Spiderman Says Support Healthy School Lunches!
You don’t need a Spider Sense to detect the low quality of today’s school lunches. From greasy tater tots (remember Napoleon Dynamite?) to basically anything marinated in gravy to “chef’s surprise,” which is usually leftovers, there’s not usually many fresh or healthy choices available.
President Obama admits that it’s due to costs—that schools are able to buy these pre-packaged, frozen foods cheaply. But he’s also said that we need to do something about it. “Let’s get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix,” he said.
With a problem like this, we need a hero to step up to the plate—literally!—and add some green food to it. A hero like… Spiderman!
Tobey Maguire, father of two, is helping to promote the Healthy School Lunch Campaign, a movement sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The campaign’s purpose is to improve school lunches by getting the government, school officials, parents, food service workers and basically everyone involved in what goes onto our children’s plates educated and interested about healthy food choices at school in order to support children’s health.
I always thought that mandatory P.E. without good green foods at lunch was a little silly, didn’t you? Run the dreaded mile—then go eat Salisbury steak and fries.
“I am deeply concerned that unhealthy school lunches are contributing to our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic,” says Tobey in a letter to Senator Tom Harkin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “My wife and I just had our second child, so this issue is tremendously important to us.”
And remember what Spidey’s dear Aunt Mae said: “There’s a hero in all of us.” Spiderman’s been in plenty of sticky situations that, without the help of ordinary citizens, he may not have fared so well in. So be sure to join Tobey Maguire and make the call for healthy school lunches yourself.
Click here to get a bunch of free handouts and resources in getting healthy lunches at your (or your child’s) school. The toolkit includes easy steps—mainly talking to people about healthy food and meeting with your principal—to take in getting healthy meals in your school. Some handouts include a sample letter to your principal, a vegetarian starter kit, and some veggie options for school menus.
You can also sign their petition for healthy school lunches here.
“School is tough enough already. Students shouldn’t have to put up with lunches swimming in fat and cholesterol,” reminds Spiderman—I mean, Tobey.
