Q&A with Mrs Q of "Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project" blog

I recently discovered a great blog called "Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project" and became obsessed with reading it. In fact, I read the first two months worth in one day, just to catch up! The blog is written by "Mrs Q", a teacher who has committed to eating school-provided lunch every day in 2010 in an effort to bring awareness of what we are feeding our kids.

Mrs Q has decided to remain anonymous to protect her job and identity. Here are some questions that I asked Mrs Q about her project:

A: What inspired you to become a teacher?

Mrs Q: I like working with kids and I wanted to make a difference. I didn't want to sit in a cubicle for the rest of my working life.

A: What do you love most about your job?

Mrs Q: I like it when a student makes a connection. Those light bulb moments are thrilling!

A: Why have you decided to do this project and how has it changed things for you in the three+ months that you have been eating this way?

Mrs Q: I just thought of the project one day late last year. I had forgotten to pack a lunch from home a few more times that usual and I had to eat cafeteria food a couple times. I was dismayed and thought,
"what could I do?".

The blog has changed my life. First of all I finally put two and two together that I am lactose-intolerant. I wasn't drinking much milk before and so all the milk I was drinking at lunch bothered me. Secondly I'm even more focused on eating more healthy foods at home to balance out what I'm eating for lunch.

A: Do the kids know you are writing about it (school lunches)?

Mrs Q: The kids don't know anything about what I'm doing and no one at school has a clue.

A: How has eating this food every day changed things for you? Has it affected your attention span?

Mrs Q: My attention span is a little worse than before but blog maintenance has me staying up a lot later than I'm used to. I can't say it's directly related to the food I'm eating.

A: (Magic Wand Question) How would you fix the school lunch problem (the problem of poor quality food for kids that are growing bodies and brains)?

Mrs Q: I want to see less processed foods, more variety, more fruit and vegetables, a salad bar in every school and explicit instructions on nutrition and cooking. Many kids just don't eat veggies because of lack of exposure.

A: If no magic wand is available, what would your short-term, temporary fixes be?

Mrs Q: We have to think long-term. There is no short-term fix. Thinking short-term is what got us into this mess. So much of the school lunch program is based on old thinking and not the latest on nutrition research.

There are hidden costs that will rise. For example, highly processed goods rely on the continued low cost of fuel to go from farmer to processing plant to the school. Well, the cost of gas is going to increase because we only have so much oil. We have to change the system to farm-to-school and school gardens now in anticipation of a new, greener economy.

A: What are your plans after the year is over?

Mrs Q: I really hope to be able to eat the food every day this year. I don't have any plans for next year. I'm already looking forward to packing lunches again.

What has surprised me the most is the support and encouragement from the readers. It's really great to create a community of people concerned about kids and their health.

Thank you Mrs Q for taking the time to answer my questions!

To read Mrs Q's daily blog,
visit "Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project".

Also, you can follow her on Twitter!
@FedUpWithLunch

For more information about farm-to-school projects in the US,
visit FarmtoSchool.org.

To read about Alice Water's school garden project "Edible Schoolyard,
visit EdibleSchoolYard.org.

For information on Jamie Oliver's upcoming tv show "Food Revolution",
visit JamieOliver.com.

More about Guest Bloggers and Q&A Participants.