School Lunch Resource Guide

Robin Greenfield posing with school lunch.

The Original Plan

For one month, Robin Greenfield will fully immerse himself in school lunches, eating only food that is served in schools across the United States. From the most nourishing, to the most nutrient-deficient, and everywhere in between, he will experience the lunches that represent what we are feeding to over 20 million US American children.

At the same time, he will explore the truth in our school lunch food system by asking questions from the kids who eat the food, the lunch staff who serves it, the corporations that distribute it, the government that regulates it and the top experts who seek to understand it.

This solution oriented campaign will share what schools across the nation are doing to improve their school lunches, including the work of children, parents, teachers, school administrators and community activists who are dedicated to positive reform in the public school lunch system.

Why the Plan Didn’t Happen

School Lunch was originally planned for April 2024 in Los Angeles however we were not able to find a public school where I could immerse myself in eating 30 days of school lunch. We paused this campaign until we can find a school that could accommodate me to immerse in this project.

To continue with this mission with the resources we had we created a School Lunch Resource Guide that explores our school lunch food system. This guide will helps answer the questions: What’s in the school lunches? How and where is it grown? What is the impact that it has on Earth? Who controls this food system? What is the impact this food has on our children’s bodies? What are the challenges and barriers to transforming the system? This guide shares examples of schools improving their school lunches, including the work of children, parents, teachers, school administrators and community activists who are dedicated to positive reform in the public school lunch system.

For those interested in why the campaign didn’t happen… When I brought on a team to pursue this project in the Fall of 2023, I was certain that we’d find a school that was excited for me to eat school lunch with them for 30 days. After all, I am contacted by many schools that want me to visit them!

I choose Los Angeles to be in close proximity to media for the campaign and because my team is located here. LA turns out to be one of the most challenging locations I could have chosen. We spoke with many schools and we had many that were interested and even multiple that seemed certain. None came through in the end.

I was so sure from the beginning that we’d find a school, that we had moved forward on multiple areas of production. We put in hundreds of hours of research and work ready to begin April 1st, 2024 with a school. It just didn’t happen. It’s as simple as that, a misjudgment on my part.

I feel confident there are many schools that would love for me to join them for 30 days of school lunch. We hoped to pivot to another school in 2025. However, due to no longer having the resouces, we will not be pursuing this campaign.

Seeds for Schools

As part of our School Lunch Campaign, we are empowering children, parents, educators and schools to be a part of the solution to grow food in their schools! We are doing this by providing garden starter kits to 1,200 schools across the nation. Learn more here.