[ Open edition ]
Appendix I: The School Lunch Audit
A section of The Maha Principle by Mayone Maha Rajan.
Evidence Collection Tool for the Nurturing Warrior
Mission
Do not go to the school board with feelings. Go with documented evidence. This form is designed to be taken into the school cafeteria — which is your right as a parent, guardian, or taxpayer. Request to see ingredient labels. Photograph them. Complete this form. Attach the photographs when presenting findings to the board.
This form is optimized for print. In the digital edition, the categories can be recorded in a notebook or notes application using the same structure.
School: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Date: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Auditor: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
SECTION 1: The Toxicity Check
Request ingredient labels for the main entrée and any packaged snacks served that day.
1. Synthetic Dyes (Look for: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1) - \[ \] FOUND — Item: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ - \[ \] NOT FOUND
2. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (Look for: HFCS, corn syrup solids, glucose-fructose syrup) - \[ \] FOUND — Item: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ - \[ \] NOT FOUND
3. Industrial Seed Oils (Look for: soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil) - \[ \] FOUND — Item: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ - \[ \] NOT FOUND
SECTION 2: The Real Food Ratio
Observe the tray presented to students.
4. The Protein Source - \[ \] Unidentifiable: breaded, nugget-shaped, or composite (cannot determine origin) - \[ \] Identifiable whole muscle: chicken breast, ground beef, eggs, fish fillet
5. The Dairy Check - \[ \] Imitation: label reads “cheese product,” “cheese food,” or “imitation cheese” - \[ \] Real: ingredient list reads “milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes” (or equivalent)
6. Fruit and Vegetable Check - \[ \] Processed: canned fruit in syrup or juice concentrate; vegetable in sauce - \[ \] Whole: fresh or raw fruit; raw or simply prepared vegetable
SECTION 3: The Vending Machine Audit
Select the first ten items at eye level.
- Items containing added sugar: \_\_\_\_ / 10
- Items containing seed oils: \_\_\_\_ / 10
- Items that are whole food (nuts, fruit, seeds): \_\_\_\_ / 10
SECTION 4: The Assessment
Based on the above evidence:
- ☐ Requires Immediate Action: Contains synthetic dyes, HFCS, and industrial seed oils. Grounds for a formal procurement resolution request.
- ☐ Needs Improvement: Processed but free of the three primary markers. Grounds for a constructive improvement proposal.
- ☐ Meeting the Standard: Whole foods, identifiable protein, safe cooking fats. This program should be protected and cited as the model.
Auditor signature: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Date: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Attach photographs of ingredient labels to this form when presenting at the board meeting.