Improving Virginia's School Lunch

Note, this doesn't necessarily represent my views, I'm just passing on the information.

Virginia's Kids Deserve Real Food! You can help make it happen.

A small group of volunteers in Fairfax County Virginia are working to force the county to get rid of the greasy, sugary, MSG-spiked, chemically-laden lunches and replace them with food.

Why Fairfax County?

30 years ago similar group of volunteers forced the county to get rid of the synthetic additives in their food. They had to force this change since the food service department was not just disinterested, but outright hostile to parent requests for better food. Petitions with several thousand names were presented to the school board, who then instructed the dietitians to make the changes.

For several years the county served healthy, delicious lunches, and then -- gradually -- they went back to the usual factory food. Now, many years later, things have become so bad, what is being served in the cafeterias might not really be considered to be "food." [Take a look at www.School-Lunch.org.]

Why Fairfax County?

Here's another reason why we are targeting Fairfax: it is among the wealthiest counties in the United States! What's more when the school foods were improved back in the 1980s the good food did not cost more.

Real Food Can Cost Less!

Healthy food can actually cost less! Take a look at the wonderful lunches being served in a small Vermont community -- Arlington, VT. It is a low-income, rural community where more than half of the children are on free or reduced lunches, yet the students, faculty, staff and visiting families enjoy food you would expect to find in an upscale bistro. Here are some of the recent menu items:

Chicken Parmesan with Rotini Pasta & Homemade Marinara Sauce
Cranberry, Raspberry Salad with Feta Cheese, Walnuts and a Breadstick
Triple Decker Turkey Club Sandwich
California Cobb Salad with Chicken, Egg, Cheese, Bacon & Avocado with Tortilla Chips
Southwestern Wrap - Grilled Chicken, Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Tomatoes, Lettuce & Chipotle Mayo
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Broccoli, Peppers, Tomatoes & Mozzarella on Panini Bread
Homemade Tomato Basil Soup with Cheese Tortellini & a Breadstick
Grilled Chicken, Fresh Orange Sections, Walnuts, Dried Cranberries & Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing

Arlington Vermont schools are serving these wonderful meals, and by using creative ingenuity, buying in season and making the best use of government commodity foods, they are saving a great deal of money over what the school system had previously been paying for factory food! [www.School-Lunch.org]

They also offer the usual kid-friendly foods like burgers and pizza, but in healthier natural versions.

How You Can Help

Please visit our petition site, sign on, and pass this information on to your friends. Here is the link:

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Real-Food-For-Kids

While we are especially interested in hearing from people who live in Fairfax County, Virginia -- we are receiving supportive messages from citizens all over the world. So, regardless of where you live, we invite you to add your voice to ours.

Note: This project has been created by volunteers who have seen that the foods our children eat have a direct connection to their health, behavior and academic ability. See www.feingold.org for details.