When Moms Get Angry

I don’t know about you, but it makes me crazy that the foods offered to my children at their respective schools often seem to undo all of my efforts to make sure they’re eating healthy at home. On any given day, either one of my older children could choose for lunch an order of French fries and a packaged brownie that has so many preservatives in it that I could set it aside and serve it to my future great-grandchildren.
 
Apparently, I’m not the only Mom who sometimes has a “bee in her bonnet” (I’m practicing my lingo for that future role as a great-grandmother) about school lunches. Filmmaker and Mom Amy Kalafa of Weston, CT, made the movie Two Angry Moms because she was fed up with her children eating highly-processed foods filled with additives and preservatives at school.
 
Now, a Ballwin preschool and kindergarten, Raintree Learning Community, wants St. Louis area moms and schools to come together to look at what our children are eating in school and learn what we can do to make it better for them.
 
In preparation for National School Lunch Week, Raintree Learning Community is hosting a free screening of Two Angry Moms from 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the West County Family YMCA in Chesterfield. Following the screening, a panel will answer questions and offer advice for those wishing to help their private or public school, preschool or high school become a healthy food campus.
 
The timing is perfect for the screening, because National School Lunch Week is Oct. 11-15. During that week, schools around the nation focus on the importance of a well-balanced diet and the availabiliy of nutritious foods in schools.
 
The film Two Angry Moms is more than a film -- it’s a movement. It’s controversial and cutting edge, addressing the issues of what is happening to the health of our children and how the foods our children consume at school factor into their overall health. It explores the roles the federal government, corporate interests, school administration and parents play in feeding our country’s school kids. And it offers a critical look into school lunch programs, while also offering some valuable solutions, including the idea of school gardens -- something Raintree has already incorporated into their learning community.
 
The screening is free and open to the public. To learn more about the movie or movement, go to www.angrymoms.org
To learn more about Raintree’s green kitchen and wholesome food program, visit the Raintree Learning Community web site or call 636-396-0900.

By Michelle M. Cox, contributing writer to SmartParenting