Thousands Crowd More than 300 "Time for Lunch" Demonstrations Across All 50 States to Demand Real Food in Schools
Slow Food USA's Time for Lunch Campaign Generates over 30,000
Signatures to Push for Congress to Update the Child Nutrition Act
Brooklyn, New York (PRWEB) September 9, 2009 -- With children heading back to school and obesity rates - and associated health care costs - skyrocketing, more than 20,000 people rallied at over 300 Eat-Ins (part potluck, part sit-in) to tell Congress its time to give kids real food at school on Labor Day. The Eat-Ins urged national policy makers to give schools the ability to serve food that benefits children's health, to stop letting fast food companies sneak under the radar of national dietary guidelines and to start linking schools to local farms.
Time for Lunch Eat-In demonstrators in Highland Park, CA send message to Congress to get real food into schools.
The Eat-Ins were spearheaded by Slow Food USA (www.slowfoodusa.org) as part of its Time for Lunch campaign (www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch). In all 50 states, concerned parents, teachers, farmers, food service workers and members of Slow Food chapters sat down together to share a meal and to make a public demonstration of the need to fix school lunch.
"More than three hundred demonstrations on Labor Day reinforced the power of our message," stated Josh Viertel, president, Slow Food USA. "Thousands of citizens came together in their communities to tell Congress that we need real food in schools, so our children can grow up healthy."
Organizers also gathered signatures for the Time for Lunch petition that the campaign estimates has surpassed 30,000 names. The campaign will continue to advocate for changes to the Child Nutrition Act throughout the fall to ensure that Congress passes legislation that gives kids the opportunity to grow up healthy. Congress is expected to take action on the legislation before the end of the year.
About Slow Food USA
Slow Food USA is a non-profit organization working to create a just and sustainable food system. Slow Food USA has 210 chapters, with more than 60,000 members and supporters in the United States, and is part of a larger 130-country international network. The organization creates youth programs to bring the values of eating local, sustainable and just food to schools and campuses, revitalizes and renews disappearing foods and food traditions, and advocates for a national food policy in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet.
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