“Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.”  I know I am dating myself referencing that OLD song by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (we’re talking 1968 here – yikes!) but ever since I interviewed Amy Kalafa (filmmaker of Two Angry Moms) on my show last October, real food is always on my mind, and more often than not, on my plate.

 Amy isn’t really angry. She is frustrated, worried, caring, committed, and SMART. She does let facts get in the way and is truly unstoppable. She is on a mission to raise the awareness about our nation’s children’s health crisis, about raising awareness of what children are eating in our schools, and about getting better food in our schools. And it’s working. Amy has research and statistics and stories at her finger tips about connections between food and autism and a myriad of diseases that usually end up with kids on medication. The numbers are staggering and the enormity of the situation is quite daunting, alarming and sad.

The other angry Mom (who teamed up with Amy) is a woman named Susan Rubin. What’s the green skinny on Susan? Well, she was so angry and frustrated, she started her own movement. I had to include the entire following quote because I LOVE the term rabble-rouser. What is a rabble-rouser anyway? “Susan Rubin had been trying for a decade to work with her district on improving school food, earning herself a reputation as a rabble-rouser with a “macrobiotic agenda” (NOT!). She’s even been banned from her children’s school cafeteria! In the meantime, legions of kids continue to make a daily lunch out of neon green slushies, greasy fries and supersize cookies, imperiling not only their long-term health but also their ability to learn. Exasperated, Susan decided to reach beyond her school district, and founded Better School Food, her own grassroots organization.” Wow – right?

So long story short? Once the two teamed up, they made a movie called Two Angry Moms. And then the movie became a movement and then it became a book. But Amy didn’t stop there. So many frustrated, caring, and yes, even angry, Moms started reaching out from all over the country asking for help that Amy took things to a whole other level and now there are tools, templates, curriculum, success stories – you get the picture. Unstoppable.

So why did I write this blog about this, about Amy, about healthy food for children when I already talked about it for an entire show on my radio show?

1.  Because I really, really, really love children.

2.  Because there really is a national health crisis for children and that should matter to all of us. Our kids are getting fat, there are so many of them on medication that the numbers are staggering, there’s compelling research connecting so much of their illnesses to diet and honestly, we are all paying for it in some way or another. We can’t afford NOT to care

I invite you to listen to my Angry Moms  show again, or for the first time if you missed it last October, to learn about the issues, and ultimately to be filled with hope because people like Amy Kalafa and Susan Rubin are out there fighting the good fight for their children and yours.