Cafeteria Man

Filmmaker Richard Chisolm's documentary on school lunch food follows chef Tony Geraci, who in 2008 had just become food and nutrition director for the Baltimore school district. Geraci was ready to shake things up, insisting on replacing dull institutional offerings with fresh local ingredients, educating children (and food service workers) in the basics of good nutrition, instituting meatless Mondays, and growing his own produce and herbs at a small truck farm. The film interweaves comments from students, parents, administrators, teachers, and farmers, along with brief appearances by First Lady Michelle Obama, author Michael Pollan, and Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass. The narration-less approach is occasionally confusing: for example, it appears that Geraci was hired because a group of youngsters took some cafeteria “food” to the school board and suggested that they eat it, but could that have been enough for the board to seek out the chef? Cafeteria Man does a better job of showing Geraci's frustration in dealing with the entrenched bureaucracy and his pure delight at being able to serve every kid in the district a fresh peach on his first day on the job (at a cost far less per serving than canned peaches). Moments of ambiguity aside, this is an engaging look at an issue that has made headlines thanks to the efforts of the First Lady. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Gardner)