Write for Better School Lunches

I was not a big fan of school lunches as a kid. I still remember that nasty Chicken Chow Mein that they seemed to always serve. Pizza Fridays weren't bad, but I was definitely happier most days to bring my lunch and buy a milk for a dime (hard to believe it was a dime!)

School lunches may have improved on taste (don't all kids like chicken nuggets?), but from a nutrition perspective, most schools aren't doing the kids any favors. According to Slow Food USA, schools are reimbursed $2.68 for each free lunch which, after overhead, translates to $1/lunch. Cheap is good, but if it's leading to the later high health care costs associated with obesity and diabetes, the real costs are much higher.

With the Time for Lunch campaign, Slow Food USA is urging Americans to sign their petition and write Congress to call for the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2009 (voting has been delayed until early 2010). The Act would provide an additional $1/day to fund the lunches. It also provides $50 million to link local farms with local schools - that money would get poured right back into the communities and would support the small, organic farmers that I am convinced are necessary for our long-term nutritional needs. I've just finished reading the section about "big organic" vs. "small organic" in The Omnivore's Dilemma (by Michael Pollan) and it was very convincing on that point. Definitely a book worth checking out if you want to know more.

If you care about what we're putting into our kids' tummies on a daily basis, I encourage you to learn more.

New Non-Fiction for Kids

Just in time for the holidays... There is a new trend in the book publishing world with more adult books being adapted for children. Because of the issues these books tackle, I wouldn't call them easy reads (check out the age recommendations below), but they do present some interesting topics for older kids to ponder, or for families to read together. Check out the bottom of this post for recommendations good for all ages.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition, by Michael Pollan. Although it's definitely geared to kids 12 and up; the lighter text, pictures, and graphs help bring it down a level. With the knowledge of this book, your kids will be vastly more knowledgeable about what they're putting into their body. It's divided into 4 meals or sections: The Industrial Meal: Food from Corn; The Industrial Organic Meal; The Local Sustainable Meal: Food from Grass; and
The Do-It-Yourself Meal: Hunted, Gathered, and Gardened Food. Don't be surprised if your kids are more interested in the backyard garden and local farmer's market after reading this book!

Next up is Our Choice: How We Can Solve the Climate Crisis, by Al Gore. This book is just out in hardcover and is a young readers edition of the follow-up book to An Inconvenient Truth. This full color book is geared at kids ages 9 - 12.

The final book on this list doesn't deal with climate change or scientific facts, but rather social change. I read Three Cups of Tea a few years ago and was amazed to learn how far one man (author Greg Mortenson) has gone to build schools in the lands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Opening with an American hiker who has failed in his attempt to summit K2 and then becomes lost in Pakistan, the reader is introduced to the meaning behind the title: "With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger. With the second ... a friend. With the third cup of tea, you are family." The School Library Journal pegs this at grades 6 - 8, but I think it has enough of a story that it could also be a read-aloud for younger children.

If you're looking for book recommendations for younger kids, check out my earlier post, Earth-Friendly Fiction for Kids. Or, if you are just looking for some new fun reads for kids (on all topics), check out a great blog, The Booknosher.

Anyone else have favorite books to share with the list? Feel free to put them in the comments.