When I was in high school, my daily lunch consisted of a pack of peanut butter crackers and a carton of chocolate milk. My public high school was so large that there just wasn’t enough time to eat. By the time I reached the cafeteria (from another building that seemed a half a mile away) and waited in line with my tray to enter the kitchen, the bell would ring and it was time to go back to class. So, instead, I went to the vending machine and the shorter line for milk. And I can assure you that the offerings from the vending machine looked a whole lot better than the offerings in the cafeteria.
Sadly, this isn’t too surprising. My high school, it turns out, wasn’t that much different from others in America that serve processed and fried foods with little fresh fruits and vegetables—turning out meals that don’t seem fit for children. After years of putting up with poor lunch offerings for their children—two fed-up moms decided to do something.
Susan P. Rubin, a mom of three and dentist turned nutritionist from Bedford, New York, catapulted her frustration and anger into action, and formed a grass-roots advocacy group: Better School Food. In the past two years, the Better School Food movement has grown to a thousand members—catching the eye of filmmaker and holistic nutritionist, Amy Kalafa. Amy, who has made films and TV specials on topics ranging from health care to cooking to criminals—understood Susan’s plight. As a mom of two teens, she felt compelled to focus on Susan’s movement. For a year, Amy filmed Susan during her many activities: testifying in Washington, DC, visiting various school cafeterias across the nation, and meeting with education officials. This resulted in Two Angry Moms, a ninety-minute documentary directed and narrated by Amy and co-produced with her husband, Alex Gunuey.
As one might expect, the documentary digs into the reality of lunchtime at schools across the nation—showing the children, like I did, who opt for the vending machines, now chock full of chips, candy, and soda. It also examines the food being prepared and served—often consisting of high fat, high salt, and processed or fried options with little fresh fruits or vegetables.
