Rotten apples, mysterious hamburger meat, dead bugs in sandwiches – you’d think that would’ve warranted some changes to a school lunch menu right?

No.

The school continued to dole out food unfit for human consumption.

It wasn’t until December 2018, when an unknown meat-loaf type of steak was served that Amber Christensen, finally said enough is enough. The junior in high school from Blue Island, Illinois got very sick from the unsavory lunch and went to the school nurse’s office, only to find that a few other students were already in there, complaining about the lunch making them sick as well.

Amber’s mom, Mandy, confirmed just how ill Amber got, telling CBS, “She was laying in bed and constantly getting up and throwing up. It was terrible.”

Both mother and daughter then went to the school to see what could be done to change the lunch program, but instead they were turned away. The staff told them the meals were in accordance with guidelines so there was nothing that could be done to change or improve them.

But here’s the problem: Many of the students at school qualify for free or reduced lunches, as their families don’t have the means to provide them with healthy and nutritious alternatives outside of school hours – meaning they depend on the cafeteria food, the same food whose quality is so unsatisfactory.  

Amber felt she couldn’t just sit back and let the meal program continue as it was. So she came up with an idea to fix the problem, and in doing so, she got the superintendent’s attention. And from there, the response has been really positive.