Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children's Health - Paperback

by Amy Kalafa (Author)

There's a battle going on in school lunchrooms around the country...and it's a battle our children can't afford for us to lose.

The average kid will eat 4,000 school lunches between kindergarten and twelfth grade. But what exactly are kids eating in school lunchrooms around the country? Many parents don't quite know what their children are eating-or where it came from. As award-winning filmmaker and nutritionist Amy Kalafa discovered in researching her documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America's Children, these days it's pretty rare to find a piece of fresh fruit in your average school lunchroom amid all the chips, french fries, Pop-Tarts, chicken nuggets, and soda that's being served. But what, if anything, can parents do about it?

Written in response to the onslaught of requests she received from parents who saw her film and asked, "If I want to attempt to change the food culture in my kid's school, how on earth should I get started?!" this empowering book arms parents with the specific information and tools they need to get unhealthy-even dangerous-food out of their children's school cafeteria and to hold their schools and local and national governments accountable for ensuring that their growing children are served healthy meals at school. In Lunch Wars, Kalafa explains all the complicated issues surrounding school food; how to work with your school's "Wellness Policy"; the basics of self- operated vs. outsourced cafeterias; how to get funding for a school garden, and much more. Lunch Wars also features the inspiring stories of parents around the country who have fought for better school food and have won, as well as details Amy's quest to spark a revolution in her own school district.

For the future health and well-being of our children, the time has come for a school food revolution.

Author Biography

Amy Kalafa has produced award-winning films, television programs, and written magazine articles in the field of health education for more than twenty-five years. The writer and producer of the acclaimed documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America's Children, Kalafa was featured on Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, Fox News Live, and in USA Today and The New York Times. A holistic health and nutrition counselor as well as an organic farmer, she lives with her family in Georgetown, Connecticut.