No more junk food in schools

Sharon_C

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.

This!!!! My high school track runner eats lunch at 10:30am. By the time track starts he's starving and then has to run for almost 2 hours. He needs WAY more calories to fuel his body. I pack him a healthy lunch (including several apples and clementines along with granola bars) but if he's hungry I have no problem with him eating a Snickers. Because he eats healthy 90% of the time.

I HATE that EVERYONE has to be victim to these stupid regulations. If I want to buy a 24oz pop in New York I should be able to because I can control myself. If my kid wants to eat more calories then he should be able to.

Stepping off my soap box now

81Katz

Not wanting to aid the obesity problem is a waste of money?

It appears that parents are still allowed to send whatever food in their child's PACKED LUNCH that they want. Schools just won't be selling the stuff. So what exactly is the problem?

What if at a job, your boss said we want you to be healthier, so we won't sell Coca Cola anymore and we won't stock the vending machine with 500 calorie candy bars. BUT ... you can still bring them to work from home.

So .... what's the problem? Nobody is telling you what to eat. They simply won't provide it.

Yes it is a waste of money. I fail to see how taking junk food out of the school is going to help when you just pointed out the fact that the kids who pack their lunches can bring whatever they want. So now kids will just brown bag it so they can have their cheetos, cookies, soda etc. Unless, like I stated in a previous post, they begin policing the packed lunches, searching them and confiscating the contraband food. In all honesty with the way things are going I wouldn't put it past the schools and the government to start doing this.

I still disagree. This puts the ball in the parents court to step up and aid in making some healthier choices. Now, will parents do this? That it up to them and I think that is what upsets them. Because now they have to do their part.

sterven

As long as they actually get rid of the junk it will be good. If kids have a choice between Dominos pizza and a chicken wrap they are almost always going to choose the pizza. But they don't want to starve so if the have no other choice they will gladly eat it and eventually probably even like it.

Sharon_C

Unless, like I stated in a previous post, they begin policing the packed lunches, searching them and confiscating the contraband food. In all honesty with the way things are going I wouldn't put it past the schools and the government to start doing this.

[/quote]

I have heard of this happening. IMO, that's going too far. I don't want to live in a George Orwell novel.

PilotX

why not have all the kids start wearing school uniforms too, lets just remove all choices in the schools now. This would make commies, socialist and ultra liberals very happy,

Gwen_B

Awesome, now if the parents were more cautious of what their children eat!! I have three athletic children who eat right and have never been over weight!!! It isn't hard, you just have to have the right priorities!!!

81Katz

why not have all the kids start wearing school uniforms too, lets just remove all choices in the schools now. This would make commies, socialist and ultra liberals very happy,

A lot of articles are stating that kids can still bring whatever food they want in their own packed lunches. Seems they still have lots of choices.

michcor

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

Love this.

toscarthearmada

The school system that I work in only gives healthy choices as an option but they provide chips, ice cream and other portion controlled snacks. I notice a lot of the students pass on the sweet items or they just pack their own lunches.

What about schools that are lower income and have the government provide a large percentage of free lunches? Should we only provide healthy lunches then? Does healthy food cost less?

Just curious what everyone thinks.

michcor

I purposely have not read any of this thread besides the OP (the 2nd posts eye rolling was enough) and here are my 2 cents. I'm a teacher, a fairly young teacher, this is my 6th year teaching in a VERY poor school district (5th poorest in the good ole US of A). ALL of our students are on free or reduced lunch. Here is an example of a normal meal in one day, and they are the same every week; breakfast is a chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a pre packaged waffle with the syrup already added in and and an optional fruit salad with heavy syrup. Lunch: another chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, an optional side of canned green beans, an optional side of fruit in heavy syrup. Just in these two meals, my students are eating more sugar and fat than I eat in 2-3 days and they are in elementary school (2nd grade). All of the meals are served with the 'main dish' (packaged waffle, pizza, uncrustable, etc) on a Styrofoam tray and then they put all of the sides in separate little plastic cups so that the kids don't have to get it and they save money, which means almost no kids in the school get any veggies or fruit on their plates. It is a disgrace. I don't give a God dang if you support Obama, if you're a Republican or if you voted for the freaking tooth fairy, the way we feed our kids in public school is a shame and it has to change. My kids come in and have a mouth full of caps on their teeth b/c their baby teeth have rotted out from all the sugar they eat (and the free, traveling dentist bus is the one who puts the caps on and does their semi annual cleanings, during school ours, b/c they are all too poor to go to the dentist any other way). Half of them are on medication for ADD, ADHD, etc, etc, etc, and you cannot tell me that their diet, most of which is eaten at school, doesn't have a major impact. And the worst part is that these are kids who are getting their meals paid for by us, the tax payers, and that's what they have to eat. And I wouldn't dare deter them from eating it because many of them may not have dinner at night when they go home. So think about that next time you want to roll your eyes at people who are trying to fix this problem.

I love this, too.

DawnieB1977

why not have all the kids start wearing school uniforms too, lets just remove all choices in the schools now. This would make commies, socialist and ultra liberals very happy,

All schools in England have uniforms.

highervibes

I don't see a problem with it. You let the government educate your children, why shouldn't they decide what food can be served to them also?

toscarthearmada

I purposely have not read any of this thread besides the OP (the 2nd posts eye rolling was enough) and here are my 2 cents. I'm a teacher, a fairly young teacher, this is my 6th year teaching in a VERY poor school district (5th poorest in the good ole US of A). ALL of our students are on free or reduced lunch. Here is an example of a normal meal in one day, and they are the same every week; breakfast is a chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a pre packaged waffle with the syrup already added in and and an optional fruit salad with heavy syrup. Lunch: another chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, an optional side of canned green beans, an optional side of fruit in heavy syrup. Just in these two meals, my students are eating more sugar and fat than I eat in 2-3 days and they are in elementary school (2nd grade). All of the meals are served with the 'main dish' (packaged waffle, pizza, uncrustable, etc) on a Styrofoam tray and then they put all of the sides in separate little plastic cups so that the kids don't have to get it and they save money, which means almost no kids in the school get any veggies or fruit on their plates. It is a disgrace. I don't give a God dang if you support Obama, if you're a Republican or if you voted for the freaking tooth fairy, the way we feed our kids in public school is a shame and it has to change. My kids come in and have a mouth full of caps on their teeth b/c their baby teeth have rotted out from all the sugar they eat (and the free, traveling dentist bus is the one who puts the caps on and does their semi annual cleanings, during school ours, b/c they are all too poor to go to the dentist any other way). Half of them are on medication for ADD, ADHD, etc, etc, etc, and you cannot tell me that their diet, most of which is eaten at school, doesn't have a major impact. And the worst part is that these are kids who are getting their meals paid for by us, the tax payers, and that's what they have to eat. And I wouldn't dare deter them from eating it because many of them may not have dinner at night when they go home. So think about that next time you want to roll your eyes at people who are trying to fix this problem.

I purposely didn't read any either but your post was exactly what I was thinking. Do we work in the same school district? lol, we have the exact same thing at my school.

jennifershoo

But does this prepare then for the real world? Temptation will be around as they get older. Its not the governments job to mandate foods.v these lunches cost more more and is given the nutritional info probably ate filled with preservatives and sodium. You can eat better and still be unhealthy without exercise.

This. And, also, it is NOT the government's job or right (and public school is the government) to tell me what to feed my child.

A "friend" of mine posted on FB a while back wanting people to back her up on getting rid of flavored milks in her local schools. Everyone was against it who commented, but she was adamant about it. So a few Nazi-like parents are pushing their personal agendas onto the rest of us.

All schools do now is prep for the test. Everything is about the test. They've dropped art, music and all vocations from the curriculum. They have also shortened the year to save money. They also no longer have physical education. So, I guess the logical next step is to cut recess. I dunno. I think it's crap. When I went to school we had everything. Auto shop, metal shop, wood shop, physical Ed, art, music, etc.

While this is the trend and true in some districts, it is not the case in all schools across the board.

Yeah, Im Talking about Southern California only.

As far as the comment about doing or eating whatever you want, I have to disagree. There are issues here. While my kids are healthy and eat well, some parents think nutrition is a donut and chocolate milk. They are idiotic parents. I think it's good to educate and control kids to the point where they can. Learning about proper nutrition is part of the deal, IMO. It's not some big brother scheme. It's the right thing to do. Why are they giving 5-year-olds a choice? Of course a young kid is going to choose crap. Take that option away. When hey are older, hey can make their own decisions. But, while they are young, they should learn about proper nutrition. A ding dong and a Pepsi is not "lunch", IMO.

This^

jennifershoo

I think it's interesting to see this debate. As a primary school teacher in Ireland, its not such a huge issue here. Next to no schools serve food (except at secondary level). All primary school children bring packed lunches. All schools have a lunch policy, with the majority banning crisps/chocolate/biscuits/high fat or sugary snacks. Some schools allow a treat day. There are no vending machines in primary schools and most are being removed from secondary schools. People don't get upset about not having the freedom to give their kids rubbish, its acknowledged that its healthier for them to have fruit, veg etc. Surely by having such rules it encourages the parents to rethink their food choices for their kids, which can only be a good thing.
I know a lot of American's don't like state intervention, but if it helps improve health and in the long run save money on healthcare then it can't be a bad thing? Just my opinion.
Ya kids will always like sweet stuff but do they reallly need to be offered the choice of it when they're in school? Aside from the health issues, it can (and I've had to deal with it) hyperactive behaviour from the sugar rush, and falls in concentration levels when the sugar wares off.
oh and just curious, are schools really getting rid of recess?? how is this being justified?

I love your post.

jennifershoo

I purposely have not read any of this thread besides the OP (the 2nd posts eye rolling was enough) and here are my 2 cents. I'm a teacher, a fairly young teacher, this is my 6th year teaching in a VERY poor school district (5th poorest in the good ole US of A). ALL of our students are on free or reduced lunch. Here is an example of a normal meal in one day, and they are the same every week; breakfast is a chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a pre packaged waffle with the syrup already added in and and an optional fruit salad with heavy syrup. Lunch: another chocolate, full fat milk, a 'juice' box, a slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, an optional side of canned green beans, an optional side of fruit in heavy syrup. Just in these two meals, my students are eating more sugar and fat than I eat in 2-3 days and they are in elementary school (2nd grade). All of the meals are served with the 'main dish' (packaged waffle, pizza, uncrustable, etc) on a Styrofoam tray and then they put all of the sides in separate little plastic cups so that the kids don't have to get it and they save money, which means almost no kids in the school get any veggies or fruit on their plates. It is a disgrace. I don't give a God dang if you support Obama, if you're a Republican or if you voted for the freaking tooth fairy, the way we feed our kids in public school is a shame and it has to change. My kids come in and have a mouth full of caps on their teeth b/c their baby teeth have rotted out from all the sugar they eat (and the free, traveling dentist bus is the one who puts the caps on and does their semi annual cleanings, during school ours, b/c they are all too poor to go to the dentist any other way). Half of them are on medication for ADD, ADHD, etc, etc, etc, and you cannot tell me that their diet, most of which is eaten at school, doesn't have a major impact. And the worst part is that these are kids who are getting their meals paid for by us, the tax payers, and that's what they have to eat. And I wouldn't dare deter them from eating it because many of them may not have dinner at night when they go home. So think about that next time you want to roll your eyes at people who are trying to fix this problem.

Amen!

Perplexities

I don't see a problem with it. You let the government educate your children, why shouldn't they decide what food can be served to them also?

We also let them build our roadways, why shouldn't they decide what vehicles we drive on them also?

DawnieB1977

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

Love this.

Unfortunately I teach a lot of kids whose parents do not give a *kitten* about them. I work in a deprived area, lots of kids with SEN and on free school meals. I don't suppose a lot of the parents care what their kids eat, because they sure don't care that their child is telling teachers to f**k off every other day and is in detention/isolation pretty much 5 days a week!

ranchmimi

I am a member of the local school board and we heard this early in the spring. Our school district does follow the guide lines - but the sad part of all these new rules is that the kids will still only eat what they like - even if it is on their trays. The amount of fruit required to be on a tray has grown by leaps and bounds - but so has the amount of fruit tossed in the garbage by the kids. This, plus the extra cost to follow the guidelines and no new money to pay for it are going to end up costing the consumer. We are holding the line on lunch prices this year - but watch out next year when even more regulations are in force.

215jenn

I don't see a problem with it. You let the government educate your children, why shouldn't they decide what food can be served to them also?

We also let them build our roadways, why shouldn't they decide what vehicles we drive on them also?

I'm sorry, but to an extent the government does decide what vehicles we drive on the roads.
That's how we have emissions testing, safety requirements and rules about what sorts of vehicles are and are not considered street legal.
While I can drive a Honda, and you can drive a ______. The choices are limited, and the manufacturers face government imposed restrictions.

Velum_cado

I think it's a good move. It's not ~nanny state~ stuff. They're not saying kids can't eat whatever parents want them eat. They're just saying the schools won't provide it. School is a central influence in a child's life, so I think it's great that things like healthier food choices are promoted by them.

celtbell3

I have several thoughts on this topic. Obviously, we all want our children to have a healthy meal ~ every night in the school year I spend several minutes planning and packing their lunches. Never have wanted them to be a part of the processed foods that make up our school lunches. While this is great, many of the children who rely on these lunches come from homes where school lunch is the most substantial meal of their entire day. Children who qualify for assistance will not survive on 200 calories a day. Even if is a nutrient rich meal. Of course, school lunches should not be a 'whole day' meal. Obviously. However, this is the reality in this country ~ especially in many large urban public schools. My next thought is exercise. I believe the current administration needs to rethink the entire one size fits all as all children are different. I'm not talking testing - please - that is a huge category in and of itself. I am talking exercise. When I was a child, I benefitted from class-recess-class-lunch-recess-class-gym! Maybe not in that order but short quick breaks where we could run around, get our HR raised and lungs filling up was GOOD for us. The computer craze and sitting down for everything is not good. So, I like the idea of no more junk food. I believe there needs to be more research on the severity of how it will impact our most needy of children.

whierd

If we're talking about government provided lunches? Great, I support what they are doing.

But if they try to tell parents that they can't send foods to school for the kids that pack lunch? That is something I take issue with.

OspreyVista

Not too long ago, I probably would be upset. Blah blah blah, freedom of choice, blah blah. But now, I think it's a good idea. These aren't adults making poor choices about their health, these are children. People who can't understand what short term choices mean for their longevity. I seriously think this is a step in the right direction. We need to be healthier in this country. If we are healthier we are more productive, richer (less medical bills), and are able to do more. If parents won't teach healthy eating habits, then we should remove the temptation as much as possible.

^this.

Perplexities

I don't see a problem with it. You let the government educate your children, why shouldn't they decide what food can be served to them also?

We also let them build our roadways, why shouldn't they decide what vehicles we drive on them also?

I'm sorry, but to an extent the government does decide what vehicles we drive on the roads.
That's how we have emissions testing, safety requirements and rules about what sorts of vehicles are and are not considered street legal.
While I can drive a Honda, and you can drive a ______. The choices are limited, and the manufacturers face government imposed restrictions.

Environment and safety related restrictions which benefit all of us and our environment. They're not deciding what color your car is, or what your car looks like, or what brand of car you buy. Hardly a comparison. Not every kid is overweight and uneducated in nutrition. This isn't about creating healthy food, this is about forcing low calorie reduced fat food on kids who have school lunch. low calories=/=healthy.

highervibes

If we're talking about government provided lunches? Great, I support what they are doing.

But if they try to tell parents that they can't send foods to school for the kids that pack lunch? That is something I take issue with.

I think they mean at the cafeteria or in the vending machines etc. Barring any allergies, I'd be PISSED if I couldn't send whatever I wanted in my kids' lunch.

highervibes

I don't see a problem with it. You let the government educate your children, why shouldn't they decide what food can be served to them also?

We also let them build our roadways, why shouldn't they decide what vehicles we drive on them also?

Well they do tell you how fast you can go, whether or not you can talk on the phone while doing so (at least in Canada) and when you can and can't do certain things (like passing, left turns etc.) Not sure I see your point since just about the ONLY thing you can do is pick the car you drive. You can't even drive it without a seatbelt if you're the only one in the car. So yeah, they control quite a bit on the roads also.

PilotX

why not have all the kids start wearing school uniforms too, lets just remove all choices in the schools now. This would make commies, socialist and ultra liberals very happy,

A lot of articles are stating that kids can still bring whatever food they want in their own packed lunches. Seems they still have lots of choices.

and its only a matter of time before those lunches will be getting check. If the goverment wants to change those free lunches to be healthy then go for it, but thats where it should end.

cherryd69

Dont know if its already been said (far too many posts after a 12hr shift)


This is already in place in the UK, my youngest starts school in september and only healthy foods can be put into lunch boxes and only healthy foods/portions can be served.

I think its a good idea, when i was at school if you payed for your own meals (free school meals) you could have pizza and chips and loads of other junk all day every day. Why shouldnt kids be taught to eat healthy? I teach my kids that fruit is better than chocolate.. and im beginning to think my son is half monkey the amount of bananas he tucks away.

keem88

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.

yesss same here. i was never more than a size 5 which was big for me, on average a 1-3. i ate all the ****ty foods haha but they made us play softball, frisbee, do track, kickball all sorts of stuff. kids are lazy and the parents condone in. **** that.