Healthier school lunches are a bad thing?

sheila569

My cousin’s son’s school changed their lunch menu to eliminate fried and fattening foods like French fries, cheese nacho’s and chicken nuggets and replace them with hummus, grilled chicken, steamed veggies and yogurt to name a few. My cousin is PO’d stating her son will not eat these foods because his diet is ONLY pork roll, bacon, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries and occasionally spaghetti with butter on it. Her son is 12, approximately 4’10” and about 85-90 pounds. He’s so undernourished that his back and chest have a skeletal appearance.

I got into a heated debate with her stating things like the obesity epidemic among children is so bad in this country that parents should welcome the change to a healthier lunch program. And scolded her for giving into his poor diet choices by not insisting he try something new a few times a week. He can’t eat what she doesn’t buy right?.

So… I was wondering – have I been on MFP so long that I’ve become a snob to the unhealthy eating habits of people. Or, am I on the money here and have a right to get my GRRR on.

AmyMalley77

My son is turning 15 next week, is 5'2" and weighs 90 pounds. He's very skinny, but far from under nourished. In fact, his pediatrician said he was at a healthy weight range for his height at his physical in February--and at that time he weighed 86 pounds!! He is super athletic...and at his age, I was built the same way...I was taller and weighed a little more, but had the same lean build.

My son DOES eat more than chicken nuggets and stuff though, hahah. In fact, he loves hummus, especially with lots of garlic. The only way kids are going to know whether they like these things is by trying them! The new menus sound so good. Not sure why your cousin is PO'd. I mean, her son isn't going to starve. If he is hungry enough, he WILL eat something. Or else, she should pack him a lunch of nuggets and crap, if she's that worried about it.

Zichu

The way I see it is, is that you were right what you said, but to be honest let them learn from there mistakes. They will learn from there experiences and probably realize how bad these foods are.

I used to eat pizza's that were over 1000 calories with french fries or wedges which could add up to 1500 calories. I was eating microwavable burgers, sometimes 2 at a time with other crap. Packets of haribos weekly. Cakes, muffins, donuts and cookies on a daily basis. Several packets of crisps a week. Fizzy drinks. Full english breakfasts. Takeaway food every week, sometimes 2 or 3 times.

I am lucky my metabolism was decent and I wasn't overweight, but I noticed I was quite chubby with little to no muscle and changed my eating habits, tried new foods and I'm starting to look better and feel better. I know how to cook for myself and I couldn't even boil an egg lol.

They will realize it one day, change and it will make there lives better.

Gramps251

If your cousin is unhappy with the changes she can fry him up a pound of bacon and he can take his lunch from home.

Greenrun99

his diet is ONLY pork roll, bacon, pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries and occasionally spaghetti with butter on it.

Good for the school eliminating unhealthy foods, its too bad that kid runs his parents.. aren't parents suppose to tell their kid what to eat not the other way around? Hope he is an active teenager or he is gonna gain some weight.

sachrisk

If your cousin is unhappy with the changes she can fry him up a pound of bacon and he can take his lunch from home.

This.

fishgutzy

Bringing a bag lunch isn't always an option either. Some schools have food nazis that inspect every bag lunch. They confiscate lunches that do not comply with the governments shameful one-size-fits-all mandate.
Starving all kids because some are obese is absolutely insane. The government is too damn lazy to bother dealing with the broad spectrum of metabolic needs. It is easier to just treat every as potential fatties and starve them all. If a few die along the way, so what.

The Gubmint thinks what I do is unhealthy. And it won't matter how many blood tests prove them wrong.
Forcing out food that kids will eat in favor of foods they won't eat doesn't help them.
In every school that has forced kids to take vegetables, the amount of waste has gone up. The contractors love it because they make more money.
My kids only get to buy a school lunch on Friday. The rest of the week we send lunch with them. What we send them is actually better for them than the school lunch. And they don't lose half their lunch time waiting in a long line.

If anyone thinks that the one meal they eat at school is going to impact obesity among kids, they must think the kids don't eat anything outside of school.

My son hasn't weighed 90 pounds since he was 7. But then at age 7 he was as a tall as the average 12 year old. At 17 he is 6'4" and 210. Still thin. But those who obsess with weight would try to starve him because his weight is >98 percentile. But so is his height. He takes a pretty good sized lunch to school. One that would surely get confiscated if they had food nazis at his high school.

sheila569

If your cousin is unhappy with the changes she can fry him up a pound of bacon and he can take his lunch from home.

That deserves a friend request :drinker:

MelissaE1214

OMG - I was waiting for this policy to be implemented. I am heavily involved in my sons schooling - PTA and other board positions.... When it was finalized that the new menus were coming into play I was ecstatic! The community has to be taught at a whole about healthy living and not to over eat and make better choices! My son can’t think I am the only one who believes in this. The school is his second home – they should have the same mind set!

sheila569

My son is turning 15 next week, is 5'2" and weighs 90 pounds. He's very skinny, but far from under nourished. In fact, his pediatrician said he was at a healthy weight range for his height at his physical in February--and at that time he weighed 86 pounds!! He is super athletic...and at his age, I was built the same way...I was taller and weighed a little more, but had the same lean build.

My son DOES eat more than chicken nuggets and stuff though, hahah. In fact, he loves hummus, especially with lots of garlic. The only way kids are going to know whether they like these things is by trying them! The new menus sound so good. Not sure why your cousin is PO'd. I mean, her son isn't going to starve. If he is hungry enough, he WILL eat something. Or else, she should pack him a lunch of nuggets and crap, if she's that worried about it.

My cousin is a heavy smoker and very overweight... so "health conscience" she's not. No lie, never a day without bacon and pork roll. Skinny is one thing but this child is way beyond skinny and the doctor has warned my cousin repeatedly about his diet. Kid runs the house.

sheila569

OMG - I was waiting for this policy to be implemented. I am heavily involved in my sons schooling - PTA and other board positions.... When it was finalized that the new menus were coming into play I was ecstatic! The community has to be taught at a whole about healthy living and not to over eat and make better choices! My son can’t think I am the only one who believes in this. The school is his second home – they should have the same mind set!

:drinker:

WhatDoesLisa

I think we should Jamie Oliver the whole US school lunch system. I can't believe what some people feed their children. I think I was lucky to be raised by my parents.

sakuragreenlily

If your cousin is unhappy with the changes she can fry him up a pound of bacon and he can take his lunch from home.

Bwahahaha! Exactly.

sakuragreenlily

I think we should Jamie Oliver the whole US school lunch system. I can't believe what some people feed their children. I think I was lucky to be raised by my parents.

As bad a wrap as school lunches get they have improved DRASTICALLY in the past few years. I work down the hall from our school system's Food Services Supervisor. She is a former manager of nutritional and environmental health for a local hospital (about 8 years ago) and a registered dietitian and nutritionist. She and I talk about the different guidelines she has to meet when ordering food and planing meals within the school system.

Sometimes when I'm out at a school testing a child I will stop and have lunch in the cafeteria and the food is actually really good and quite healthy. I've been really impressed especially considering I live in rural east Tennessee. You're right about what some people feed their kids though! Sometimes the only chance a kid has to build decent eating habits is at school so I applaud the effort.

meggawatt

I think your feedback was dead-on. Parenting is a very touchy subject and no one wants unsolicited advice, but I agree with what you said. Kids should not create the rules.

My son was very unhappy with the changes to school lunches here as well. He is a very active 13 YO, who is lean and healthy with good muscle tone and endurance (yes, we encourage running!). He has very good eating habits, always has from baby on. He eats every vegetable put in front of him and loves to try new things. His favorite meal is grilled salmon, broccoli and brown rice. We've encouraged balance diets at home and model good choices with food & exercise.

Back to the topic - he saw his one school lunch per week as a treat. It was garbage no doubt about it. He would fill up his tray 1 x per week with mac & cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries, cheese burgers, or any number of low nutrition options one can think of and that was his reward for eating apples, carrots, oat crackers and healthy lunch options all week long.

When I explained to him that it may be very important to other students he got the message. I explained that there are some kids at his school that will not get another meal for the day. That the meals the school provides need to be healthy and full of nutrients for those kids. Also, because there are many parents out there who do not encourage eating from all colors of the rainbow daily. There are many kids who do not get a fruit & a vegetable in their lunch every day.

Might not work for all kids, but I find that if I sit down and talk to my son as an adult its helpful. While he may not always like it, he respects that we show him how to think and not what to think.

sgv0918

If your cousin is unhappy with the changes she can fry him up a pound of bacon and he can take his lunch from home.

this

jlnk

I don't think schools should be providing lunches. Period.

Or breakfast.

Or dinner.

mitch16

I think your feedback was dead-on. Parenting is a very touchy subject and no one wants unsolicited advice, but I agree with what you said. Kids should not create the rules.

My son was very unhappy with the changes to school lunches here as well. He is a very active 13 YO, who is lean and healthy with good muscle tone and endurance (yes, we encourage running!). He has very good eating habits, always has from baby on. He eats every vegetable put in front of him and loves to try new things. His favorite meal is grilled salmon, broccoli and brown rice. We've encouraged balance diets at home and model good choices with food & exercise.

Back to the topic - he saw his one school lunch per week as a treat. It was garbage no doubt about it. He would fill up his tray 1 x per week with mac & cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries, cheese burgers, or any number of low nutrition options one can think of and that was his reward for eating apples, carrots, oat crackers and healthy lunch options all week long.

When I explained to him that it may be very important to other students he got the message. I explained that there are some kids at his school that will not get another meal for the day. That the meals the school provides need to be healthy and full of nutrients for those kids. Also, because there are many parents out there who do not encourage eating from all colors of the rainbow daily. There are many kids who do not get a fruit & a vegetable in their lunch every day.

Might not work for all kids, but I find that if I sit down and talk to my son as an adult its helpful. While he may not always like it, he respects that we show him how to think and not what to think.

^^^This. I'm living a very similar life...

2012asv

I agree with you.

nxd10

Yes, the problem is that your cousin's child will only eat unhealthy things. When lots of kids grow up that way, we get unhealthy. That's one reason health care costs are high - lots of us have chronic diseases caused by bad health habits.

I think one reason that people get mad is that they see the government telling their kids what to eat and not letting them eat what the kids want as a slap at them as a parent. In some ways, truth be told, it is.

I personally do not think the government should subsidize unhealthy food fed to kids. If they don't want to eat it and the parents want to send in their own food, I say that's fine. But to the best of its ability the government shouldn't contribute to the problem of poor dietary habits.

They are doing just a minimally good job now. Anything they can do in the right direction is good.

Especially since lots of kids eat both breakfast and lunch at school for a major part of their nutrition. I believe in my mom's theory: kids will not starve themselves if there is food put in front of them. They might not eat everything every day, but they will eat another of a variety of healthy offerings to keep themselves healthy.

RenewedRunner

I just posted a huge rant on my blog about this. I work for a Junior HS as a school counselor. I live in the 2nd fattest state in the nation.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic. HOw does a child get obese? They eat more calories than they expend. They are inactive, perhaps live in a home with parents who dont understand or prioritize nutrition and exercise. We have been ignoring this fact for years: our kids are fat. Not chubby cheeks, arent they adorable, but wheezing, barely able to walk at recess, fat. As someone who has struggled with her weight my ENTIRE life and gone to treatment for an eating disorder, been obese, been skinny, been sedentary, and been a runner, I would never wish these struggles on anyone, much less my children.

People are freaking out about these changes. First of all, children in American very rarely STARVE. They are NOT starving!!!! Your kid may be hungry, but your kid is not starving. What role does french fries have in nutrition? Nothing. Fries, while tasty, should not be the staple of school lunches. Salads, fruits, healthy proteins not coated in bread and fried, are important. Treats are nice. Occassional splurges-fine.

'But my kid doesnt like veggies." Guess what? People are genetically engineered NOT to starve. Hunger makes you do strange things, like consume veggies. But I guarantee you that kids can grow and thrive without pizza or bacon at every meal. Scientific studies say this. Stop pandering to your child and start setting good nutrition as an important part of their lives!!! Kids DONT rule, and I for one have sent Michelle Obama a thank you email for bringing light to something that so desperately needed to change.

RenewedRunner

Kid runs the house.

Well that is the main problem right there. I understand NOT wanting the government to tell you what you can/can't feed your child. It isnt doing that though. It is telling a federally and locally funded entity what it can and can't do with that money. Schools are government products. You send your kids to school every day. In your absence we make decisions about your child-what behaviors are acceptable, what they can wear, what they learn, and so forth. And as a veteran employee of schools, I can say this: the only parenting some children get is when they are *at* school. But heaven forbid we try to tell your kids what they can consume while on school grounds with food that is subsidized with federal funds. Now all of sudden schools are Nazis (which is a truly horrible analogy as the Nazis mass murdered people. Nothing like some gross exaggeration).

stephcthomas

Starving all kids because some are obese is absolutely insane.

Serving healthier food options is not starving children. At schools the focus of the meals should be nutrition. If parents want to treat their children with high calorie less nutritiuos meals outside of schools then sobeit.

Won't teaching them how to eat to live now while they are young help them to not have to join MFP in the future?

stephcthomas

Well that is the main problem right there. I understand NOT wanting the government to tell you what you can/can't feed your child. It isnt doing that though. It is telling a federally and locally funded entity what it can and can't do with that money. Schools are government products. You send your kids to school every day. In your absence we make decisions about your child-what behaviors are acceptable, what they can wear, what they learn, and so forth. And as a veteran employee of schools, I can say this: the only parenting some children get is when they are *at* school. But heaven forbid we try to tell your kids what they can consume while on school grounds with food that is subsidized with federal funds. Now all of sudden schools are Nazis (which is a truly horrible analogy as the Nazis mass murdered people. Nothing like some gross exaggeration).

I completely agree!

Jemmuno

I don't think schools should be providing lunches. Period.

Or breakfast.

Or dinner.

Totally don't agree. For some children school lunches are the best meals they get for the day.

EmilyTwist1

I don't think schools should be providing lunches. Period.

Or breakfast.

Or dinner.

Totally don't agree. For some children school lunches are the best meals they get for the day.

And for some kids it may be the ONLY meal they get in a day.

GenFo

So… I was wondering – have I been on MFP so long that I’ve become a snob to the unhealthy eating habits of people. Or, am I on the money here and have a right to get my GRRR on.

Get your GRRR on!

I think it's fabulous to be a snob to unhealthy eating habits, especially when it comes to children. They don't know any better so they will always go for a chemically enhanced, sugar filled, taste sensation and that will make healthy food taste boring or weird. I love that schools will now be supporting the efforts of parents that are trying to encourage healthy eating. These children will not starve and if she feels strongly enough about it she can continue to feed him whatever she likes for breakfast and dinner.

I think some parent fear that their children will learn to like healthy food and it will change what they get to eat at home and will no longer give them the excuse that their children won't eat anything but chicken nuggets to hide behind.

jlnk

I don't think schools should be providing lunches. Period.

Or breakfast.

Or dinner.

Totally don't agree. For some children school lunches are the best meals they get for the day.

And for some kids it may be the ONLY meal they get in a day.

We're all entitled to our opinions, and I respect yours. But, based on my 10 years of experience teaching at a school where 98.7% of the children lived at or below the poverty level, this notion of the "only" meal proved incorrect. Not only did these children show up to school in high fashion gear, they also had cash on-hand for luxury items, i.e. chicken wings, ice cream, candy bars. So, again, I respectfully disagree with this notion that kids will starve if they aren't fed at school.

stephcthomas

We're all entitled to our opinions, and I respect yours. But, based on my 10 years of experience teaching at a school where 98.7% of the children lived at or below the poverty level, this notion of the "only" meal proved incorrect. Not only did these children show up to school in high fashion gear, they also had cash on-hand for luxury items, i.e. chicken wings, ice cream, candy bars. So, again, I respectfully disagree with this notion that kids will starve if they aren't fed at school.

I live well above the poverty line and don't have money for luxury items. I must be doing something wrong.

Pinkigloopyxie

Kids should eat what's put in front of them. Many kids these days don't know how good they have it and unless they have an allergy or some sort of OCD that actually prevents them from eating certain colors or textures, they should eat their lunches.

No offense to the parents here but it seems as if children are indulged too much these days. Kids should get to make some choices in their lives but they also must be told to do things they don't want to or they'll never learn.

I grew up poor, but still fat since we didn't eat many good foods in my house and I was lucky to have fresh veggies or to have veggies twice in one day. I gobbled up fresh steamed broccoli at school and enjoyed it as much as I did the occasional ice cream treats.

I'm glad they've finally implemented this program and I hope they can fix any kinks that come up. But there's no reason for people to get so mad and call for it to be abolished before they even try it out properly! Sure, it won't fit every child or teenager, and some of the faster growing kids may have gotten in more calories and felt fuller from school lunches before, but they weren't getting the proper nutrients to help their bodies process things efficiently.

Another thing, everyone could do to feel hungry every once in a while, it makes you more appreciative of what you have. And most people in the United States actually have much, much more than they really need. I think I'll stop before I start ranting about sustainability and quality of life though, haha.

LuckyLeprechaun

I don't think schools should be providing lunches. Period.

Or breakfast.

Or dinner.

As a teacher, I prefer trying to teach kids who aren't hungry. Surely you understand that there are kids whose families rely on thse programs to prevent actual hunger.

You know they have to be interviewed about their income and assets before their child can qualify for those lunches, right?