No wonder our kids grow up to make bad food choices...
Replies
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I was going to read through each comment but I can be working out instead. So I'll just say that it's the parents responsibility to teach the kids from DAY ONE healthy eating that way when they start school and have option, they will chose wisely.
If my kids are obese, I cannot blame anyone but myself. I am the parent and it is MY JOB to teach and guide them. It's not the schools fault. It's not societies fault. It would be mine.0 -
@Cakeums, READ what she is saying, you're being blind to her actual words and manipulating them so you can have a fight. Knock it off, it makes you look bad.0
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The reason we can not blame our food choices as adults on the way we were raised as children is because once you you are an adult or even a teen you have the ability to make those choices yourself. A 5 year old does not, and they will choose chips over an apple if thats what they know. But it comes a point were you can no longer fall back on being a victim of circumstance. My whole point in the first place is schools are not the cause of the obesity epidemic which is what i was refering to in the first place0
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I was going to read through each comment but I can be working out instead. So I'll just say that it's the parents responsibility to teach the kids from DAY ONE healthy eating that way when they start school and have option, they will chose wisely.
If my kids are obese, I cannot blame anyone but myself. I am the parent and it is MY JOB to teach and guide them. It's not the schools fault. It's not societies fault. It would be mine.
Thank you!! This right here!!!!0 -
I work in a large public high school. The food is disgusting. I have eaten exactly one breakfast (on a professional development day) and exactly one lunch (Christmas luncheon, free for employees) this entire year. The eggs were inedible (and that was the less popular non-cheese variety), the turkey a salt lick, the corn half-frozen, the mashed potatoes the consistency of play-doh. The only thing I enjoyed was an orange. Hard to mess that up.
After looking at that site, I want Italian schools to make my lunch every day. . . .0 -
This topic is so much more complicated and so many of the responses are trying to oversimplify it. Yes, a lot of schools have crap lunches....FRENCH FRIES are considered a VEGETABLE!!! Consider that for a second....Anyone else watch Jamie Oliver's food revolution??
Schools themselves aren't the problem (like someone mentioned) They get their funding from state and federal sources and are budgeted fairly tightly... a district will go with one particular food distributor, and most times they offer a healthy option, and with the right know how that option can be the same price as the junk foods...so why don't schools take it?
Lack of know how in food preparation
Time: cooking for hundreds, sometimes thousands of kids each day is so much easier with frozen, processed food
Resistance to change: come on, we're creatures of habit...we've been eating french fries, pizza and chicken nuggets our whole lives (thanks to the fast food industry), why would we give that up now.
Some parents are stretched for time...since the 70s/80s most households have 2 working parents...which means morning routines are streamlined...meaning dishing out money instead of taking the time to prepare lunches....Parents want to believe their child's school offers them a healthy meal for lunch.
Some families (including mine) are entitled to free or reduced lunch...if you're poor enough to quality for this there's no way you're going to spend the money on packing lunches.
There's also WAY too much credit given to parent's knowledge of good nutrition...my family growing up was absolutely clueless, as are a lot of people. I've worked as a teacher...and some kids come in with the WORST packed lunches...as in all candy and processed sugar, not the slightest bit of real food.
My parents' generation grew up eating comfort food...and it was fine, but now with all the chemicals, preservatives, additives....HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (I challenge any one of you to go down a normal grocery store isle and find a product that doesn't include this over processed sugar...not including the health food isle) food has become way more fatty and unhealthy.
I could go on... but I'll leave you with a youtube: video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E 0 -
Good grief. Pack their darn lunches if you don't like what the school serves.0
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I was going to read through each comment but I can be working out instead. So I'll just say that it's the parents responsibility to teach the kids from DAY ONE healthy eating that way when they start school and have option, they will chose wisely.
If my kids are obese, I cannot blame anyone but myself. I am the parent and it is MY JOB to teach and guide them. It's not the schools fault. It's not societies fault. It would be mine.
Thank you!! This right here!!!!
I agree 100%
Very basic nutrition is not that difficult to figure out. Taking packed lunches would be the better option and I will do it for my kids.
My school had healthy choices too. Even in elementary we got a vegetable, fruit, and main dish on our square lunch tray0 -
This topic is so much more complicated and so many of the responses are trying to oversimplify it. Yes, a lot of schools have crap lunches....FRENCH FRIES are considered a VEGETABLE!!! Consider that for a second....Anyone else watch Jamie Oliver's food revolution??
Schools themselves aren't the problem (like someone mentioned) They get their funding from state and federal sources and are budgeted fairly tightly... a district will go with one particular food distributor, and most times they offer a healthy option, and with the right know how that option can be the same price as the junk foods...so why don't schools take it?
Lack of know how in food preparation
Time: cooking for hundreds, sometimes thousands of kids each day is so much easier with frozen, processed food
Resistance to change: come on, we're creatures of habit...we've been eating french fries, pizza and chicken nuggets our whole lives (thanks to the fast food industry), why would we give that up now.
Some parents are stretched for time...since the 70s/80s most households have 2 working parents...which means morning routines are streamlined...meaning dishing out money instead of taking the time to prepare lunches....Parents want to believe their child's school offers them a healthy meal for lunch.
Some families (including mine) are entitled to free or reduced lunch...if you're poor enough to quality for this there's no way you're going to spend the money on packing lunches.
There's also WAY too much credit given to parent's knowledge of good nutrition...my family growing up was absolutely clueless, as are a lot of people. I've worked as a teacher...and some kids come in with the WORST packed lunches...as in all candy and processed sugar, not the slightest bit of real food.
My parents' generation grew up eating comfort food...and it was fine, but now with all the chemicals, preservatives, additives....HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (I challenge any one of you to go down a normal grocery store isle and find a product that doesn't include this over processed sugar...not including the health food isle) food has become way more fatty and unhealthy.
I could go on... but I'll leave you with a youtube: videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E
THANK YOU! You said exactly what I was about to type out! I'm sorry, most people don't know proper nutrition, or choose to teach it to their kids. They should, but they don't. And I am willing to bet a lot of people on this site fall into that category. It's hard to become 80 pounds overweight eating vegetables. I used to fit into that category too, until I studied nutrition and completely changed my diet and way of eating. I do believe it's the school's place to teach proper nutrition in the lunch room, the gym, and health and science class. It's the parent's responsibility to back it up. We can all do better, without blame. There is a major problem in this country and it's health. We are all to blame.0 -
You can't become obese with veggies in the diet? lol...
Just because they pack unhealthy things doesn't mean they are clueless. Do you think they honestly don't know that those things are unhealthy? Its pretty simple.0 -
This topic is so much more complicated and so many of the responses are trying to oversimplify it. Yes, a lot of schools have crap lunches....FRENCH FRIES are considered a VEGETABLE!!! Consider that for a second....Anyone else watch Jamie Oliver's food revolution??
Schools themselves aren't the problem (like someone mentioned) They get their funding from state and federal sources and are budgeted fairly tightly... a district will go with one particular food distributor, and most times they offer a healthy option, and with the right know how that option can be the same price as the junk foods...so why don't schools take it?
Lack of know how in food preparation
Time: cooking for hundreds, sometimes thousands of kids each day is so much easier with frozen, processed food
Resistance to change: come on, we're creatures of habit...we've been eating french fries, pizza and chicken nuggets our whole lives (thanks to the fast food industry), why would we give that up now.
Some parents are stretched for time...since the 70s/80s most households have 2 working parents...which means morning routines are streamlined...meaning dishing out money instead of taking the time to prepare lunches....Parents want to believe their child's school offers them a healthy meal for lunch.
Some families (including mine) are entitled to free or reduced lunch...if you're poor enough to quality for this there's no way you're going to spend the money on packing lunches.
There's also WAY too much credit given to parent's knowledge of good nutrition...my family growing up was absolutely clueless, as are a lot of people. I've worked as a teacher...and some kids come in with the WORST packed lunches...as in all candy and processed sugar, not the slightest bit of real food.
My parents' generation grew up eating comfort food...and it was fine, but now with all the chemicals, preservatives, additives....HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (I challenge any one of you to go down a normal grocery store isle and find a product that doesn't include this over processed sugar...not including the health food isle) food has become way more fatty and unhealthy.
I could go on... but I'll leave you with a youtube: videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E
THANK YOU! You said exactly what I was about to type out! I'm sorry, most people don't know proper nutrition, or choose to teach it to their kids. They should, but they don't. And I am willing to bet a lot of people on this site fall into that category. It's hard to become 80 pounds overweight eating vegetables. I used to fit into that category too, until I studied nutrition and completely changed my diet and way of eating. I do believe it's the school's place to teach proper nutrition in the lunch room, the gym, and health and science class. It's the parent's responsibility to back it up. We can all do better, without blame. There is a major problem in this country and it's health. We are all to blame.
I became 80 pounds overweight by eating under 2000 calories a day,most of it from fruits and veggies. But thats usally what happens after you spend years not eating everyday then switch to eating everyday.0 -
While I agree with the "it's the parent's responsibility" view, I also wonder how many of the people stating it have set foot in a public school recently, or know anything about the live some of these students lead. So many of their parents do not care. They just. don't care. And even if they do care about some aspects of their children's lives, nutrition is not one of them.
With that in mind . . . Is it the kids' fault that their parents didn't teach them how to eat properly? (Correct answer: No.) At that point, don't schools and governments have some responsibility to step it up and feed our students higher quality food?0 -
I was going to read through each comment but I can be working out instead. So I'll just say that it's the parents responsibility to teach the kids from DAY ONE healthy eating that way when they start school and have option, they will chose wisely.
If my kids are obese, I cannot blame anyone but myself. I am the parent and it is MY JOB to teach and guide them. It's not the schools fault. It's not societies fault. It would be mine.
I agree.
Eat less, move more. Throw in some fruits and veggies.
How do parents not know this? Perhaps it's just not important to them. I know I can't force my priorities on someone else, nor would I want to.0 -
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
It doesn't mean that the school shouldn't be held responsible for not providing healthy choices. Is it the kid's fault that their parents don't make their lunch? No. So why should the kid's body have to suffer for it?
That being said, I'm really not surprised... the rest of the world has so much better, healthier food than America in general. Fruits and veggies are cheaper. It's ridiculous and no wonder why we have such an obesity problem here.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Of course you always have the option of sending your kid to school with a packed lunch but it still doesn't dismiss the crap the schools are serving to the kids. What about all these kids who are low income and dont have the money for bagged lunches? Most of the time school lunch is free for them. Sometimes its the only meal they get for the day. So...what then?
^^Yup0 -
@Cakeums, READ what she is saying, you're being blind to her actual words and manipulating them so you can have a fight. Knock it off, it makes you look bad.
I am reading it, but there are a lot of generalizations in there that are pretty infuriating when sometimes people really just don't have the education to know what is truly nutritious and what isn't.0 -
You know parents have the option to make a lunch for their kids and have them bring it to school, right? So is it the school's fault or the parents fault?
It doesn't mean that the school shouldn't be held responsible for not providing healthy choices. Is it the kid's fault that their parents don't make their lunch? No. So why should the kid's body have to suffer for it?
That being said, I'm really not surprised... the rest of the world has so much better, healthier food than America in general. Fruits and veggies are cheaper. It's ridiculous and no wonder why we have such an obesity problem here.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Of course you always have the option of sending your kid to school with a packed lunch but it still doesn't dismiss the crap the schools are serving to the kids. What about all these kids who are low income and dont have the money for bagged lunches? Most of the time school lunch is free for them. Sometimes its the only meal they get for the day. So...what then?
^^Yup
Every school my son has attended,and its been many in 3 diffrent states have healthy options with the free lunches. The kids are not choosing them and many are not eating them. Its the parents job to teach their children how to make wise choices in life and with food0 -
This topic is so much more complicated and so many of the responses are trying to oversimplify it. Yes, a lot of schools have crap lunches....FRENCH FRIES are considered a VEGETABLE!!! Consider that for a second....Anyone else watch Jamie Oliver's food revolution??
Schools themselves aren't the problem (like someone mentioned) They get their funding from state and federal sources and are budgeted fairly tightly... a district will go with one particular food distributor, and most times they offer a healthy option, and with the right know how that option can be the same price as the junk foods...so why don't schools take it?
Lack of know how in food preparation
Time: cooking for hundreds, sometimes thousands of kids each day is so much easier with frozen, processed food
Resistance to change: come on, we're creatures of habit...we've been eating french fries, pizza and chicken nuggets our whole lives (thanks to the fast food industry), why would we give that up now.
Some parents are stretched for time...since the 70s/80s most households have 2 working parents...which means morning routines are streamlined...meaning dishing out money instead of taking the time to prepare lunches....Parents want to believe their child's school offers them a healthy meal for lunch.
Some families (including mine) are entitled to free or reduced lunch...if you're poor enough to quality for this there's no way you're going to spend the money on packing lunches.
There's also WAY too much credit given to parent's knowledge of good nutrition...my family growing up was absolutely clueless, as are a lot of people. I've worked as a teacher...and some kids come in with the WORST packed lunches...as in all candy and processed sugar, not the slightest bit of real food.
My parents' generation grew up eating comfort food...and it was fine, but now with all the chemicals, preservatives, additives....HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (I challenge any one of you to go down a normal grocery store isle and find a product that doesn't include this over processed sugar...not including the health food isle) food has become way more fatty and unhealthy.
I could go on... but I'll leave you with a youtube: videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T67DvoH2H3E
THANK YOU!!!0 -
Another thing to think about - so many people are saying, "When I have kids, I will pack all their lunches." Well, I said this too, and I do pack my daughter's lunches most of the time. I usually give her a sandwich on wheat, or some cheese and crackers, some sort of fruit or baby carrots, and a "treat" sometimes, like a little lemon cookie. Yogurt, whole wheat pretzel sticks, some other stuff goes in as a snack for the afternoon. Sometimes I pack soup in an insulated food thermos.
Sometimes, we are running late and I send her to buy lunch. It happens. I'm human.
Try to think of it this way too - many of us are on this site because we ARE health-conscious, or are trying to become so. We have the knowledge and the resources to seek out education on eating healthy, portion control, and so on. There are people out there who do not have internet access readily available (hard to fathom, I know), do not seek out information on nutrition, and so on. So they are not necessarily going to pack a lunch for their kid every day.
The point is to give kids access to healthy foods, and take away their access to crap foods. Just because it's FDA approved doesn't mean it's good for you!0 -
@Cakeums, READ what she is saying, you're being blind to her actual words and manipulating them so you can have a fight. Knock it off, it makes you look bad.
I am reading it, but there are a lot of generalizations in there that are pretty infuriating when sometimes people really just don't have the education to know what is truly nutritious and what isn't.
Also, just because I look cranky doesn't mean I'm looking for a fight. :flowerforyou:0 -
So what's the solution?
Policing? Saving others from making bad choices?
If you're going to complain about something shouldn't you be able to provide solutions?
Just *****ing isn't helping anyone.
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So..
My children have LEARNED healthy food choices - at home. We ARE under the poverty line and my 3rd grader has to get the school breakfast and lunches. I cannot afford to pack him a lunch evey day even though he asks for it.
Some other details: children are not permitted access to microwaves, stoves or refridgerators which makes it very limited as to what they can take (at his school).
He HATES the school food. Hates it. He's a little foodie that love home cooked, fresh meals; he loves his veggies but isn't so big on fruit. I'm sure they have fruit but since he doesn't like it, he won't choose it. He *would* choose raw carrots, broccoli or other vegetables - cooked or raw IF they were cooked properly. Which they are not. They're overcooked, overprocessed and even the salads tend to taste like rubber.
The school I work at has portions that are too small for adolescents and either over cooked, undercooked or so friggin' processed it no longer resembles food. As this is a special school, many of the kids either a) are not capable of staying out of the food on the bus ride in and won't have a lunch at all because they'll eat it before hand; b) don't live with family and instead, live in homes or shelters where they're lucky to get a clean bed or clothes, much less food; c) parents are super broke due to medical expenses and I could go on. Some kids are texture sensitive and will NOT eat certain things, and on and on it goes.
Is it the parents responsibility? Well.. yes. At least, it should be. There are alot of illiterate adults; especially with the way we push students through the school system without actually having to learn much. Doesn't prevent those adults from bearing and raising children... doesn't mean that they are capable of teaching much of anything, let alone nutritional information. They buy what they think they can afford, probably don't have any idea how to cook a healthy meal much less shop on a budget and on and on that goes.
It is also the community at large's responsibility. Not everyone has the individual capacity to teach various aspects of life. Lessons, of every kind, needs to be a joint effort between everyone involved in raising that child. Which means, we need to find ways to encourage schools and contractors to provide the nutritional options and not just the facts. That's part of the hypocrisy in education. We can TEACH health, but there's not much option to provide healthy variety in the cafeterias.
I don't LIKE making my son eat the school food; I do what I can at home in the evenings and on weekends. But it's honestly not enough. He often comes home ravenous either because what there was wasn't enough or it was something so gross he refused to eat it. And this is a kid that LIKES veggies and healthy options.
As other have stated, it's not a simple or black and white issue; and it's not an easy fix.0 -
So..
My children have LEARNED healthy food choices - at home. We ARE under the poverty line and my 3rd grader has to get the school breakfast and lunches. I cannot afford to pack him a lunch evey day even though he asks for it.
Some other details: children are not permitted access to microwaves, stoves or refridgerators which makes it very limited as to what they can take (at his school).
He HATES the school food. Hates it. He's a little foodie that love home cooked, fresh meals; he loves his veggies but isn't so big on fruit. I'm sure they have fruit but since he doesn't like it, he won't choose it. He *would* choose raw carrots, broccoli or other vegetables - cooked or raw IF they were cooked properly. Which they are not. They're overcooked, overprocessed and even the salads tend to taste like rubber.
The school I work at has portions that are too small for adolescents and either over cooked, undercooked or so friggin' processed it no longer resembles food. As this is a special school, many of the kids either a) are not capable of staying out of the food on the bus ride in and won't have a lunch at all because they'll eat it before hand; b) don't live with family and instead, live in homes or shelters where they're lucky to get a clean bed or clothes, much less food; c) parents are super broke due to medical expenses and I could go on. Some kids are texture sensitive and will NOT eat certain things, and on and on it goes.
Is it the parents responsibility? Well.. yes. At least, it should be. There are alot of illiterate adults; especially with the way we push students through the school system without actually having to learn much. Doesn't prevent those adults from bearing and raising children... doesn't mean that they are capable of teaching much of anything, let alone nutritional information. They buy what they think they can afford, probably don't have any idea how to cook a healthy meal much less shop on a budget and on and on that goes.
It is also the community at large's responsibility. Not everyone has the individual capacity to teach various aspects of life. Lessons, of every kind, needs to be a joint effort between everyone involved in raising that child. Which means, we need to find ways to encourage schools and contractors to provide the nutritional options and not just the facts. That's part of the hypocrisy in education. We can TEACH health, but there's not much option to provide healthy variety in the cafeterias.
I don't LIKE making my son eat the school food; I do what I can at home in the evenings and on weekends. But it's honestly not enough. He often comes home ravenous either because what there was wasn't enough or it was something so gross he refused to eat it. And this is a kid that LIKES veggies and healthy options.
As other have stated, it's not a simple or black and white issue; and it's not an easy fix.
Wonderfully said!0 -
So..
My children have LEARNED healthy food choices - at home. We ARE under the poverty line and my 3rd grader has to get the school breakfast and lunches. I cannot afford to pack him a lunch evey day even though he asks for it.
Some other details: children are not permitted access to microwaves, stoves or refridgerators which makes it very limited as to what they can take (at his school).
He HATES the school food. Hates it. He's a little foodie that love home cooked, fresh meals; he loves his veggies but isn't so big on fruit. I'm sure they have fruit but since he doesn't like it, he won't choose it. He *would* choose raw carrots, broccoli or other vegetables - cooked or raw IF they were cooked properly. Which they are not. They're overcooked, overprocessed and even the salads tend to taste like rubber.
The school I work at has portions that are too small for adolescents and either over cooked, undercooked or so friggin' processed it no longer resembles food. As this is a special school, many of the kids either a) are not capable of staying out of the food on the bus ride in and won't have a lunch at all because they'll eat it before hand; b) don't live with family and instead, live in homes or shelters where they're lucky to get a clean bed or clothes, much less food; c) parents are super broke due to medical expenses and I could go on. Some kids are texture sensitive and will NOT eat certain things, and on and on it goes.
Is it the parents responsibility? Well.. yes. At least, it should be. There are alot of illiterate adults; especially with the way we push students through the school system without actually having to learn much. Doesn't prevent those adults from bearing and raising children... doesn't mean that they are capable of teaching much of anything, let alone nutritional information. They buy what they think they can afford, probably don't have any idea how to cook a healthy meal much less shop on a budget and on and on that goes.
It is also the community at large's responsibility. Not everyone has the individual capacity to teach various aspects of life. Lessons, of every kind, needs to be a joint effort between everyone involved in raising that child. Which means, we need to find ways to encourage schools and contractors to provide the nutritional options and not just the facts. That's part of the hypocrisy in education. We can TEACH health, but there's not much option to provide healthy variety in the cafeterias.
I don't LIKE making my son eat the school food; I do what I can at home in the evenings and on weekends. But it's honestly not enough. He often comes home ravenous either because what there was wasn't enough or it was something so gross he refused to eat it. And this is a kid that LIKES veggies and healthy options.
As other have stated, it's not a simple or black and white issue; and it's not an easy fix.
And when you shared your concerns with your school district's food and nutrition director, what was his/her response?0 -
I know this isn't true everywhere, but where I live, many of the so-called low income parents who are relying on the schools to feed their kids are driving newer cars, have at least one iPhone, cable TV, an XBox, etc. Some parents put their own needs first and leave the kids to fend for themselves. It really grinds my gears........0
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So what's the solution?
Policing? Saving others from making bad choices?
If you're going to complain about something shouldn't you be able to provide solutions?
Just *****ing isn't helping anyone.
The solution is the same as the problem. The federal government sets the food guidelines and distributes the funding for the lunch program. If the federal government sets healthy guidelines and a budget to go with it the problem is solved.
But, good luck trying to get that pack of idiots to agree on anything that is worthwhile and actually beneficial to the American public.0 -
:noway: :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway: :noway:0
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Bump this so I can find it later and read when kids are in bed0
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So..
My children have LEARNED healthy food choices - at home. We ARE under the poverty line and my 3rd grader has to get the school breakfast and lunches. I cannot afford to pack him a lunch evey day even though he asks for it.
Some other details: children are not permitted access to microwaves, stoves or refridgerators which makes it very limited as to what they can take (at his school).
He HATES the school food. Hates it. He's a little foodie that love home cooked, fresh meals; he loves his veggies but isn't so big on fruit. I'm sure they have fruit but since he doesn't like it, he won't choose it. He *would* choose raw carrots, broccoli or other vegetables - cooked or raw IF they were cooked properly. Which they are not. They're overcooked, overprocessed and even the salads tend to taste like rubber.
The school I work at has portions that are too small for adolescents and either over cooked, undercooked or so friggin' processed it no longer resembles food. As this is a special school, many of the kids either a) are not capable of staying out of the food on the bus ride in and won't have a lunch at all because they'll eat it before hand; b) don't live with family and instead, live in homes or shelters where they're lucky to get a clean bed or clothes, much less food; c) parents are super broke due to medical expenses and I could go on. Some kids are texture sensitive and will NOT eat certain things, and on and on it goes.
Is it the parents responsibility? Well.. yes. At least, it should be. There are alot of illiterate adults; especially with the way we push students through the school system without actually having to learn much. Doesn't prevent those adults from bearing and raising children... doesn't mean that they are capable of teaching much of anything, let alone nutritional information. They buy what they think they can afford, probably don't have any idea how to cook a healthy meal much less shop on a budget and on and on that goes.
It is also the community at large's responsibility. Not everyone has the individual capacity to teach various aspects of life. Lessons, of every kind, needs to be a joint effort between everyone involved in raising that child. Which means, we need to find ways to encourage schools and contractors to provide the nutritional options and not just the facts. That's part of the hypocrisy in education. We can TEACH health, but there's not much option to provide healthy variety in the cafeterias.
I don't LIKE making my son eat the school food; I do what I can at home in the evenings and on weekends. But it's honestly not enough. He often comes home ravenous either because what there was wasn't enough or it was something so gross he refused to eat it. And this is a kid that LIKES veggies and healthy options.
As other have stated, it's not a simple or black and white issue; and it's not an easy fix.
And when you shared your concerns with your school district's food and nutrition director, what was his/her response?
sjtreely:
What food & nutrition director? Most districts go with the lowest bidder that is approved by and funded via state & federal monies. Usually private/independent schools and similar ones that do not have to rely so much on tax dollars and govt funding incorporate such positions. I am well aware of how schools are funded, what the legal food requirements are, who they are and are not allowed to contract with and that such laws and policies vary state by state in addition to district by district. None of our local districts have a "food and nutrition director". They don't have the funds for such a position. They have budget allocations, a list of contractors that they're allowed to use per the district agreements with various unions, and anything outside of those contracts must be approved at numerous levels before they can be utilized. Food service companies are often one of those contracts.
I'm not sure what kind of district your in but just by your question, I would probably guess a much wealthier one than mine. Which is great for those in your district. I wish we had people on staff who's focus was on nutrition in that capacity. This conversation wouldnt' be necessary, I should think. There would be someONE to go to.
Many people do not understand the complexity of the business-end of school operations and by just screaming loudly enough, we'll get things to change. It doesn't work that way. There are contracts involved - binding documents holding both parties to a particular set of agreements. Often, one of those agreements with food service companies DISALLOWS the use of fresh produce from another source, including school gardens. Why? Because those big companies have contracts with corporate funded food producers and to use outside sources is breaching THAT contract.
Now, with the state of our schools and funding - do you want YOUR school or district sued for multi-millions of dollars for breach of contract? I certainly don't.
So, let's say a school decides NOT to contract with a food service organization and instead decides to try to taking on feeding of .. hmm... there's almost a 1,000 kids in my son's school... that school will then spend at LEAST quadruple the funds to feed each child that it spends right now, reducing its ability to provide what I consider a relatively decent educational environment otherwise. Think the govt will subsidize those decisions? Hmm.. let's see... no contracting with a food service company which contracts with food producers who have a contract with corporations who, guess what? Make huge election donations, may share some of the same unions, has some sort of other tie-in... yeah, unlikely that those same food funds being used for those big companies are going to go to an in-house program. Then there's dealing with all the other regulatory agencies that have already approved those bigger companies - like the FDA.
You all seem to think this is a simple and local matter that you can just yell at and complain to someone and have it change. It doesn't work that way. As much as we'd like to think of schools as being JUST an educational program, it also has fiscal and legal responsibilities that it HAS TO adhere to. Schools and districts DO have a business component that many of us would rather pretend doesn't exist and to believe that's it all oriented in the local context of our neighborhood school. Well, it's not. Not anymore and hasnt' been for a long time.
Before you try to change anything in a school, you have to understand how many layers there are to get through before such changes can be addressed. It's frustrating and disheartening at times but even more than that, extraordinarily complex. If people want to change what's on their school menu, it's not even the school building you start with. It's the district office. The terms of the contract may or may not be of public record. You can request them and find out (this aspect, I honestly don't know). Then, you have to look at your district budget and then what's allocated to the school in question under that funding category. After that, you can cross reference the State and Federal guidelines for nutritional & cost requirements. Once all that is done, you might be able to independently draw up another budget proposal for a different idea that better suits your ideals. i skipped some steps, but if you've followed along thusfar, I'm sure you can figure out the rest. If not, then drop it just because it's even more complicated the simplistic formula I've provided.
Are you all getting this? I mean seriously.....
It really irks me when people who are doing the best they can - from BOTH ends - with what they have continually get bashed. Believe me, 90% of BUILDING Administrators would LOVE-LOVE-LOVE to put better quality food on your kids lunch trays. And, it's not their call. They dont' get to make that decision. So go ahead.. go yell at the person who already has a million complaints about what they can't change but wish they could. Go ahead and make that poor principal's shoulders a little heavier with your cries of woe. Go ahead and blame the parent that's working 2 jobs, 15 hours a day and still comes home to cook a decent meal and can't pack a lunch and add another straw to their back. Go on out there and judge with your misinformation, lack of knowledge, comprehension and understanding - not to mention compassion - for both sides and generalize away.
KKK is still alive and flourishing too. Sweeping generalizations carry alot of weight and frankly... they piss me off.
Peace out.0 -
As much as I hate school lunches and my daughter is picky so I pack for her, many students in Americas public schools don't get much food at home so the school meals might be their best nutrition overall. Many get free and reduced lunch and many students wouldn't pick healthier stuff if given the opportunity.
My daughter's school allows me to fill her lunch account with money and even specify what to use it for.not sure how it is across the country.0 -
What I really don't get about this topic is that so many people are saying that the school lunch is the only thing the kid gets to eat all day. Umm I don't think I've met other kids at that age that didn't have dinner or at least breakfast sometimes. I don't live in third world country. Yes, I understand a lot of people are poor but I don't really think most families let their kids go without dinner. So no, I don't think the crappy lunches kids get served at schools are the only things they eat every day. When I was in elementary school, I barely ever ate the school's lunches even when I didn't have a lunch packed because what they served was disgusting and unhealthy anyway. I mean they served hot dogs that were PINK! And a bunch of other gross stuff such as nasty *kitten* school pizza and chicken patties that tasted like garbage. At least in high school they had salad type stuff but the food was still gross.0
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