Who says being a kindergartner is easy?
You learn to read and count. You have to share games and toys.
And your parents argue big-time over what you can and can’t eat for lunch, snacks and birthday celebrations.
A fun kindergarten treat? Or a death sentence?
Jennifer Boyd and Erika Miller thought their cause was just. The Green’s Farms Elementary School moms bonded over a mutual interest in healthy foods, and their concern that the Westport school district’s wellness guidelines are not being followed in their sons’ classrooms.
“We saw candy, processed foods and desserts being eaten,” Boyd says.
“We know the CDC statistics. One-third of all kids born after 2000 will have Type 2 diabetes. Autism and ADHD are linked to food choices. We’re raising the 1st generation of Americans who won’t live as long as their parents.”
Boyd has worked with Amy Kalafa — a documentary filmmaker whose “Two Angry Moms” slams schools that serve junk food.
Boyd and Miller arranged to show the video this Tuesday (June 1, 9:30 a.m., Westport Public Library). A high-powered panel — including Kalafa, Boyd, sustainable food advocate John Turenne, State Rep. Kim Fawcett and holistic pediatrician Dr. Lori Storch-Smith — will answer questions afterward.
“Tasty food samples from local vendors” will be served.
But not everyone thinks Boyd and Miller’s crusade is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
“Another mom showed the same movie last year,” Boyd says. “She got resistance from administrators, and a small but vocal minority of parents.
“They felt threatened their kids wouldn’t get chicken nuggets. They said, ‘That’s all my child eats.’ People don’t like to be told what to eat.”
That’s not all. Boyd says that parents have retaliated against her — “canceling play dates when I tried to ban candy.”
Boyd believes “a lot of parents are like Erika and me. They want the schools’ wellness policy to be enforced.” That means more organic and whole foods — preferably from local sources — in Westport’s cafeterias.
Boyd and Miller want those cafeterias to “actually cook foods. Right now they just open packages for quick ‘meals.'”
She is frustrated that school districts in West Virginia and New Haven have embraced the “Two Angry Moms” concept — while Westport hasn’t.
“Michelle Obama is talking about food and exercise all over the country,” Boyd says. “Yet here in Fairfield County we’re afraid to say birthday celebrations should be candy-free.
“People like us haven’t had a voice before. Now we’ve got one. All we want is to stand up for our kids, and make them as healthy as possible.
“Pizza, cheeseburgers, French fries — or a salad? That’s not a choice for a child.”
(For more information, click on http://greencleanfoodqueen.blogspot.com/. Boyd’s wellness website is www.therapa.com.)