Happy Friday, TLT’ers! I’m closing out the week with a quick round-up of links of interest:
Gail Collins on School Food, Paul Ryan on “Empty Souls”
Gail Collins had a great column yesterday in the New York Times on the never-ending politicization of school food, prompted in part by Paul Ryan’s recent (and, dare I say, bone-headed) comment that kids who eat school meals, rather than a home-packed brown bag lunch, are left with “a full stomach and an empty soul.” Jon Stewart also had some fun with Ryan over that comment, which you can watch here.
Can We Blame School Food for Childhood Obesity?
A new film, Lunch Hour, is coming out and it apparently draws a direct link between the childhood obesity crisis and school food. But it also sounds like it might have been filmed before the improvements of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act were implemented? I’ll see if I can get my hands on a screener copy and will share my thoughts here.
More on Threats to Healthier School Food Rules
Politico ran a story earlier this week, similar in subject matter to my post on Civil Eats last month, evaluating whether the gains of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act are likely to be rolled back due to mounting pressure from the School Nutrition Association and other factions.
Cleaning Up the Sports Concession Stand
A new study from the University of Iowa finds that high school sports concession stands can improve the nutritional quality of their offerings — and without going broke! (Hat tip: Real Mom Nutrition)
Texas Monthly Spotlights Chinese Chicken Petition
On Texas Monthly‘s website, executive editor Mimi Swartz has written a profile of me and the Change.org petition I started, along with Nancy Huehnergarth and Barbara Kowalcyk, regarding Chinese-processed chicken in school meals. See why my husband now refers to me as The Doberman — though my kids still think of me as a lap dog. 🙂
Join Me For a #FoodFri Tweetchat Today!
Later today, I’ll be one of the panelists for Moms Rising’s weekly #FoodFri Tweetchat, this time on the topic of athletes getting paid to promote fast food and other unhealthy food to kids. I’ll be joined by an impressive group of co-panelists: the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, Leah Segedie of Mamavation, Casey Hinds of KY Healthy Kids, Corporate Accountability International and Anna Lappé, principal of Small Planet Institute and creator of Food MythBusters films. Please join us at 1pm EST, using the hash tag #foodfri.
Have a great weekend, and see you next week!
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