Ate School Lunch Today

Hemis_mom

I am a teacher and ate school lunch today my calorie intake for this meal was over 1000 calories: For lunch today we had french toast sticks, sausage patty, hash brown and salad bar (the other choice was chicken broccoli alfredo). I SHOULD have just eaten the salad bar but I didn't think what I ate would be TOO bad. Boy was I wrong. I am posting this because it alarms me what our kids eat every day--and I feel helpless--how do we change it--any ideas--I feel like if I even talk about it people will freak out--Where do you start local, national, any ideas or suggestions
I will be bringing my own lunch from now on OR just eating the salad bar (which finally has low fat dressings after most of the year not having that option)

Just wondering how to institute positive change.....
Thanks

TheMaidOfAstolat

Petition the school board.
I did back in highschool (freshman year) because they offered no alternative for vegetarians (it was either fries or side salad...ie: iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots.). Because of the uproar I caused...they instituted a salad bar and veggie patties (by the end of the year I had met over 100 other vegetarians in my school). Who knew that we all had such a hard time finding appropriate food if we didn't bring it from home. Also, by my senior year there were no more vending machines with crud in them...healthy alteratives...popcorn, pretzels, healthy granola bars, and whole fruit bars. No more sodas....water and juice only.
I'm sure that you could do the same. School food is horrible.

iRun4wine

I also am a teacher and our school district participates in a healthy school lunches initiative. The foods served (whether they're prepared in the cafeteria or purchased pre-made) must meet certain requirements. I'm not sure the logistics of how it all works, but I know that Food Services is reimbursed for a small percentage of each meal by the government for participating in this program. It goes for lunches, snacks, after school program snacks- anything that is served by the cafeteria. They're still able to serve good food, they just make healthy substitutions. For example, they still serve pizza (and it's actually really, really good) but they use a whole wheat crust, and a lower fat part-skim cheese.

If you're truly passionate about this, I'm sure there are tons of resources on the internet about this program, or others like it that you could submit to your Food Services department for them to review. Hope that helped :flowerforyou:

lbpw

i would definitely try to get something done by talking to somebody in charge. in my old highschool the food there was horrible. it was probably one of the biggest reasons i was overweight. i ate cheesefries and a brownie everyday. and yes fries were the main entre. you would be lucky on a day they had fried chicken with it or pizza. the vending machines were nothing but chips and candy and if you wanted a water bottle instead of soda it was very hard to find. well im out of there but as far as ive heard nothing has been done. they did add some salad but my friend tells me its always brown and bad. so if i were you i would start speaking out about it. good luck with your decision!

SHBoss1673

you bring it up at the local school committee meeting, or PTA meeting, or what ever they use as a governing board in your school system. Good for you for caring, but don't stop there, be proactive about it, do something about it!

pbenison

I work at my local high school and feel your pain! I began my diet during Christmas break and initally thought I could "budget" my lunch room meals to fit within my caloric intake goals. But I knew I would never live up to this. I do not like to bring frozen dinners, they never fill me up, and I am concerned about sodium. So, I have purchased the tossable entree (sandwich style) bowls. After a homecooked meal at home, I measure my food and freeze it in these containers. Yesterday was my first day back and I was a little concerned about the homemake turkey and sausage gumbo leftovers I had frozen over the holidays. Would it be enough? I was pleastanly surprised. I had brought along some sugar free pudding just in case, and did not even finish it all. Oh, I do drink the low fat milk from the school for I it helps to fill me up and I am a believer it is a fat burner.

Welcome back to school!

Hemis_mom

Thanks for the suggestion--I think it all comes down to money I will have to look into the government incentives on the web