Real Food For Kids Hosts National Food Day Celebration

Last spring,  PTA President JoAnne Hammermaster decided to do some research about the food served in Fairfax County Public Schools cafeterias.

The answer floored her.

The number of ingredients in a quesadilla? 70. A hamburger patty has more than 30.

She went on to look behind the scenes in cafeteria kitchens across the county and while what was being served fell in line with national requirements for school food programs, it wasn't real or nutritious foods. Many items had artificial flavors or binders, extra flavoring, sugar and salt. Many were highly processed or contained a large amount of trans fat or high fructose corn syrup.

That, to Hammermaster, wasn't real food. She wanted to do better.

What started as a small group of concerned parents at Wolftrap has become a growing organization of parents, local restauranteurs and farmers and other community members who want to get real, affordable food back in county schools.

That group, Real Food For Kids, will host a celebration of National Food Day on Monday at Wolftrap in an effort to create more awareness and get kids excited about real food, they say.

Food Day, organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, encourages people across the country to host events or organize activities that support healthy food and agriculture and eating "real food."

The Vienna event, which got a shoutout from famous food reformer Jamie Oliver , will include a demonstration and talk by Chef Ann Cooper, also known as "The Renegade Lunch Lady" who transformed school foods in Berkley, Calif. schools. Arlington's Bayou Bakery Chef David Guas, will also talk about how real food can be affordable.

After listening to the talks, more than 200 children, along with other community members, will make a truck-sized salad with Chef Tim Ma, owner of  and an over-sized grass-fed beef burger with meat donated by Chris Guerre of 

The event will follow a meeting between the group and members of the Fairfax County School Board. Organizers hope the event can demonstrate to board members and members of the Fairfax County Public School's Food and Nutrition Services (FCPS FNS) that change is attainable, and affordable, they say.

Among the things the group would like to see happen, according to an online petition, are:

• Adding more fresh, naturally grown, fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, e.g. providing a salad bar (currently, only four FCPS schools currently have salad bars. In the past, every school did).
• Eliminating highly processed food and replace with real food.
• Eliminating flavor enhancers like MSG, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, etc.
• Eliminating trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) or fully hydrogenated oils
• Eliminating artificial additives, dyes, preservatives
• Eliminating high fructose corn syrup and limiting other added sugars
• Have cups of water or bottled water available in the lunch room at a free or economical price
• Have organic milk available as an option

All community members are encouraged to attend. Get more information and RSVP here.