In theory, I appreciate Amy Kalafa's Lunch Wars. As the subtitle explains, this book is a primer for parents who want to start a "Food Revolution" in schools. However, in reality, I didn't learn anything reading this book that I didn't already hear from Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me or Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.
In addition, I had trouble with this book because it was as if two seemingly contradictory things were going on throughout the book. Even while I was thinking it was bogged down with fact after fact after fact, laced with statistics, with little to no analysis for balance, at the same time I caught myself thinking many of the ideas were awfully vague. For example, under the heading "What You Can Do to Influence Federal Policy" was "Every citizen has one representative and two senators working for you in Washington, D.C. They need to hear from all of us when issues affecting our children's health come up in Congress." I don't think it's just because I am the type of person who is in constant contact with my representatives and senators to ensure they know how I want they to vote; that is just not specific or exciting.
I appreciate the effort, as it is over 300 pages of facts and figures, and I can only imagine what a labor of love it was, but it just wasn't for me. If you are new to this arena, or if you are an Angry Parent who wants to take on the school system, then this will likely be a book you want to have in your arsenal.
If you want to read more opinions, head HERE.
This is a compensated review of Amy Kalafa's Lunch Wars for the BlogHer Book Club, but all opinions expressed are my own.*
*I think you probably already guessed this, since I said I didn't like the book, but ... you know. Gotta cover your bases.
I was kind of put off by the "Angry Moms" thing. It set the whole thing up to be an Us vs Them debate and when I actually checked in to see what was up with my kids school lunch program, I found that the people that were working hard to make the changes happen were on the *inside*. No need for me to go guns blazing at the nutrition department, no need to get angry. And yes, I was having flashbacks to college biology class with all the stats, it was tough to keep my interest (and my eyes from rolling back into my head).
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