Did I enjoy all of your entries in the blog party!!! Chicken nuggets with a side of ice cream and a pop tart? Pizza with a side of pizza? Chicken nuggets three times a week? I laughed and then I cried. What are we doing to kids in this country?
I’m really inspired by all the “bento mamas.” Really terrific recipes and the lunches couldn’t be cuter. I want to do that for my son too, but my bigger wish is that the schools could offer fresh, healthy food so all kids can eat well. I would opt in financially to a system like that so that my son could get good food at school along with the other kids. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about what he is eating at school and there’s be no need to pack (a parent who prefers to pack certainly could).
Someone linked up to an article from April: School lunch: This is war. The title made me chuckle (I in no way endorse the article — I just thought the title was funny). But “a war” is a good analogy. I’m in the trenches privately but in a public way. We’re fighting for the health of kids in this country. If we don’t win, they lose. And the price for our society? Health care costs that bankrupt this country. The staggering loss of human potential….
Blah, blah, ok, I’m preaching to the converted here so on to the prize winners (list of prizes here)! I used random number generator to pick numbers from the 29 comments:
Winner is: #26 corrie
Winner is: #21 Bettina at the lunch tray
Winner is: #13 Bar7 ranch
(There are three sip to transition cups and two kids water bottles. Please email your preference, will try to accommodate if possible.)
Book prizes with a note from me:
Winner is: #22 Melissa
Winner is: #20 sljones718
Winner is: #27 Shannon (what’s for lunch)
Winner is: #29 Viki
Winner is: #19 Sunflower’s mom
Winner is: #23 Christina @ spoonfed
(If you have a book preference, please include that in your email. Will try to accommodate if possible)
If you are a winner, please email me at fedupwithlunchATgmailDOTcom with your mailing address! Enjoy!
Doing giveaways has been a lot of fun. If you didn’t win, don’t lose hope. I’m going to do more giveaways this Fall (from sponsors and from me). Stay tuned and thanks for participating! (And check out the winners are @scatteredmom’s blog !)
Yay! Congratulations to all of the winners!!
Wow! Thanks!
What a fun weekend.
I may have to figure out the twitter thing.
I feel like I must have really missed out on Friday…
So I have to say – I just read the article you linked to "School Lunch – This Is War" and while it made me chuckle a little bit, it also seemed WAY off base in it's recommendations. Just have private companies fighting to see who can provide the school lunch for the biggest profit and have parent's only pay for it? Holy COW! If anything the nutrition standards would go DOWN with this "solution" because poorer quality and more fillers equals more profit than fresh fruit and veggies and sustainable meat.
Also, one of the biggest issues that is talked about is how we need to improve school lunch nutrition because for many children in this country on the free or reduced lunch program this is the only full meal they get all day. So that would mean denying a whole lot of kids whose parents can't afford to buy them lunch a healthy meal. Saying that obese kids is the logical end to all Obama recommended programs just seems like an outrageous accusation too…Last I checked, obesity levels have continued to go up no matter which political party was in office.
I just feel like it was a really off-base article that was more interested in bashing the politics the author doesn't agree with than it was about offering real ideas or solutions. For the record, I personally think that this should be a bipartisan issue that crosses liberal/conservative labels and boundaries and I don't like seeing either side use children as ammunition in politics. All kids need healthy food no matter who their parents vote for!
And Mrs. Q I know you didn't write the article, but I just touched such a chord for me I had to comment.
Tina — I only read the first few paragraphs ofthe article and now that I read the rest, I want you to know that I also don't agree. I'm sorry if I gave that impression. I'm going to remove the link. Thanks.
Oh gosh…no problem! It honestly didn't sound like it jived with a lot of the things you had been saying on your blog and I didn't think you were endorsing the point of view. I do agree though, fighting for change is like fighting a war! Although I wish it didn't have to be that way. It seems like the more the parents (and teachers and advocates) have to fight for what is right and healthy, the more the kids get caught in the middle. Can't I dream of a time when everyone in charge just says "Sure! Of course we will provide healthy, well balanced, sustainable food at a reasonable price to our precious children!" 🙂 Maybe one day…
Hooray, thank you so much! And thanks for doing this blog party. It was educational and inspiring. I'm so ready to join the lunch revolution!
Hai, Congratulations for the blog winners.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm hoping the friends who see my children eat healthy lunches (egg salad and pita bread today) will get curious and try something new. Chicken nuggets aren't on the menu this week, but the "breaded beef" and hot dogs are scary too!