School Lunch

In the past year or so, I have become something of a foodie (although my recipe blogging posts may not be indicative of that). However, in the very recent past, I was known to eat all sorts of crap food. During my first stint in grad school, I frequented Taco Bell with alarming regularity (although I never attempted the Taco Bell diet). I was able to remain relatively athletic and thin due mainly to intense exercise and high metabolism.

I certainly ate really crappy school lunches pretty much everyday during middle and high school (I think Mom packed my lunches in elementary school) and then graduated to eating crappy food from the university dining halls as an undergrad. I also ate the school lunches on a regular basis during my two years as a public school teacher.

Since my conversion to a more nutritious eater, I find myself quite disturbed by what we feed our children. The school where I worked had Papa John's pizza EVERY DAY, and a daily line dedicated solely to fried breaded chicken patty sandwiches and hamburgers. All of this is to say that I am quite fascinated by this blog, where an anonymous teacher has undertaken to eat the school lunch everyday where she works and comment upon it.

I think that better school nutrition could be a relatively non-controversial (well, it may be controversial with the students...I dunno) way to address some educational problems. I can't imagine that a less crap-laden diet wouldn't improve student performance at least marginally. Not to mention the public health benefits.