No more junk food in schools

JunkFoodJane

I haven't made up my mind how I feel about this overall. Some of the things I did see upset me- like fat free and 2% milk? I'm a big believer in giving kids whole milk for their bodies and brains and so far I haven't made any obese. My littlest is in like the 3rd percentile weight-wise (he is healthy, he has check-ups and I'm always afraid when we have to see a different doctor they are going to try to call CPS over it, but he is very strong, athletic, coordinated and bright... he's starting to read for crying out loud). I think he's 38th percentile for height. So you can imagine, definitely lean!

I recently sent my two older step sons to school (2nd and 4th grade) with packed lunches and included caffeine-free sodas as special treats to go with their lean turkey sandwiches and fruit. They apparently 'got in trouble'. I mean, FFS. Is it just the can? I buy them organic canned lemonade sometimes, too, is that o.k. with the food nazis?!

It's fine if you send them with a 250 calorie juice rather than the 150 calorie soda because it has vitamin c. You know, that stuff you get from freakin' sucking candies. Or the orange that I provided in their lunch bag as one of their three different fruit items.

hilaryhill

Homeschool FTW! Im my child's teacher AND lunch lady! hahaha

DawnieB1977

I don't know what education is like I'm the US, but I'm guessing you don't get taught about healthy eating in schools. In an ideal world this would be a parents' job, but we know it's not an ideal world.

They teach it in my kid's schools (US midwest). Every year they have a required health class that covers the topic pretty well.

Calories, macros, reading labels, etc.

I can't speak to how it is in every school in the US - each state has a lot of autonomy on these things. But I suspect it is taught practically universally.

I don't accept that for anyone under at least 40 - that the problem legitimately is a lack of knowledge. (I had these same sorts of classes - in a different state - when I was a kid.)

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are different things.

I teach French and when we were doing the food topic none of the kids knew what a courgette or aubergine was (that's zucchini and eggplant to you Americans!). My 2 and 4 year old know!

I also teach a bit of PHSE (personal, health and social education) and I've done the healthy eating topic before. I got them to do a food diary. I looked at the whole class' diaries - I don't think I saw a single vegetable there. Take always, chips (fries), crisps, chocolate, pizza etc. I work in a deprived area. Some kids come into school drinking red bull and eating haribo at 8:30am.

Most of their parents are under 40.

hilaryhill

I don't know what education is like I'm the US, but I'm guessing you don't get taught about healthy eating in schools. In an ideal world this would be a parents' job, but we know it's not an ideal world.

They teach it in my kid's schools (US midwest). Every year they have a required health class that covers the topic pretty well.

Calories, macros, reading labels, etc.

I can't speak to how it is in every school in the US - each state has a lot of autonomy on these things. But I suspect it is taught practically universally.

I don't accept that for anyone under at least 40 - that the problem legitimately is a lack of knowledge. (I had these same sorts of classes - in a different state - when I was a kid.)

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are different things.

I teach French and when we were doing the food topic none of the kids knew what a courgette or aubergine was (that's zucchini and eggplant to you Americans!). My 2 and 4 year old know!

I also teach a bit of PHSE (personal, health and social education) and I've done the healthy eating topic before. I got them to do a food diary. I looked at the whole class' diaries - I don't think I saw a single vegetable there. Take always, chips (fries), crisps, chocolate, pizza etc. I work in a deprived area. Some kids come into school drinking red bull and eating haribo at 8:30am.

Most of their parents are under 40.

I follow a lot of "real food" blogs and Ive seen them comment a few times about what their kids' classmates home lunches consist of. Lots of unhealthy crap, chips, coke, sugary yogurt.... I mean, do people just not care about what their kids eat or are they lazy or simply dont know how to feed their chidlren?

DawnieB1977

I don't know what education is like I'm the US, but I'm guessing you don't get taught about healthy eating in schools. In an ideal world this would be a parents' job, but we know it's not an ideal world.

They teach it in my kid's schools (US midwest). Every year they have a required health class that covers the topic pretty well.

Calories, macros, reading labels, etc.

I can't speak to how it is in every school in the US - each state has a lot of autonomy on these things. But I suspect it is taught practically universally.

I don't accept that for anyone under at least 40 - that the problem legitimately is a lack of knowledge. (I had these same sorts of classes - in a different state - when I was a kid.)

Knowing what to do and actually doing it are different things.

I teach French and when we were doing the food topic none of the kids knew what a courgette or aubergine was (that's zucchini and eggplant to you Americans!). My 2 and 4 year old know!

I also teach a bit of PHSE (personal, health and social education) and I've done the healthy eating topic before. I got them to do a food diary. I looked at the whole class' diaries - I don't think I saw a single vegetable there. Take always, chips (fries), crisps, chocolate, pizza etc. I work in a deprived area. Some kids come into school drinking red bull and eating haribo at 8:30am.

Most of their parents are under 40.

I follow a lot of "real food" blogs and Ive seen them comment a few times about what their kids' classmates home lunches consist of. Lots of unhealthy crap, chips, coke, sugary yogurt.... I mean, do people just not care about what their kids eat or are they lazy or simply dont know how to feed their chidlren?

Partly laziness and partly lack of education, and in some cases they just genuinely don't care.

I was looking on the website for my son's primary school. He starts in Sept. He only turned 4 on June 16th but in England they start school in the Sept if they're 4 before Aug 31st. Anyway, it was giving advice to parents like 'read to your children, practise numbers with them like recognising them on car registration plates etc'. The fact that parents have to be told that says something about parenting in this country!

RobynLB83

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 CA public schools have uniforms also. The "no cookie" school has uniforms. I attended 2 jr. high schools that had uniforms.

lithezebra

Jamie Oliver (chef) did an excellent TV programme about food in schools. He worked on educating kids, and parents, about nutrition.

I don't know what education is like I'm the US, but I'm guessing you don't get taught about healthy eating in schools. In an ideal world this would be a parents' job, but we know it's not an ideal world.

I was required to take a health class that included nutrition. I think that Americans are reasonably aware of what constitutes healthy eating, however a significant part of the population CHOOSES convenience, and preference for junk foods, over the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins that are recommended.

Yooperm35

School lunches are disgusting. Corn dogs, nacho chips with cheese, little caeser's pizza, bosco sticks, chicken nuggets . . . When I was a kid (Don't you love that line?????) We had REAL food. The lunch ladies worked - they didn't open a package and slap it on a pan to warm it up. Sloppy joes, Baked chicken with potatoes, Turkey with mashed potatoes and corn, homemade chili, homemade soup - it was SO GOOD. I miss school lunch. I cringe when my son tells me it's time to add money to his lunch card. I try to talk him into a bagged lunch but he refuses.

RobynLB83

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.

I forgot about this. I remember being in high school. My mom wouldn't buy food for home, but her income didn't qualify me for free lunch. Lucky for me, everyone else at school did get free lunch (and breakfast) and no one ate the fruit. So I would just go around and grab like 5 lbs of oranges or apples afterwards. An incredible amount of food was being thrown away twice a day.

Summer2k14

NO!!

sarahthin

I worked in the school cafeterias doing the late 80 and early 90. I watched the program go from full meals to only sandwiches, pizza and fries. I also noticed tht depending on what the economic level was in the building made a difference in the way the kids ate. Lower econ areas the kids ate more the full meals, high econ ate lots of dessert and where I was in a very mixed level it was what I would call the snacky lunch. We had to fight to be able to put out a descent salad. Then that wasn't covered on the government food plan they were ala carte only. I now have kids in middle and high school and since the changes have started they are complaining that there is no flavor and the cooks tell them that they don't like fixing what they have to. One more time it is the adult attitude that makes something either sink or swim. If kids don't have guidance at home when it comes to their food the schools aren't going to be able to change things.

dimplz1965

We were told to send healthy snacks to school, but the teachers use candy to teach the kids how to count or give it as a reward. It's the portion size and the exercise. The more somebody tells me I can't, the more I want!