‘Angry mom’ hopes to take crusade for healthier school food to Olympia

Just before school started, Beth Loveridge began her revolution. As the mother of two teenagers who attend Port Angeles schools, she’s been to plenty of parents’ meetings, including those of the School Nutrition Advisory Committee.

She felt fed up with the pace of change at the district.

“I’d be better off going to the School Board as an angry mom.” she remembers telling a friend.

Not long after that, Loveridge got her daily e-mail from www.IdealBite.com, a Web site for those who want to “live green.”

The message was about “Two Angry Moms,” a documentary film about the very cause Loveridge has been fighting for: healthier food in schools.

She ordered 10 copies of the DVD and put up fliers about free screenings at local libraries.

She now has scores of allies, “people who want to be part of the school food revolution,” she said.

What angered the moms in the movie, Susan Rubin and Amy Kalafa: artificial, fatty, sugary foods surrounding their kids when they entered cafeterias.

Their film is a how-to for parents who want their schools to dump things like high fructose corn syrup for something simpler and naturally sweet.

Carrots, for instance.

From local farms.

The Katonah-Lewisboro School District featured in “Moms” has made changes – from fried chicken nuggets to oven-roasted chicken and from pizza with white crust to whole wheat.

Port Angeles’ lead revolutionary, meanwhile, doesn’t harp on the things most of us already know about, such as the obesity epidemic among American children.

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