For the month of September, Whole Foods Market’s Do Something Reel Film Festival is featuring Lunch Line, a documentary about the national school lunch program. The film follows six school age children from one of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago as they set out to fix school lunch and end up at the White House.
The National School Lunch Program began in 1946, and now, more than 60 years later, the program feeds more than 31 million children every day. In the film, leaders from all sides of the school food debate weigh in on the program and discuss ways to continue nourishing America’s children for another 60 years.
Improving childhood nutrition is also the focus of the Whole Kids Foundation, a Whole Foods Market foundation. To date, the Foundation has funded nearly 900 school garden grants in partnership with FoodCorps and over 1,500 salad bars through Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, giving more than 1 million kids access to healthy food choices.
If you’d like kids to spend more time with a lunchbox than in the lunch line, here are our tips to pack a lunchbox that your kids won’t want to swap:
1. Substitute avocado or hummus for mayo – avocado serves as a healthy fat source plus provides a creamy spread for sandwiches.
2. Pep up your plain old PP&J with almond butter and fresh fruit slices –fresh fruit means natural sugars.
3. Always use whole grain breads or tortillas – wraps are a fun change of pace especially when they are packed with veggies.
4. Savor seasonal flavors – pack a piece of fruit or cut vegetables for a crunchy snack.
5. Swap processed chips and snacks for healthier homemade options– trail mix with dried fruits and nuts or whole grain chips and hummus make the grade.
Lunch Line is available on iTunes and other platforms for $3.99—you can visit dosomethingreel.com for more information.
Whole Kids Foundation and Better Bites are also filled with healthy eating information for families and kids!
