brave new lunch

Brave New Lunch

Fri 11 Jun 2010

Story by Alison, 'Brave New Lunch' Blogger
 

Jamie's Food Revolution continues to gain support from people across the States. Alison, the blogger behind 'Brave New Lunch' shares her thoughts on the Food Revolution:

I’m on a mission to get rid of the junk in my school lunch. As a former restaurant industry professional turned school lunch lady, I’m facing the same challenges Jamie did in the schools of Huntington, West Virginia. With some hard work, all the processed and frozen foods will make way for food cooked in our own school kitchen.

Our transition from thaw-and-serve to from-scratch cooking won’t happen overnight. When I first started working at my school, several kitchen staff had never turned on the oven. In addition to the need for staff training, the kitchen could use equipment and space upgrades. So far, I’ve introduced locally sourced produce, bagels, and homemade soups to our cafeteria. Next year, I will lead my school as the Director of Food Services and write a new page in our food program. I hope to address the thing that bothers me the most about our current lunch, the main meal. I’d love to show our spongy chicken nuggets and frozen pizza the door. If I can’t make my own chicken nuggets from scratch, at least I can serve tenders made with real chicken meat instead of filler.

Parents and students, you may wonder why your school serves the same unhealthy meals every month--you would probably like to see chicken nuggets off your menus as well. We all have valid our concerns about what’s being served in school cafeterias. When I began working at my school two years ago, I realized that most foods came out of the freezer or from a can, and I wanted to do something about it immediately. Yet as I learned more about the history of the food-service department, I recognized that there were complex reasons that led to the current state of our cafeteria--reasons often beyond the control of the kitchen staff. I also noticed that no one wanted to talk about school food openly, as if it were a taboo. Why shouldn’t there be a discussion about the food you or your children eat?

I started my blog, Brave New Lunch in order to share information and insight with those interested in hearing how one school kitchen is moving towards a better lunch. I hope to start my own version of Jamie’s food revolution in my school in Boston, Massachusetts, and Brave New Lunch discusses my journey towards positive change and all the challenge I’m facing along the way. My school has a long way to go until I’ll be satisfied with lunch, but I’m working on it.

About the Author: Alison writes a blog called Brave New Lunch.

Find out more about Jamie's Food Revolution.