School menu ridiculousness

spaingirl2011

I just want to chime in and say that I think this is a very interesting discussion.

After reading many of these responses, it's interesting to me that many see school/education as mutually exclusive from nutrition education. I don't necessarily think that this is true. Especially when children are young (between the ages of 4-11) we teach them how to be good citizens, how to interact with one another, and(if their PE budget isn't cut) how to be active. When I was in elementary school (almost 25 years ago) we had age-appropriate health and nutrition lessons. What kind of educational example would schools be setting, after having a child in a 7-8 hour school day learning not just reading, writing and math, but how to be healthy, and then present them with a smorgasbord of processed foods that resemble nothing like the examples they were shown in class?

Yes, parents do have the responsibility to teach their children about nutrition and health. But children's schooling does not and should not omit education by example. A whole wheat tortilla with lowfat cheese and fresh fruit is a better option (and food children can connect to their lessons) than a Poptart--even if it is whole wheat.

My point, is that while parents are responsible for teaching their children about nutrition and making good choices, schools are educational establishments that should also be supporting those lessons.

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute to this discussion. All best!

You had me until you mentioned low fat cheese for kids. That's a big NO.

The ridiculous food limitations (cutting out fat, carbs, grains, milk, etc.) that show up on here for adults, only become all that more ridiculous and dangerous when they are applied to kids.

I only mentioned low fat cheese because I imagined that even with the best efforts at food reform, it would still be cooked with some kind of grease.

I was honestly just trying to talk about recognizable food (cheese made with 2% milk), so if that's really your only qualm with my point, by all means, translate it to mean food that isn't radioactive (like "chee"tos as a byproduct of cheese--in the same ways cafeterias are allowed to call tomato paste an actual fruit or vegetable).

BeachIron

I just want to chime in and say that I think this is a very interesting discussion.

After reading many of these responses, it's interesting to me that many see school/education as mutually exclusive from nutrition education. I don't necessarily think that this is true. Especially when children are young (between the ages of 4-11) we teach them how to be good citizens, how to interact with one another, and(if their PE budget isn't cut) how to be active. When I was in elementary school (almost 25 years ago) we had age-appropriate health and nutrition lessons. What kind of educational example would schools be setting, after having a child in a 7-8 hour school day learning not just reading, writing and math, but how to be healthy, and then present them with a smorgasbord of processed foods that resemble nothing like the examples they were shown in class?

Yes, parents do have the responsibility to teach their children about nutrition and health. But children's schooling does not and should not omit education by example. A whole wheat tortilla with lowfat cheese and fresh fruit is a better option (and food children can connect to their lessons) than a Poptart--even if it is whole wheat.

My point, is that while parents are responsible for teaching their children about nutrition and making good choices, schools are educational establishments that should also be supporting those lessons.

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute to this discussion. All best!

You had me until you mentioned low fat cheese for kids. That's a big NO.

The ridiculous food limitations (cutting out fat, carbs, grains, milk, etc.) that show up on here for adults, only become all that more ridiculous and dangerous when they are applied to kids.

I only mentioned low fat cheese because I imagined that even with the best efforts at food reform, it would still be cooked with some kind of grease.

I was honestly just trying to talk about recognizable food (cheese made with 2% milk), so if that's really your only qualm with my point, by all means, translate it to mean food that isn't radioactive (like "chee"tos as a byproduct of cheese--in the same ways cafeterias are allowed to call tomato paste an actual fruit or vegetable).

School lunches aren't perfect, but they do a pretty good job of providing growing children the needed calories and nutrition. Tomato paste for example, contains tomatoes, so yea, it's a vegetable (technically a fruit but meh) and is good source of vitamins. Vegetables don't have to be in a salad to provide nutrition. Ketchup? Yea, contains a little bit of tomato but not enough to provide any nutrition. Tomato paste, sauce and canned tomatoes? These are fine.

Too much is being made about how bad school lunches are, IMHO, without actually thinking carefully about what is available, and that will depend heavily on the specific school and school district. The details matter, and sweeping statements are rarely accurate.

That said, I've had lunch with my older daughter at her school a few times. Good choices are available, but it is my (and my wife's) job to be encouraging her to make them. Then again, so what if she eats some fried food at school and enjoys a piece of cake in the process? She is 7, very active, and she gets an array of healthy food at home. I guess I just don't get excited about all this because I'm not eager to put my parenting responsibilities on someone else. If the food at the school cafeteria were really "radioactive" then we'd be finding another school and/or packing her lunch.

So the TL;DR version is I guess, that a deep breath from most people in this thread would help.

edit: typos :grumble:

spaingirl2011

I just want to chime in and say that I think this is a very interesting discussion.

After reading many of these responses, it's interesting to me that many see school/education as mutually exclusive from nutrition education. I don't necessarily think that this is true. Especially when children are young (between the ages of 4-11) we teach them how to be good citizens, how to interact with one another, and(if their PE budget isn't cut) how to be active. When I was in elementary school (almost 25 years ago) we had age-appropriate health and nutrition lessons. What kind of educational example would schools be setting, after having a child in a 7-8 hour school day learning not just reading, writing and math, but how to be healthy, and then present them with a smorgasbord of processed foods that resemble nothing like the examples they were shown in class?

Yes, parents do have the responsibility to teach their children about nutrition and health. But children's schooling does not and should not omit education by example. A whole wheat tortilla with lowfat cheese and fresh fruit is a better option (and food children can connect to their lessons) than a Poptart--even if it is whole wheat.

My point, is that while parents are responsible for teaching their children about nutrition and making good choices, schools are educational establishments that should also be supporting those lessons.

Anyway, I just wanted to contribute to this discussion. All best!

You had me until you mentioned low fat cheese for kids. That's a big NO.

The ridiculous food limitations (cutting out fat, carbs, grains, milk, etc.) that show up on here for adults, only become all that more ridiculous and dangerous when they are applied to kids.

I only mentioned low fat cheese because I imagined that even with the best efforts at food reform, it would still be cooked with some kind of grease.

I was honestly just trying to talk about recognizable food (cheese made with 2% milk), so if that's really your only qualm with my point, by all means, translate it to mean food that isn't radioactive (like "chee"tos as a byproduct of cheese--in the same ways cafeterias are allowed to call tomato paste an actual fruit or vegetable).

School lunches aren't perfect, but they do a pretty good job of providing growing children the needed calories and nutrition. Tomato paste for example, contains tomatoes, so yea, it's a vegetable (technically a fruit but meh) and is good source of vitamins. Vegetables don't have to be in a salad to provide nutrition. Ketchup? Yea, contains a little bit of tomato but not enough to provide any nutrition. Tomato paste, sauce and canned tomatoes? These are fine.

Too much is being made about how bad school lunches are, IMHO, without actually thinking carefully about what is available, and that will depend heavily on the specific school and school district. The details matter, and sweeping statements are rarely accurate.

That said, I've had lunch with my older daughter at her school a few times. Good choices are available, but it is my (and my wife's) job to be encouraging her to make them. Then again, so what if she eats some fried food at school and enjoys a piece of cake in the process? She is 7, very active, and she gets an array of healthy food at home. I guess I just don't get excited about all this because I'm not eager to put my parenting responsibilities on someone else. If the food at the school cafeteria were really "radioactive" then we'd be finding another school and/or packing her lunch.

So the TL;DR version is I guess, that a deep breath from most people in this thread would help.

edit: typos :grumble:

I think it's fair to say that we tend to assume that there are more resources available than there actually are--especially when it comes to school food (especially with important programs being cut all over the place). It's no crime for a kid to splurge on a cookie or honey bun (my middle school indulgence). Or for that matter, it's no crime for a kid to enjoy Pizza Fridays. But I don't see how a poptart can't be replaced with whole grain toast and jam. If for no other reason than because the bread looks like it came off of the food pyramid chart that the children learn about. It's an interesting discussion and one definitely worth having an continuing.

Thanks for a good discussion!