Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children's Health Paperback - 2011

by Amy Kalafa

"Whether the overall goal is simply to bump some greasy fries off the school menu or to have a totally new kitchen installed for from-scratch cooking, no lunchroom revolutionary should be without this battlefield manual...[a] detailed blueprint for building a better school lunchroom today."
-Kirkus Reviews

"This meaty, practical off-shoot of Kalafa's film will help parents turn anger into positive action."
-Publishers Weekly

"Amy's thoughtful, well researched work continues to sound the bell for all of us working so hard towards this effort."
-Chef Bill Telepan, Telepan Restaurant (NYC) and Executive Chef, Wellness in the Schools

"An excellent book which shows why and how a school food revolution must begin if we hope to reclaim the health of our children."
-Tuscon Citizen

"With fascinating stories and surprising facts, Amy Kalafa has created a terrific guide for all of us worried about our kids' health. May her bright style and clear action steps empower those yearning to make a difference."
-Frances Moore Lappé, author of the international bestseller Diet for a Small Planet and Anna Lappé, author of Grub and Diet for a Hot Planet

"It should be a birthright in our country that no child is hungry in school and that every day - every child has access to delicious/nutritious food. Lunch Wars is a great tool for parents, advocates and school food professionals as they make this goal a reality,"
-Ann Cooper, co-author of Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children

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.