The school lunch issue has been discussed before at Thought Food. Recently the challenge of improving the school lunch program has been highlighted under the First Lady’s initiative against childhood obesity . Now comes a new documentary which underscores just how fraught this issue has become. “Lunch Line” reviewed by Tracie McMillan in The Atlantic, promises an illuminating look into the seven decades of the school lunch program. It underscores the need for a qualitative change in food policy. It is not that the answers are not known or that the desired results are impossible to achieve. Yes, one of the problems is money but more important is to understand where school lunch policy gets made: at the USDA. Makes sense, you would think, to link the farmers to the schools. But that agency is more tuned into the concerns of the mammoth corn and soy production complex and the fresh and healthy choices that parents are hoping to see, do not come into play. What we need is an overhaul of the agricultural policy as it exists, a huge task requiring foresight and will, not always found in large quantities in the halls of power.
For all those hoping for better options for lunch, just stay tuned….and watch “Lunch Line”.
Thought + Food 