Tobey Maguire asks Congress for healthier school lunches

Spiderman battles the Feds to get healthier food for kids.

Thu, Jul 30 2009 at 1:00 PM EST

Photo: Rod Mickens/American Museum of Natural History

Look out Congress, Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame is waging war ... and things could get sticky. The issue? School lunches. As Maguire points out in his letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi -- schools across the nation are inundated with surplus meat -- millions of pounds of beef, pork and other high-fat meat products are purchased by the USDA and distributed to school as part of the government’s commodity foods program.

“As a parent, I am contacting you because I am deeply concerned that unhealthy school lunches are contributing to our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic,” writes Maguire. “My wife and I just had our second child, so this issue is tremendously important to us … Let me ask you please to ensure the Child Nutrition Act provides more fruits, vegetables, and healthy vegetarian foods. Young people deserve healthful food, and I can’t imagine a better investment in the future of our country.”

Maguire has written letters to Pelosi and Sen. Tom Harkin, asking them to add fruits, vegetables and low-fat vegetarian meals to an upcoming re-authorization of the Child Nutrition Act.

Want to help? Sign a petition here telling Congress you want children to eat better in school.

Read Maguire's entire letter to Pelosi at Ecorazzi.com