get my hands on your books. I always considered myself a food/health conscious person, but after reading your blog from pretty much the start I began evaluating what I was feeding my family and have made some major changes in our lifestyle. Thank you for opening up my eyes and my awareness to food choices. Congrats to you!!
I have been following your blog for over a year now, even though my kids are grown up and out of school. Please keep reading to see how I found out about you going public. I am a couple of weeks behind on your blog because after being unemployed since January, I finally started working again 3 weeks ago. My new job is in a high rise building in downtown San Francisco. They have a really neat screen in the elevator showing weather, stocks, entertainment and top news stories. Each little blurb displays for *maybe* 30 seconds but probably less. I travel to and from the 16th floor and see *maybe* 2-3 stories. Yesterday, I got on the elevator and caught just the last part of a story — I saw Mrs Q and Fed Up With Lunch. And of course, the story then changed. As soon as I got home, I hit your blog to get the deets!! I am so proud of you. You have done an amazing job publicizing what our kids are being fed each day. Thank you for my future grandchildren.
How about the kids that can not eat whole-wheat or breaded foods??? What about then kids. No one is doing the Gluten Free meals….
PLEASE BRING GLUTEN FREE FOODS ON LINE…
I have been reading your blog since 2010 when you started eating school lunch and it was great to put a face to the person that has taught a lot of people so much. I work in the School Food Service Industry, and yes it is an idustry that makes a lot of money for a lot of big manufacturers. It is people like you that are forcing these large manufacturers to offer better choices to schools and I have been seeing many changes and I think that we are moving in the right direction. I am seeing products being made with all natural ingredients, whole grains and being produced with lower levels of sodium and this has all been happening in the last year or so. We still have a long way to go, but it is encouraging to see some of these positive changes and I think things will only get better going forward. Thank you for your hard work and sharing your experience with the world.
I also wanted to mention one more thing to you. I have a son the same age as yours and I am shocked at all of the different things your son eats. My son is so picky and I have such a hard time getting him to eat a well balanced diet everyday. What is your secret? Whatever you have done, congratulations on a happy beautiful little boy.
Hi Mrs. Q/Sarah – I just wanted to say congratulations on no longer being anonymous – I can only imagine what a big step that was (have read your blog since the first month when I remember anonymity was a big concern for you, which I could relate to, as I was very anonymous on my blog at teh time as well). I do not comment enough, but have loved what you have done with your blog 🙂
I’m so happy that your reveal was successful! I have been following you off and on since very early in the project. You have inspired me to be more aware of what I bring for my lunch everyday (also, I’m pretty sure you planted the seeds for my burning desire for a Bento box….). THANK YOU!
Yay! I missed the live GMA segment but just watched it online — so inspiring and exciting to see you telling your story. I remember talking with you about the book all those months ago at Mayo Transform. I can’t wait to read it. Congratulations!!!
You look so glamorous in those video clips. Congrats!