{Book Review} Lunch Wars

via Goodreads.com

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:


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?

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My Review - Lunch Wars by Amy Kalafa



This book took me a long time to get through.  Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I enjoyed it quite a lot and there was an unending amount of fabulous information.  I stopped every few paragraphs to jot something down that struck me. When hubby happened to be in the same room, I'd rattle off unbelievable statistics to him.  Sometimes I'd sit steaming in guilt for a few minutes because I WANT a Frito Pie right now.  Right this minute.

Some quick facts from the introduction of Lunch Wars:

• Nearly 30 percent of American children eat less than one serving a day of vegetables that are not fried.
• The cost of fresh fruits and vegetables has risen 40 percent in the past twenty years.
• The cost of soda, sweets, meat, dairy, fats, and oils has decreased by as much as 20 percent in that same time.
• Over two-thirds of all foods consumed by schoolchildren are foods that are recommended for occasional intake.

The first part of the book is chock-full of shocking statistics and good information and the last part shows you how to put a plan in to action with templates of all kinds, surveys, policy, success stories and ideas, if one is so-inclined.

Our school district and school in particular is awesome.  Award winning.  Rock star quality, if you will.  Really, I'm not just saying that to save some face here.  But the food service?  I'm not sure, to be completely honest. 


When I looked up the cafeteria menu for one day this week and it glared back at me with these two choices: Chicken Parmesan OR Chili Cheese Fries, my heart kind of did a flippity-flop.  In the bad way.  What the....?  I highly doubt that's homemade chicken parm and don't get me started on the chili cheese fries.  It sat wrong with me that the cafeteria was serving something for lunch that I would not serve my children at home.  To say this book got me thinking would be an understatement.

First line:

"Whether your child brings lunch or buys it, you need to know what your school's food environment is like."

Favorite quote:

"There is a wonderful Hindu expression out of the Bhagavad Gita that our role here is to add our light to the sum of lights." p. 72

You don't have to be a crazy health food fanatic to get some great info and insight out of this book.  If you have a kid in the school system, or know one, I highly recommend this book to you   

Visit Two Angry Moms website (or view the documentary of the same name) to learn more about Lunch Wars and how you can get involved.  You can also join the growing discussion on this book by visiting BlogHer.


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This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are entirely my own.