Three months down…
March stats:
17 school lunches eaten:
(4 – pizza lunches)
(3 – burger-like lunches)
(3 – chicken lunches)
(2 – chili lunches)
(1 – hot dog lunch)
(1 – pasta lunch)
(1 – cheese croissant)
(1 – cheese lasagna)
(1 – mac and cheese)
…
(7 – fruit cups)
(6 – carrots!)
(2 – pears)
(2 – bananas!)
(2 – beans)
(2 – oranges)
(2 – green beans)
(2 – fruit jello)
(1 – tater tots)
(1 – corn)
(1 – fruit icee)
(1 – broccoli)
(0 – apples)
…
What I posted in March:
- Recess not on the menu: continued discussion of the lack of recess.
- Open threads: Saturday discussions about topics brought up on the blog.
- Guest bloggers: A new element to the blog to include others:
- Teacher from NY
- A writer and journalism student
- Food service director from the east coast
- American teacher in Japan
- Texan moms/teachers on high school lunches
- Student concerned about ingredients
- Ms. Dora Rivas, SNA president
- Alternatives to school lunches
- Teacher from WA
- There is no money: My take on limited funds for education and school lunches.
- Marrying nutrition and cooking: Why nutrition is boring to me, but paradoxically I love to cook.
- Spork: I think sporks are strange.
What I learned about myself:
- I am getting sick of eating school lunches. Imagine how the kids feel.
- I got some media attention and it was electrifying and scary all at once.
- This blog is a part-time job. I had no idea when I dreamed this up that it would take up all of my free time. On the plus side, I am more organized than ever before in my home life. I had to up my game or I would be wearing dirty clothes and there would be no food in the house.
- I am still
paranoidnervous about losing my full-time work as an educator. I’m trying to think positive about other opportunities that might open up if I were forced out (I no longer believe I would be fired, but I bet it would be “suggested” that I leave). - I do enjoy the highs and lows of this project. It’s thrilling to read your comments and get email from you. So far the lows are primarily just in my head. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey.
Coming in April:
- More school lunches…
- Finally a visit to a gastroenterologist and a health update.
- More guest bloggers – email me if you want to do a post (please don’t comment as I really don’t have time to locate your email address)
- Who knows what! I wasn’t able to predict the trajectory of the project and as such I just can’t say what is going to happen in the next month. Hopefully I’ll still be employed…
You left out the pbnj! How could you forget that deliciously yummy pbnj 😉
Thank g-d that was from January and I haven't had to eat it since! 🙂
It would be an outrage if you lost your job over this or even if it were "suggested" you leave your position. There are thousands of us who back you up and believe you are doing a great thing with this blog! Keep it up! Nutritional awareness, especially for our kids, has to be spread!
You know… even if something terrible happened and you did get fired, I think you'd have a good case for having your freedom of speech infringed upon…
Well, whatever you're doing, keep it up. March has been a good month on this blog. Lots of good articles and in depth discussions. Looks like you're hitting your stride.
You are truly an inspiration and a fantastic activist! I really love the tally of what you ate in March. I think it puts a lot of information in one very informative picture. Keep up the amazing work and thanks!!!
Thank you for an awesome month of blogging! You provided lots of interesting information and discussions. I love the open forums and guest bloggers on the weekends. Keep hanging in there with the lunches. It is really eye opening to see what kids are being fed in schools.
Interesting project.
Check this site out: http://www.spatulatta.com/ – it's two girls who offer kids-teach-kids cooking classes online. I think it's fun & inspiring.
Hey Mrs. Q, I think you;re school's changing a few things. For example: In all of your older posts the lunch was on a styrofoam tray. Recently I've seen a red plastic tray in your pictures.
Good luck! 🙂 🙂
Maybe a recount? i knew you had more than 1 tater tots. i counted more than 5 before i stopped. Only one i bothered counting.
what about your weight? have i missed those stats? curious as to how the school lunches are affecting your health!
I saw your blog on Good Morning America. Love that you are doing this. I wanted to share it with my blog readers, so I put information about this blog on mine today. Keep up the good work–you are doing an important thing here!
Margo Dill
http://margodill.com/blog/
Best wishes! I really hope that if you are ever "found out" that they APPRECIATE what a rare specimen you are that you are a teacher who CARES about what is BEST for children!!! That seems to be so rare these days!
Well, let's hope your employers don't know it is YOU who does this? 😀
I look forward to seeing if your health is the same now as before you starting eating this mush our schools call "food". XD
i really love your blog. as a 11th grade student it has really taught me to appreciate my school food. everything is fresh. there are so many choices ranging from fruits, salads, soups, burgers to daily entrees. what annoys me is that kids at my school still complain about the food! your blog really motivates me to bring awareness and appreciation for the things we have that many other schools don't have.
No apples this month? Why? I find that strange. They are cheap, easy, durable and kids love them.
Oops! I thought it was a total recap, not just march. My bad 😉
This is a very interesting blog and had me thinking about the fact that I take for granted what my kids eat at (middle) school each day.
It occured to me that it might be interesting if homeschooling Moms or Dads put up what their kids had for lunch in any given month just to see the differences or likenesses in entrees and sides.
The other thought was about someone like the guy in the film documentary who at fast food for a month. Hopefully your health won't tilt like that.
There's probably much good that will come from this blog even after this year is over.
Honestly? The more publicity this blog gets, the less likely your school will be to fire you or to suggest that you leave. That would be terrible publicity for them. The more well known your blog is, the more power you have to keep your job.