Students Get Attention With Plans for a School Lunch Boycott

By Patricia Mulvey — schoolfoodpolicy.org

Last month, the Capitol Times in Wisconsin ran a story titled “Parents wonder whether Madison’s school lunches are healthy for kids.” But the fourth graders at the Nuestro Mundo Charter school had already formed an opinion about that. Their answer: NO!

These fourth graders were “grossed out” by experiments like measuring how much grease they could squeeze out of a food service hamburger, “bummed out” by the lack of “real” fruit and vegetables, concerned about the volumes of plastic waste from each lunch and worried about food safety (according to one student, “that food is reheated at least 3 times – YUCK!”) They wished there were more vegetarian options on the district’s menus and more culturally relevant foods like rice and beans, or Chinese noodle soup.

So in the fall these kids, led by fourth-grader Sierra Mueller-Owens, founded a group they called “BCSL” (boycott school lunch). But they hadn’t figured out exactly how to go about their boycott.

Parent LaShunda Manly read last month’s article in the Cap Times and brought it to the attention of her daughter Veda and the student leaders of BCSL. They contacted me to ask for advice on ways to get the attention of school district leaders in order to advocate for making good food available for their classmates. I encouraged them to demonstrate what they wanted to be fed by hosting a slowed-down lunch highlighting the foods they love.

So BCSL brainstormed a menu of food they like: Fruit salad, chef salad, muffins, BLT’s, rice and beans were some of the items that made their list. They divided up the food duties and chose April 24 to voluntarily skip recess to set out a table cloth, some flowers and a potluck spread of the food they want to eat. They shared their efforts with the Cap Times writer Mary Ellen Gabriel, who decided to do a follow-up story. Then they asked their Principal if they could have extra time so as not to rush through their lunch.

And that’s where the trouble started. Their principal contacted Assistant Superintendant Sue Abplanalp, who called the parents of the BCSL kids and told them they couldn’t have a potluck because of food safety and allergy concerns. They couldn’t take up extra time in the cafeteria because of the volume of kids who needed to be shuffled through lunch. They couldn’t have lunch in their classroom with their teacher who volunteered to host this protest, because teachers’ contracts give them a duty free lunch. And they couldn’t speak to the press on school grounds because of student privacy issues.

Sierra, Veda and all the BCSL kids certainly got the attention of district administrators, who are now advocating that BCSL write letters, circulate petitions and meet with food service leaders. The Cap Times ran an article about the district’s actions, which has led to scores of responses debating this protest. The parents at Nuestro Mundo have requested a meeting with district administrators to discuss supporting the students’ social justice efforts and desire to improve school lunch.

The kids of BCSL have been heard — and I can’t wait to see what comes of their efforts!