We all know that school lunches are less than ideal for our growing kids. We are usually left with the options to send them with a better lunch we make ourselves or just accept the menu that is given and hope for the best.
We really don’t have any options, right?
Well, not exactly.
We can do our part by supporting companies like Whole Foods Market who are putting their money where their mouths are – in the greens! Whole Foods Market in the Southern Pacific Region (Southern California, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Arizona) will donate $1 for every pound purchased at their hot/salad bars on Sunday, September 9th to help put salad bars in schools through the Whole Kids Foundation.
Whole Foods Salad Day is an amazing initiative that I fully support and will get behind.
Not only is the cause itself something I love but Whole Foods Market has been a store that my family and I depend on with our limited diets. When my daughter was diagnosed with life threatening food allergies when she was an infant I had to go on her diet when I nursed her and it’s been an ongoing battle for her since. She had over twenty food allergies, dye and chemical sensitivities and it was a hard adjustment. I discovered Whole Foods Market and found the one place we could rely on for information, amazing customer service and food we could EAT!
When you have life threatening food allergies it’s difficult to get excited in a market – not at Whole Foods!
We have moved many times over the years – Las Vegas, Austin, New York and back to Southern California. With each move we had a Whole Foods Market nearby which I always took comfort in. Even when we travel I try to locate the nearest Whole Foods Market just in case we can’t find allergy friendly foods.
The hot and salad bars is a regular treat for us. Many Sundays after we hit up our local farmers market the kids and I will head over to Whole Foods Market for lunch, create a salad, grab some of our favorite side dishes and a rotisserie chicken. The ingredients are labeled accurately and we have never had a problem.
I will stress that cross contamination is always a concern when dining out. Whole Foods does their best to disclose everything. I always inspect the foods carefully, sometimes ask to get our servings from the food in the back or just avoid dishes that are right next to allergens. Use your best judgment, please.
Tomorrow we are heading to Whole Foods Market with friends, enjoying the best hot and salad bar food around while supporting a great cause. I encourage you to do the same! If you can’t then please help spread the word and share this.
We may not be able to get gourmet chefs in our local schools but we can get behind foundations that are making positive and healthy changes.
Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by Whole Foods Market. All opinions expressed are my own from my own experiences.
About Leila DontSpeakWhinese
Leila, aka The Ninja, is the advocate for all things not whining. Parenting is fun when everyone stops b*tching! She is a single Mom with two amazing kids. They ninja kick through life together. Oh and she is a total jackass.
