Story Archive

Act 2, Scene 1

When Martha Payne, 9, was dissatisfied with her school lunches at her unidentified school in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, all she had to do was take photos of what she was offered and post them on her blog, “Never Seconds” (see story earlier in this volume). The blog almost immediately went viral, and embarrassed school officials quickly improved the lunches. The publicity didn’t stop, though: the Argyll and Bute Council noted that “national press headlines” continued to show disdain for the original lunches, and “have led catering staff to fear for their jobs.” In response, the Council banned the girl — or anyone else — from taking photos of the food. Reaction was swift, especially since Martha had leveraged her blog’s fame into a fundraiser for a charity to improve school food all over the world. Council leader Roddy McCuish reversed the ban, announcing “There is no place for censorship in this Council and never will be whilst I am leader.” The rush of publicity quickly pushed Martha past her 7,000 pound (US$10,850) charity fundraising goal — by more than 11 times. (RC/Edinburgh Scotsman) ...Martha needs to start setting much bigger goals.