If you go to festivals like the NYC Independent Film Festival, you can see films like Yuck, a short documentary directed by a fourth grader about his own school lunches. Here, I’ll let Zachary Maxwell’s voiceover speak for itself:
My name is Zachary Maxwell, and I’m a 4th grader at a large, New York City public school. The city’s Department of Education says that it’s committed to providing “delicious and nutritious meals through their food service program.”
But the lunch they were serving at my school was nothing like what they were advertising on their website. So that’s when I got the crazy idea to start sneaking a video camera into my lunchroom so I could secretly document the truth. And over the next six months, I learned something VERY disturbing.
Unless it involves live rats or dead hookers.I doubt I’m going to be disturbed.
(more, from the Yuck website):
In the fall of 2011, fourth grader Zachary Maxwell began asking his parents if he could start packing and bringing his own lunch to school. Unfortunately, they kept insisting that he take advantage of the hot lunch being served at the school. After all, the online menu sounded delicious and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) website assured parents that the meals were nutritious. Zachary wanted to convince his parents that the online menu did not accurately represent what was really being served at his school.
Now, it’s tempting to watch this and say, “Hey, kid, shut up and eat your free food.” And in this case, it’s also the correct response. Aw, your food doesn’t look like it does on the menu?? Welcome to every chain restaurant ever. Consider your school-lunch experience important preparation for the near-constant stream of mild disappointment we grown-ups call “life.” I dare you to show this to kids in any third world country. But thanks for the patronizing “kid” font, Dad. This looks like something a Bible belt Republican made to make all liberals look like whiny pussies with fake problems.
You know what other kinds of food fourth graders think is gross? Virtually all of the best kinds.
[hat tip: Movies.com]