A national campaign called Time for Lunch was launched by Slow Food USA with an aim to tell the Congress the need for real food at school.

The event was hosted at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in central Phoenix and 305 “Eat-Ins” were planned in communities across the country.

30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program therefore Eat-Ins are an effort to draw attention to the need for more nutritious food. The program is part of the Child Nutrition Act that Congress will reauthorize later this year.

The Time for Lunch program is asking people everywhere to consult their legislators and inquire about the health of their children by allocating a sum of $1 per day per child for lunch.

“The way we feed our kids is a reflection of our values. We cannot, in good conscience,

continue to make our kids sick by feeding them cheap byproducts of an industrial food system,” stated Josh Viertel, president, Slow Food USA.

The campaign further seeks to protect against foods that put children at risk by setting up strong standards for food sold at various schools which includes vending machine eatables and school fast food.

Lastly the campaign is pushing for the government to provide compulsory funding to educate children about healthy eating habits through innovative farm-to-school programs and schools and school gardens.