Image care of Flickr.

When USDA announced it was reworking the school lunch program, parents all over the U.S. became curious about the changes. While no one could deny that a shift toward more fruits, vegetables and whole grains was a good thing, the massive decrease in meat and dairy options concerned many. There were concerns, especially from parents of students who are active in sports, volunteering, or even working on the family farm, that the decrease in portion size would take a toll.

Previously, the voices of rural communities were harder to hear in topics such as school lunch. Massive geographic distance and limited communications resources meant that these populations had to work much harder to have a voice in the arena of national discussion. That’s quickly changing, thanks to social media. While there are still hurdles to overcome, such as rural Missourian Chris Chinn’s slow and unreliable Internet connection, there are more options than ever for rural activism.

Bridging distances with social media

Chris Chinn, however, doesn’t let her spotty Internet connection limit her voice. She has combined efforts with other mothers from across rural America to share concerns with the public and engage in dialogue about the quality of these new school lunches. Katie Pinke, a rural North Dakotan and former AdFarmer who blogs about her “hungry-as-a-pack-of-wolves” 6’3” teenage son and two young daughters, worked alongside Chinn and other concerned citizens to start the Sensible School Lunches Facebook page. Here, they share blog posts and articles about school lunches, and encourage dialogue and discussion about the new lunch allowances, and rally support for their cause.

A glimpse of the Sensible School Lunches page.

It isn’t just the lack of meat and dairy products they’re concerned with; overall, they are worried that their active children will not be receiving what they need in the one-size-fits-all program. Katie’s 6’3” 15-year-old boy had vastly different nutritional needs than Chris’ daughter, who is also a freshman in high school, or her son who is in middle school. While all three kids are active, they all have different nutritional needs. And, they are all being held to the same nutritional standards as other students who burn significantly fewer calories in a day. That’s just one reason these mothers have rallied.

Many different concerns, one cause, one platform

Val Wagner, another mother from rural North Dakota, is likewise involved in the Sensible School Lunches discussion. She raised the point on her blog that federal prisoners in the United States have access to a better variety of food than students in public schools. Annie Carlson shared concerns that the quality of food just isn’t good enough to cover the nutritional needs of students.

Other concerns are being voiced about school lunches on social media. Some worry that the smaller portion size will hurt the well-being of children in low-income families. Another worry is that encouraging such small portion sizes in young people could feed into skewed self-image. Whatever the motivation for someone’s activity in this cause, though, this is clear: social media has given a voice to these concerned people, and the vast majority of them are rural dwellers who hadn’t had a platform in the past.

In fact, social media is the reason members of the Sensible School Lunches “team” even know each other. The ladies coordinating the efforts have all either met or gotten to know each other over social media. If not for this digital bridge, they may have never crossed paths.

USDA goes social

The USDA itself has turned to the social sphere to discuss the changes in lunch menus, as well. Their blog is where many of their notable changes have been shared. They also created a hashtag (#AskUSDA) to field questions on their Twitter account regarding school lunch reform, and even held a scheduled Twitter discussion about it. While many attendees still had concerns and unanswered questions after the chat, it’s commendable that a governmental body is willing to go to Twitter to speak with the public.

So here we are: the USDA has changed school lunches, and concerned parents are connecting over social media from far corners of the rural countryside to voice their doubts. While no one can be sure how this nutritional tug-o-war will end, it’s safe to say that social media is a game-changer in this debate, and many others.