I’ve often thought that the term ‘surfing the internet’ isn’t totally appropriate – I live in Los Angeles where the beach is never far away, and often see surfers in the ocean floating and waiting… and waiting… and waiting for the next wave. But those who ‘surf’ websites and comment on blogs actually make their own waves and sometimes cause quite the ripple effect.
Case in point: a collective dialogue about school lunch is going on right now as a direct result of blogs and websites such as Simple, Good and Tasty, created by Lee Zukor and his partners.
Lee ‘s site is helping parents become aware of ways to get their kids to eat healthier and the importance of families eating together. In short, the creation of ‘happy meals’ you can’t get at fast food restaurants. This ‘wave’ may have been popularized by Jamie Oliver and his high-profile TV show, but it’s growing bigger every day thanks to the blogosphere and people like Lee.
A lot of the intelligent discussion on his website comes from guest posts by people like Gabriela Lambert, a former lawyer who, after 10 years of practice, decided to stay home with her three kids. Three kids eat A LOT of lunches in one year – trust me, I know, because I’m also a mother of three. And all three of Gabriela’s kids (like mine) have different likes and dislikes when it comes to what they find in their lunch box.
photo by Mary Quinn McCallum - St. Paul, MN. Her 2nd grader's lunch
Parents are finding that a great place to start the “dance” is to see first-hand what kinds of lunches are being served at their children’s schools. Simple, Good and Tasty just completed a contest where parents were challenged to eat a school lunch with their children and take a photo of the event. (The results of the contest were just announced and we were pleased to donate Easylunchbox Systems as prizes to the top winners.)
Whether you’re curious or skeptical, I invite you to take your own school lunch challenge. Find out what school lunch time is like at your kids’ school and see what your reaction is. If you want to make changes but aren’t sure where to start, visit Simple, Good and Tasty – it’s a great place to begin gathering information about how easy it is to change things. And I don’t mean changing the world – that’ll take a little longer – but changing things one meal at a time. Hope you can ride the wave with us – “Surf’s Up!”
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post Kelly! I guess in a sense, this is a bonus for having celiac disease and being on the gluten-free diet…we cannot eat school “hot lunches,” even if we wanted to!
I am hoping that through the “waves” that are being created in the blogosphere, other parents can see that their feelings of “not wanting to deal with packing a meal every day” are valid, yet they can be overcome. Sometimes, all you need is a little inspiration and a bit of encouragement to spend a few extra minutes out of our already hectic lives to pack a nutritious and fun lunch for our kiddos. I think it is a small investment today for a long-term benefit tomorrow.
We can all help each other out by sharing ideas… coming up with the idea, at least for me, has been one of the most time consuming aspects of packing lunch (the other would be trying to locate all those lunchbox components that seem to find their way into the toy box… or worse!
However, the Easy Lunchbox System is a total game changer, in my opinion.)
I am so ready to “ride the wave” with you and everyone else, even though I cannot surf and am petrified of the ocean after watching “Open Water” and okay… “Titanic” freaked me out too, LOL!
.-= Heidi Kelly´s last blog ..Canyon Bakehouse Giveaway Winner! =-.
I love your comment Heidi! Thank you for that. Taking the ocean theme even further down this page- I’m grateful to be in the water with other parents like you. Obviously, we are making a difference…. ‘Scuse me while I put another Beach Boys album on (yes, that was so 70′s of me and I do miss my turntable).
Have you seen the blog Fed Up: School Lunch Project? A teacher is eating school lunch every day, taking pictures of it, documenting how she feels after eating it, interviewing students, etc. It’s very interesting.
http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/
Oh definitely. Mrs. Q is great. EasyLunchboxes are listed on her resource list and she has wonderful posts and lots of great comments and ideas:)
That school lunch on the picture looks just gross… I wish every parent took the time and effort to pack lunch for their loved ones. It’s so important for kids to have a decent lunch and I’m glad to see more and more people becoming aware and getting involved.
Alison @ Femita is the cool author of..5 Back-To-School Lunchbox Ideas For Demanding Kids
It is a shame the cuts the schools have made. What happened to hot lunches that were required to be a balanced meal. There didn’t use to be any vending machines in schools, you ate lunch and it had good healthy food. I think the schools have cut the wrong programs.
Sheila is the cool author of..Kids Toy Boxes – Points to Consider
Indeed. It’s ridiculous to have to spend so much $$$ on ‘studies’ of what kids are eating at school and why there is such a rise in obesity. Portion sizes and processed foods are all wrong. Let’s spend the $$$ on changing that back about 40 or 50 years and (many) problems will be solved. Surely apples cost less than ‘studies’ and the red tape of paperwork and opinions that follow…