Parents, have you ever let your kids prowl beneath the kitchen sink and taste-test the rat poison and insecticides? My guess is probably not — even if they ask nicely — and yet that is exactly what we are doing when we drop them off at Maryland public schools every day.

WJLA-TV recently broadcast an investigation into school lunches in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia that found the food contains weed killer, heavy metals, pesticides, veterinary drugs and other poisons. In fact, 23 pesticides were found in a single strawberry cup, and all of the samples taken contained lead — there is no amount of lead that is safe to ingest.

How are these poisons affecting our kids? Take a look at food dyes — research shows they cause troublesome behaviors such as anger, aggression, hyperactivity and inattention. Studies on rats indicate that food dyes can even cause cancer. Part of the problem is regulation — the allowable limits set by the Food and Drug Administration are based on research that is 50 years old. Recent studies show that food dyes are less safe than originally thought.

Another part of the problem is oversight. Often, school lunches are prepared in offsite facilities where there is limited oversight, and the food is packaged with materials containing toxins.

California, home to the largest public school system in the country, is leading the charge on this issue, passing legislation in September to ban several food dyes from public schools. One lawmaker said the bill may even save money by reducing the amount of resources needed to manage behavior issues in the classroom. That points to a bit of irony here — schools are serving substances that trigger behaviors like inattention and hyperactivity which interfere with the very purpose for which students are in the building.

On the local level, the Montgomery County Council took a step in the right direction in 2014 by banning a number of food dyes from schools, as well as saccharin, pink slime, MSG, and other toxic substances.

Since the FDA won’t stand up to the food manufacturing lobby, states have been forced to create policy piecemeal, making the FDA’s purpose somewhat irrelevant. Before the new Congress starts making budget decisions, it would behoove the FDA to reconsider its do-nothing strategy.

When I raised this issue with a member of the Prince George’s County Council, she responded, “You should try going to the schools directly.” Does she mean the same school that already has three IEP/504 compliance violations with my student in the first quarter alone? When the public schools are not even doing the bare minimum, what makes her think they have the capacity or even authority to take this on, especially when she, in a position of power, is unwilling to do so herself?

The safety of school lunches is not your typical public policy issue like daylight savings, where lawmakers set effective dates years from now. This is an urgent matter requiring immediate oversight and regulation.

Lately, my five-year-old has been asking, “Is this food healthy or not healthy?” Picturing the strawberry cup teeming with 23 pesticides, I wish it was that simple. Make no mistake, this is not an issue of nutrition but an issue of public safety for our most vulnerable citizens who cannot advocate for themselves.

As adults, we may look at the school lunch thinking, “I wouldn’t eat that.” While we have the autonomy to make that decision, most kids don’t have the ability or insight to refuse it. They eat the lunch because they are hungry and it was served to them. There is an implicit trust that the food is safe. But it is not. Yet, with their spork, your child is digging into a sectioned plate containing arsenic, lead and cancer-causing cadmium every day.

As the national election results have many Marylanders shifting their hope and trust toward local and state lawmakers, we cannot yet rest easy that we and our kids are in good hands.

Public officials are aware of this issue but are still not taking action. It appears they need some pressure from voters who just elected them to solve the very problems they pledged to fix mere weeks ago in campaign season.

Parents and caretakers, will you join me in pressuring county and state lawmakers to lock the cabinet beneath Maryland’s kitchen sink and eliminate food dyes and other toxins from school lunches?

Allison Getty is a mother in Maryland.