Teacher Goes "Undercover" to Expose American School Lunches -- And It's Not Pretty!

A school teacher in the Midwest is joining her students in solidarity by eating the school cafeteria’s lunch every day this year.

The anonymous teacher, who calls herself “Mrs. Q”, eats the lunch served in her school’s cafeteria, takes pictures of the meals, and blogs about it at Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project.

School lunches have been taking quite a beating as of late, partly because of high obesity rates among U.S. kids. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost one-fifth of America’s children are obese — a condition that can lead to a shorter life span, Type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. Campaigns like Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move and the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine’s (PCRM) Healthy School Lunch program are working towards getting healthier lunches served in schools and improving the health of U.S. school children.

Endocrine Today recently reported that a University of Michigan study proclaims children who eat school lunches are more likely to be overweight and obese than kids who bring their lunch from home. The report says that kids who buy lunch at school are more likely to eat fatty meats, drink sugary drinks, and eat less fruits and vegetables. Our own Beth Buczynski has also written about how Underfunded School Lunch Programs Create Unhealthy Kids.

The link between the meals children eat at school and their weight makes sense. For many kids, school lunches provide the main source of nutrients they get every day. School lunches teach kids what “normal” food is. If tater tots are seen as vegetables, what will they think of a salad? If a kid is regularly served fruit cups laden with high-fructose corn syrup, will she/he ever choose to eat a plain, fresh apple?

Mrs.Q’s Supersize Me-type stunt is gaining momentum and exposing the limited (or non-existent) choices, low nutritional value, and general nastiness of many districts’ school lunches. (School lunches being eaten by about 31 million kids, according to the Obama Administration.) The pictures alone may be shocking to people unfamiliar with school lunch menus. Square, plastic-looking pizza, anyone? Yum.

In an interview with the blog Small Bites, Mrs. Q. said the children at her school range in age from four to 11, many of them coming from low socio-economic backgrounds. She estimates that 98 percent of the kids are eating the hot lunch option. She said it’s uncommon for teachers to eat the same lunch given to students.

Mrs. Q. would like to see a salad bar, soups, stir-fry and yogurt served up in the school cafeteria. And she wants to do away with processed foods like hot dogs (which, aren’t they a major choking hazard anyway?). She also bemoans the short time kids are given for lunch, especially considering it includes waiting in line for food and the time it takes to use the restroom. But hey, maybe scarfing down the food instead of mindfully chewing each bite helps kids to forget about the taste and overlook the questionable nutritional value.

More likely though, they’re learning to simply inhale whatever’s put in front of them. Unfortunately they’re not learning about the importance of the quality of the food they put into their growing bodies.

Luckily, one teacher is thinking about what she’s eating. Although she may be sacrificing her own health to band with her beloved students, she’s showing the dire need for an overhaul to the Child Nutrition Act, which is up for reauthorization this year.

Take a look at Mrs. Q’s blog and see the photos of what the school cafeteria is serving. You may realize what a sacrifice she’s making to expose the meals many kids don’t have a choice but to eat. By eating her school’s hot lunch every day and sharing the results with the world, Mrs. Q has given a voice to school kids whose health is being overlooked and to those who don’t feel they have the power to change what food goes onto their cafeteria trays.

You can tell Congress you want healthier lunches in America’s cafeterias by signing this petition!

You can also read my article “Milk: Does it Really Do a Body Good?” and sign this petition to get dairy alternatives in school lunches.

Photo of Rib-B-Que with beans and a peach fruit cup courtesy of Mrs. Q's blog, Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Kathy P.

4:08PM PST on Jan 30, 2012

i HATED school food and typically chose to eat nothing at all.. great that a teacher is trying to make an even bigger difference in her student's lives

send a green star

Uroosa K.

12:54PM PDT on Sep 4, 2011

I'm 16 years old so I go to school and I don't eat from the cafeteria. I found a bug in the cafeteria near the food! and I found a hair stuck in my cookie once. So now I don't eat there.

Sheri P.

10:22PM PDT on Jun 27, 2011

I looked at about 5 of the pictures and read part of her blog...major EWWWWWWW! Public school barfeterias are feeding kids garbage!!! It's disgusting and it's a travesty!

Jose P.

1:16AM PDT on Aug 12, 2010

I wonder how long the teacher will last on this diet

Jen A.

9:51AM PDT on Apr 22, 2010

This isn't really the kids' fault. The parents are the ones to mostly blame for their poor eating habits. It is more convenient to just buy the food instead of taking their time in the morning (or evening) to prepare lunches for their children. I'm sure most of these parents know what the school is serving, but, again, it's just easier for them (the parents) to have their kids eat foods that are unhealthy. Do the kids pay for the lunches shown by Mrs. Q.? I know in Catholic schools, we need to pay for the lunches served...but they aren't any better! Waste of money!!! Packing lunch for your children is healthier, safer, cheaper, and makes more sense.

9:50AM PDT on Apr 22, 2010

9:49AM PDT on Apr 22, 2010

Glenn A.

7:58PM PDT on Apr 11, 2010

I went to School in the 60' and 70' here in Canada...and for my Elementary years..i brought my own lunch from home..but in Junior and Senior Hi. our lunch program was, the Basketball team and the cheerleaders were the "Lunch Ladies" and i don't know who did the buying..but it was run for all intents and purposes like a Restaurant, with real food cooked during the period before lunch by the teams..Had real fruit..not canned..real salads, and the lettuce on the sandwiches was fresh, as was the meats and vegetable side dishes etc. I am sure there was a deal that the Team got a percentage of the "Profits"..of course,to help in thier road trips etc. This was, of course, well before the advent of all the vending machines in school, but we grew up pretty healthy compared to what i am seeing today.

Sara O.

5:49PM PDT on Apr 2, 2010

What a fantastic undertaking. You go, Mrs. Q!

Erich H.

10:49AM PDT on Apr 1, 2010

Here I see it again one Meat should be used like a spice in very small proportions to veggy's but also it does serve the body's needs The reason we are so fat is because we consume fat as a main diet. The orientals who have very little meat in their meals but lots of veggy's are by far the healthy eaters. We are both veggy and meat eaters. the monkeys show this. Our diet need to change to less meat not no meat.