Busy mums, whether working or at home, are confused about what they are supposed to be feeding their children.
Food blogger Claire Deeks understands these feelings as she was a busy working mum, a lawyer, before she gave it up for her blog Dom's Kitchen (named after her son), which emphasises eating a sustainable, nutrient-dense, toxin-free, wholefoods diet.
However, she felt a bit removed from those who corresponded with her so thought a national tour was a good way to touch base with those keen to find better ways to feed their children.
''It's weird always being behind a computer screen.''
So the ''Mothers On A Mission - For A Kid's Lunchbox Revolution'' tour developed in part to try and help parents make sense of some of the nutritional information out there.
''The nutrition world is in a state of flux; a lot of battles are going on about what people should be eating.''
There is the status quo, which Deeks and the people on her tour rebel against, she said.
''The status quo is a grain-based diet were we should eat vege oil instead of saturated fat. Then there is the wholefood bloggers who know we need to get back to the real food we used to eat 20, 30, 40 years ago when people didn't take skin off everything.''
But this debate confused parents. Some were going in search of the healthiest packet food for their children, which Deeks believes is wrong. She believes parents should instead be looking for wholefood alternatives, but admitted it needed to start with ''baby steps''.
''I get asked what are the best crackers, or what kind of chips. The real picture is bigger than that. My point is people are really looking in the wrong place.''
People needed to know more about where their food came from and to eat seasonally.
When it came to their children's lunchboxes, parents needed to have strategies in place to make it easier for themselves to put real food in there.
''It's two-fold what I'm doing: helping mums who are overwhelmed, who aren't sure what to do, and to give clarity on basics so they know where they might be going wrong.''
She also hoped to help parents who have it figured out, but struggle with other people's reaction to it and provide inspiration for people to be the first one to speak up without being ostracised.
She is touring with a variety of nutritional experts to provide information. In Dunedin, it's Mikki Williden.
''[The tour] is a portal for people to come to get trusted information.''
While her blog was a ''paelo'' blog, that was not what she was promoting with the tour.
''There is common ground: lower sugar, fewer highly-processed food, remove inflammatory vegetable oil, and thinking about additives and preservatives which can have such an impact on kids' behaviour.''
While some might have criticised the title of her tour, she was quick to point out most of her followers were women and she aimed to provide an event that enabled them to celebrate the work they did in making their children's lunchboxes.
''Realistically most lunchboxes are made by mum. Not often do we get to celebrate that.''
To see
Mothers On A Mission — For A Kid’s Lunchbox Revolution, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, tomorrow, 7pm.
