School Lunch Encounters of the Third Kind

“Lunch Encounters of the Third Kind” was shot in my daughters’ public school lunchroom. This short spoof on the original film’s mashed potato scene raises awareness about the quality of school lunches and rallies support for farm to school programs that include locally farmed food, nutrition education, healthy lunches, and happy farmers. Who wouldn’t support that?

I made this video with two other Food and Society Fellows, Deb Eschmeyer and Shalini Kantayya to motivate people to sign a petition on OneTray.org in support of farm to school funding and the Child Nutrition Act.

With obesity and diabetes reaching alarming numbers and children being the hardest hit, this is an issue that our representatives in congress should be working on. The original movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” is about a man who sticks to his convictions while people all around him think he is losing his mind. In the end he is proven right. Do you ever feel like that? Healthy food for kids and sustainable farmers may seem like a crazy pipe dream, but people are doing it and it is working. To quote the hero of “Close Encounters of the Lunch Kind,” “This means something.”

I found the original mashed potato scene on YouTube — I love this movie!

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.

4:00PM PST on Jan 30, 2012

loved the video!

send a green star

Jennifer C.

12:55AM PDT on Aug 16, 2011

Amazing. Thanks for the great article.

Faith B.

11:59AM PDT on Aug 15, 2011

great article, thanks :)

Emily S.

8:02AM PDT on May 29, 2011

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing! :D

Past Member .

9:34AM PDT on Oct 27, 2010

Please note this recent post to understand the challenge "Chefs in Schools" are facing.
http://www.care2.com/news/member/733554032/2581008

Patricia B.

2:12PM PDT on Sep 25, 2010

Buenos videos

2:10PM PDT on Sep 25, 2010

Que artículo taaaan positivo.

12:14PM PDT on Sep 19, 2010

thanks for sharing very helpful

caroline c.

12:19PM PDT on Sep 14, 2010

i pack my daughters lunch everyday, i ate school lunch in public school for years, i am shocked i never got fat ( until adulthood) but the meat and oil and salt concerns me in public school systems

Melissah C.

7:14AM PDT on Sep 12, 2010

thanks