Lunch Line 2010
Distributed by Cinema Guild, 115 West 30th Street, Suite 800, New York, NY 10001; 212-685-6242
Produced by Michael Graziano and Ernie Park
Directed by Michael Graziano and Ernie Park
DVD, color, 63 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Nutrition, Social Sciences, Education, Health Sciences, History
Date Entered: 05/20/2011
Reviewed by Veronica Maher, Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode IslandThe school lunch program has been around since 1946. It has sustained both favorable and negative attention. School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements but decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities. This film begins with the celebration of a culinary challenge sponsored by the Healthy Schools Campaign, an independent not-for-profit- organization that promotes a healthy environment for all. Students from a Chicago school have succeeded in creating a nutritious lunch meal that meets the nutritional requirements for a healthy lunch. They get to go to the White House! To understand the hoopla around this accomplishment we are given an historical timeline of the history of the school lunch program. It has apparently been one of the nation’s most successful social programs. Nobody is against healthy food for kids and nobody really opposes the school lunch program but the concept of what constitutes a healthy lunch, who sets the standards and who pays for all the food and labor is controversial. Initially launched in 1946 this program has assisted millions of school children for decades but it is not without its political controversy. Cutbacks in funding and administration are continually in jeopardy. Anne Moore (the Renegade Lunch Lady whose “life’s work is to transform how we feed our children in school each day, from highly processed to highly nourishing food — one school lunch at a time.”) is among the many prominent advocates for a nutritional and healthy lunch.
The school lunch has always been a favorite topic in high school and freshman writing classes and this would be a good resource. It is also appropriate for culinary arts and nutrition programs as well as the social sciences.
Lunch Line is an interesting and informative film which has some great animated scenes and archival footage including illustrations by Ezra Clayton Daniels. Unfortunately the credits are very small and hard to read but are available on the website http://lunchlinefilm.com/ .
Recommended