Before I tell you I hated Lunch Wars, I should explain.
Amy Kalafa feels strongly that the system of school lunches in America needs to be changed.
I watched enough episodes of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution to have already heard that we’ve started teaching our kids to eat mainly processed food.
Which, since he mentioned it, did seem like a bad idea.
But when Amy heard about it, especially occurring in her own daughter’s school, she decided to take action.
This action consisted of making a documentary, Two Angry Moms.
Spurring a national, community-led movement to change school lunch systems resulted in Amy being consulted by parents, asking what they can do to fight for change.
Thus, Lunch Wars.
I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction. And the first chapter.
I even liked the second chapter.
But by the third chapter?
I felt my interest waning.
Not that Ms. Kalafa’s writing became listless or her advice lacked specificity and clarity.
Rather, I read Lunch Wars hoping to learn about what ingredients are bad for children, discover how the educational meal system works and hear tales of specific schools and their journey to healthier food.
I certainly found all those things and more within the pages… though I would have enjoyed it more had there been, perhaps, fewer pages to enjoy.
(362, if you include the notes, which I am certainly dork enough to have perused.)
The fault, dear readers, lies not in Kalafa’s book, but in myself.
For she’s rather upfront regarding her text.
It is a step-by-step guide educating parents.
As I have no current plans to fight for healthier lunch meals, nor no current children, I accept that my boredom at the continuous text is, perhaps, my own fault.
Megan
This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, though the opinion is (obviously) my own.Why I Didn’t Like Lunch Wars
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting…I hadn’t actually heard of this book, but I liked Jamie Oliver’s episodes on the topic a lot. I think a big part of his appeal, though, was the visuals and the connections with students and real people. It would be hard to translate that to a book!
The author actually did a great job showcasing individual stories that you could connect to, it was just in the middle of a book that grew more and more boring!
Interesting book. The whole school lunches debate is interesting for me because we don’t have school lunches provided in Australia, however kids can buy things from the canteen or tuck shop and there is a big movement to make them more healthy. I understand why it was all a bit much for you though.
That’s SO interesting – I didn’t know that about Australia. The author’s husband is from France so she writes about how there all the kids go home for lunch and eat healthy things! And the word “canteen” is not stopping my visual of an Australian school in the middle of nowhere with an adorable cast of characters and an evil koala.
Our school has gone a little overboard. This year they want us to send in fruit or veggies and hummus for BIRTHDAY TREATS!!! Seriously, can’t they have a cupcake on their birthday???? One mom, who’s on the committee and felt pressured to set a good example, drove 40 minutes to get “healthy” cupcakes. They were very good, but seriously??? SERIOUSLY??? My children will get cupcakes and I’ve already promised my students I’ll look the other way. I’m a mom/teacher rebel!
Happy SITS Day!
I love rebellion, it always make a day interesting!
Happy SITS day! I’m so excited for you!
And schools have gone nuts. I started teaching an after school creative writing class to kids and they wouldn’t let me bring cookies unless they were store bought, nut free and a gluten free option provided.
Aw, thanks! That is SO inconvenient… which I’m familiar with because my best friend is allergic to both nuts and wheat. It’s quite the hard work to eat around here!
School lunches are horrifying. The movie Two Angry Moms sounds really interesting!
Doesn’t it? We should totally watch!
Well, you know what they say, if it’s written well you could write about golf and make it interesting. Don’t be too hard on yourself, there are a lot of uninteresting books out there. Those writers need to be shot.
By the way, my son was not allowed to eat his potato chips for lunch. The teacher took it from him and ate it herself. Is that crass or what?
Maybe I should start translating and posting my kids public school lunch menu here in France so mothers everywhere can take it to their lunch ladies and demand the same.
(Today was tomato and cucumber salad, then fish with shrimp sauce, a choice of two cheeses with baguette and fruit).
Hey, at least you gave the book a chance. When the blogher book club sent me the blurb about it, I yawned and hit delete.
Hey, the first chapter was really interesting!
It was only that I was forced to keep reading that turned unpleasant…
nooo never blame yourself for a writer’s failure! she failed – it’s okay to say it.