No more junk food in schools

victoriavoodoo

I think this is a way to let the parents who feed their kids poorly off the hook(in their minds, I mean). It isn't going to change the majority of their intake, which is outside of school hours.

Also, I'm in college and read several hundred pages of "fun" books a week, alongside schoolwork. I discovered I love reading in elementary school when the kids who get a certain number of reading points each year get a pizza party. I WANTED that pizza party lol and love that I love reading for its own rewards now.

ETA the pizza parties once a year in school didnt hurt me. My weight went up later, when I stopped being active. I am now remedying this.

Unknown

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mccroskey

I sent my son to school with a cookie cake on his birthday for his class, they sent it home. Informed us that I could send like apples fruit cups, or sugar-free popsicles.

ncmedic201

My son will be happy about that. He hates to bring lunch because there's no room in his locker and he doesn't like the bad food choices at school. He just asked me this week what he can do about eating better at lunch when the new school year starts.

Athena53

I think the CA standards have been stricter than this for a long time now. You can't even send junk from home at a lot of schools. I tried to give my step-son a cookie for his snack, and he said they aren't allowed.

My dear mother baked cakes and cookies and sent them to school with us. Our sandwiches were cold cuts- generally bologna, sometimes ham salad she made from the butt end of the ham we'd had for dinner, mixed in the blender with mayo and relish. My brother ate nothing but peanut butter and jelly. It was all on white bread, of course, although Mom did go through a stage of baking the bread from scratch to save money. My 4 sibs are in their late 50s and I just turned 60. We're all lean, healthy and active. (So are Mom and Dad although they're in their early 80s and have had a few cardiac problems.)

What I think makes obesity a bigger problem now: kids are less active, frequent fast food and restaurant meals loaded with fat and with oversize portions, and parents who don't know how to cook so they buy crap. More kids are getting free lunches and the stuff in the free lunches is really bad in many schools. The lunch period has gotten shorter and shorter, leaving less time to actually go out and play, and meaning that most kids just gobble stuff down without tasting it- a very bad habit.

I really hate to see more regulation. Cookies aren't the criminal here. It's more complicated than that.

astrampe

Another reason I'm glad I moved to Canada. I'm also glad my daughter isn't in high school anymore.

Not sure what you mean - but I'm in BC and the stuff in the vending maschines had been changed to healthier choices, and the food sold in the cafeterias in BC schools have been changed as well - and that happened a few years ago here......

mommy3457

I think the CA standards have been stricter than this for a long time now. You can't even send junk from home at a lot of schools. I tried to give my step-son a cookie for his snack, and he said they aren't allowed.

Yes, it is all lame. I'm so glad I went to an Italian, Catholic high school where they made homemade, Italian lunches everyday. :happy:

watfordjc

I think it's great! Some kids don't get nutritious food at home, and have parents that don't teach them how to eat right. It's awesome that they're doing this in schools.

Besides... why would kids need to eat Snickers bars at school anyway?

Why do they need to eat a Snickers bar anywhere? Why do you need to eat one at home or at work or anywhere else?

So that your daily deficit isn't 3,000+ calories. Not everyone is inactive, and I'd rather eat my calories without it slowing me down. A Snickers every hour on an 18+ mile walk helps me more than bananas, oatmeal & raisin cookies, or McChicken Sandwiches do, plus they taste delicious.

Restricting snacks to 200 calories to me just sounds stupid. Using stereotypes... a football player, cheerleader, computer geek and pianist should all consume the same amount at school? A 12 year old consuming the same amount as an 18 year old? Females consuming the same as males? As I said, sounds stupid.

ostrichagain

I think the CA standards have been stricter than this for a long time now. You can't even send junk from home at a lot of schools. I tried to give my step-son a cookie for his snack, and he said they aren't allowed.

I can understand why they don't want sugary snacks. Imagining myself as a teacher with a room full of 30 kids that are hopped up sugar from their meal, then crashing a couple hours later. A nightmare. How do you teach in that situation? No wonder they're always begging for more graham crackers, half the class can't focus come 2pm.

But yeah, not letting them have A cookie with their lunch is overkill.

rml_16

I think it's great! Some kids don't get nutritious food at home, and have parents that don't teach them how to eat right. It's awesome that they're doing this in schools.

Besides... why would kids need to eat Snickers bars at school anyway?

Why do they need to eat a Snickers bar anywhere? Why do you need to eat one at home or at work or anywhere else?

So that your daily deficit isn't 3,000+ calories. Not everyone is inactive, and I'd rather eat my calories without it slowing me down. A Snickers every hour on an 18+ mile walk helps me more than bananas, oatmeal & raisin cookies, or McChicken Sandwiches do, plus they taste delicious.

Restricting snacks to 200 calories to me just sounds stupid. Using stereotypes... a football player, cheerleader, computer geek and pianist should all consume the same amount at school? A 12 year old consuming the same amount as an 18 year old? Females consuming the same as males? As I said, sounds stupid.

My question was rhetorical.

Sarabelle43

Hope it sticks. I'm a teacher and two years ago, we started a big healthy living campaign at my elementary school. One of the things that went out the door at the beginning of last year was chocolate milk - it has more sugar than a can of regular soda! Gross. That was at the beginning of the school year... 5 months in, the kids (or rather, the parents) had complained so much that the district told us we had to give them back the choice. We also tried to get rid of extra butter of doom popcorn... but that failed, too.

sunshinestater

In high school, I ate Little Debbie snacks and ice cream for munch, then fast food or pizza after school. I was 110 pounds and size 3.

You know what was different then? Gym class and not spending all day in front of video games and computers.

Get rid of all the junk, but as long as they keep getting rid of recess and PE, kids will be overweight. They aren't addressing the real issue.

^^^^^
This

louloulou

I don't live in america. Here, there is no school lunches, kids bring their own lunch box from home, there are no vending machines in schools. In high schools, most have a school shop where kids can buy their lunches, these shops sell for the most part, healthy to average food- like homemade pizza, filled sandwiches etc. in terms of lunchbox food, you can send what you want however there is a strong push from schools to send healthy food options.

AlabasterVerve

There shouldn't be vending machines in schools at all. There also shouldn't be school lunches but that's another thread, I guess.

LorinaLynn

I took a lunch most of the time, which was a sandwich, thermos of Nestle Quik, and something like a Little Debbie, Tastykake or Drake's pie. And I was a beanpole.

We didn't have vending machines in any of our schools, at least not as of 1990.

In college, I'd drive to the nearest 7-11 for lunch and get a hot dog, a pack of Tastykakes and a 32 oz Big Gulp of regular Mountain Dew. And I was still a beanpole.




And Snickers Bars keep me from turning into Betty White, Joe Pesci and Robin Williams. 'Struth. I've never been any of those people.

Francl27

LMAO!

Seriously though, I'm all for it. I grew up in France and it was 'healthy' food in school, and I'm sure otherwise I would have been even more chubbier (it's at home that I ate the junk). And don't get me started on vending machines and the like... I totally agree that it's a bit pointless to do that while cutting recess and PE though.

fluffykitsune

Don't like it. Kids won't eat it and will go home starving and will eat all of the junk food there.

magerum

Let us not hold parents accountable for food choices of their children. That would make too much sense.

missmegan831

Schools didn't cause this problem, but maybe they can help solve it.

Very, very well said! I agree it's not the schools fault and that the parents need to be held accountable as well. But we're not going to change every parent's mind or eating/grocery shopping habits overnight so this could be a great first step in exposing children to healthy alternatives.

Absolutely agree with both of you... it is the parents, children learn by what they see and if its mcdonalds and poptarts every night they are more apt to follow those same eating habits when they leave the home...

jonnythan

I have zero problem with this.

corgicake

Considering what school lunches currently are like, this is priceless.

hammbone55

The school I work at has removed all sugary cereals at breakfast. We also don't allow chocolate milk to be served for breakfast, snack or lunch. Veggies served are low sodium. We also have a fruits and veggies program where a couple times a week the classrooms get to try new fruits or veggies for the kids' snack. Some things the kids really like and some not so much but at least they are exposing the children to a variety of different foods. I had never had jicama until they had it for the snack one day and my daughter told me I should try it. I now buy it all the time and my kids love it.

Marla64

Let us not hold parents accountable for food choices of their children. That would make too much sense.

Right?

:noway:

Hadabetter

Eliminating junk food from schools, in the form of sugary drinks and vending maching snacks, has not been shown to have any effect on obesity rates, where it was tried in the US. As is usually the case, you can't solve problems by merely making them illegal.

jennifershoo

I love it!

jennifershoo

People are making stupid food choices and making their kids fat and potentially sick. Good nutritional behavior is learned in the childhood. Kids copy their parents. At least, they would get some nutrients at school.

RobynLB83

People are making stupid food choices and making their kids fat and potentially sick. Good nutritional behavior is learned in the childhood. Kids copy their parents. At least, they would get some nutrients at school.

I don't know how accurate the assumption that kids copy their parents is. I went vegan at 12, and my parents were like WTF? Kids eat what their parents feed them, but as soon as they can feed themselves, they start making pretty individualistic choices.

Also, not all fat kids are eating junk food. and not all junk food eating kids are fat I was a fat kid, and I was forbidden junk food. Conversely, my nephew grew up on pizza and McDonalds, and was always trim and super healthy, and at 10, I just saw him order a salad at a restaurant. Weird kid.

Still, better nutrition education through the schools can only be a good thing.

rml_16

Eliminating junk food from schools, in the form of sugary drinks and vending maching snacks, has not been shown to have any effect on obesity rates, where it was tried in the US. As is usually the case, you can't solve problems by merely making them illegal.

Exactly.

I remember being in line in the grocery store one day behind a set of parents and their two children and for some reason I was thinking about how people keep blaming fast food restaurants for obesity. The entire family was overweight and I just took a glance at their cart.

It was full of fattening junk food. Not a fruit or veggie to be seen. Lots of snack cakes and soda and you-name-it, but not one healthy item. It is not what they're eating at school that is making them fat.

Also, healthy foods have always been available at schools and many actually require the kids to take a certain amount of fruit or whatever. Most of it ends up in the trash.

hdlb

Another reason I'm glad I moved to Canada. I'm also glad my daughter isn't in high school anymore.

Not sure what you mean - but I'm in BC and the stuff in the vending maschines had been changed to healthier choices, and the food sold in the cafeterias in BC schools have been changed as well - and that happened a few years ago here......

I was wondering the same thing, but maybe its just BC with the changes? I live in BC too, and I like the rules. No pop/chips/candy/chocoate sold in schools, everything has to be under a certain sugar/fat/sodium level. The school my kids go to doesn't have a cafeteria, but they do have a canteen. Most kids bring their lunches from home, but they do have the option to buy lunch. The food is made fresh each day (nothing comes in pre-made or frozen) by one lunch lady and kids from grade 5 and 6. They all have to help through the year. I imagine its much easier for our school do it that way though because there is only 300 kids in the school. Instead of "Pizza day" they have "smoothie day". They make all the smoothies and kids have the choice of having it made with dairy or soy milk. The kids love it.

stealthq

I think it's asinine.

What is the point of regulating drinks and snacks when the only lunch you can get in the cafeteria (at least around here) is a choice between pizza (w/ fries), hamburger/cheeseburger (w/ fries), or something like frito pie (w/ fries, wth?), chicken fried steak fingers (w/ mashed potatoes and cream gravy), etc. Oh wait, they do serve a salad - about 1/4 c. of iceberg lettuce with an anemic tomato slice. Yeah, that's a healthy and satisfying option. Can't imagine why the kids aren't falling all over themselves to eat that.

I won't even get into the schools refusing to allow parents to send lunch for fear of a drop of peanut or tree nut oil to get into the school as though there is no other solution to keep allergic kids safe. Sad when the high school kids here tend to lose weight their senior year. Why? Because they're allowed to eat off campus (i.e. at the McDonalds across the street).