Provence's schools - not a vegan-friendly place to be.

This isn't actually my kids' school, but it may as well be for how antiquated the thinking is.

I've loved almost everything about moving to Provence.  The seasons are great, we're surrounded by beautiful countryside, no neighbors in sight, the kids have learned a new language, and the little organic shop in town started carrying vegan cheese, just for us. 

What more could I want?  A vegan-friendly school, that's what.  I mean, I don't expect the caffeteria to serve seitan sandwitches or anything.  But I do take issue with a school that won't let my kids bring their own lunch and eat it there.

My stupid fight with the administration started a couple of years ago.  In France, the lunch hour goes from 11:30am to 1:30pm.  Kids either eat a sit-down lunch at school (no self-serve - this is a pre-determined menu), or they go home to eat.  Shortly after we arrived, I asked the lunch ladies if my kids could bring lunch from home.  They agreed, on condition that I would still pay for the regular lunch (which my kids wouldn't be eating).

Within weeks, I was asked to produce a medical certificate explaining why the kids couldn't eat the caffeteria's food, failing which they would no longer be allowed the use of a table and chair to eat their packed lunch.  I was told, in so many words, that the French school system's phylosophy is that all children are equal (the dark side of socialism, I guess), and that allowing my children to eat differently for reasons other than medical would make the other children feel less important.  Huh? Come again?

I struggled with what to do for a few days - after all, my schedule did allow me to pick up the kids for lunch and bring them back afterwards. It wouldn't be convenient, but it was doable.  The back and forth would mess up my days, but Damon and I could alternate and make it work.  The feeling of rejection is what really pissed me off.  And I didn't believe for one minute that other children would feel less than if they saw my kids eating a sandwitch that was different than their sandwitch.  Pleeeeze!

Long story short, I found a doctor willing to give me a certificate stating that Noah and Nina's general state of health, and their allergies to meat and dairy products in particular, mandated that they eat only meals prepared by their parents.  This, he assured me, would satisfy the school doctor, and thus allow my kids to resume bringing their lunch to school.  The caveat, of course, what that the kids would henceforth have to tell everyone they had food allergies, or our cover would be blown.

We were faced with an impossible choice:  lie and eat at school, or stay true to our values and put up with the commute back and forth from school.

It didn't take us long to figure out that we weren't willing to turn a real positive thing - our compassion for all living creatures - into a negative. Noah and Nina are very proud to be vegan - they are very unapologetic about it and usually unphased by people's reactions.  It just wasn't right to turn all that into a fictitious medical condition just to appease a bunch of narrow-minded country biggots.

So in the end things worked themselves out.  The kids come home every day to a vegan, organic, balanced lunch.  After lunch, they have plenty of time to play outside before returning to school, and if they've forgotten something that morning, they can always grab it then.  It's usually a hug!