Actress Marilu Henner Headlines Event Calling for Healthier School Lunches
Community Event Invites Students and Parents to Share Concerns and to Call on Congress to Help

WHAT: School Lunch Sound Off!
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 22, noon to 2 p.m.
WHERE: a.Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama St., San Francisco
SPONSOR: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
COST: FREE
REGISTRATION: 415-832-9113

SAN FRANCISCO—Concerned about childhood obesity and about the quality of foods your children are fed in schools? Want Congress to help schools serve more fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods? Join actress and mother Marilu Henner at the School Lunch Sound Off on Aug. 22 at a.Muse Gallery in San Francisco.

This open mike event hosted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) will offer students, parents, and other community members a chance to share concerns about the National School Lunch Program and ideas for improving school food. Nutrition experts, school food service workers, and Marilu Henner, best-selling author and star of Taxi, will discuss how Congress could improve school meals by reforming the Child Nutrition Act, which comes up for reauthorization this fall.

Students are encouraged to bring their experiences and, if they wish, drawings, paintings, comics, skits, and songs to share about school lunch. Prizes will be awarded for creativity and thoughtfulness. The winning ideas will be presented to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman George Miller, D-Martinez, as a part of PCRM’s campaign to reform federal nutrition programs.

“America’s children have never been at greater risk for obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related health problems,” says PCRM staff dietitian Kathryn Strong, M.S., R.D. “Congress needs to hear from young people who want more vegetables, fruits, and other vegetarian foods in their school lunchrooms.”

The House Education and Labor Committee, chaired by Rep. Miller, will soon take up the Child Nutrition Act, which regulates the National School Lunch Program and other federal nutrition programs. PCRM’s campaign points out that current federal policies aimed at subsidizing agribusiness end up pushing schools to serve high-fat, high-cholesterol foods that contribute to skyrocketing obesity and diabetes rates.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.

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