School Lunches

runnermama81

I don't know about anyone else but I am way annoyed by the new school lunch guidelines. I don't eat school lunches but my kids do and I have several friends who work at the school and eat school lunches. Apparently the first lady's attempt at making school lunches "healthier" is causing some issues. I have two girls who are both healthy and active and neither of them are overweight or eat a considerable large amount of food. They come home hungry every day. They are not picky and they say they eat pretty much everything on their plates....they're still left hungry.
At first I thought "kids will be kids" and they always have something to complain about, but then I have talked to adults who are teachers and school staff who say the same thing. They say the portion sizes aren't enough for a bird and the kids are not allowed second helpings. Most of these adults are not overweight either.
My opinion is that it is not up to the government to try to get kids to "skinny up". I do realize that the US has an obesity problem, but I honestly think it has a lot more to do with parents allowing kids to eat too much fast food, drink too much soda and not get adequate excercise....not because they eat school lunch.
Discuss.

runnermama81

*crickets chirping* anyone?

mom2sons02

For this reason and the fact they my kids say they now taste awful I pack thier lunch every single day.

leojsivad

Pack them an extra bag of carrots to take to lunch with them. Eat a bigger breakfast? Not sure.

momtokgo

I don't know about anyone else but I am way annoyed by the new school lunch guidelines. I don't eat school lunches but my kids do and I have several friends who work at the school and eat school lunches. Apparently the first lady's attempt at making school lunches "healthier" is causing some issues. I have two girls who are both healthy and active and neither of them are overweight or eat a considerable large amount of food. They come home hungry every day. They are not picky and they say they eat pretty much everything on their plates....they're still left hungry.
At first I thought "kids will be kids" and they always have something to complain about, but then I have talked to adults who are teachers and school staff who say the same thing. They say the portion sizes aren't enough for a bird and the kids are not allowed second helpings. Most of these adults are not overweight either.
My opinion is that it is not up to the government to try to get kids to "skinny up". I do realize that the US has an obesity problem, but I honestly think it has a lot more to do with parents allowing kids to eat too much fast food, drink too much soda and not get adequate excercise....not because they eat school lunch.
Discuss.

I think its great. I really do. I'm Canadian though, and this doesn't affect me at all lol. But our schools did this years ago. They have limits on how much fat, calories, sugar and salt can be in the food they serve. No candy, pop, chips etc. Nothing is premade or processed at my daugther school, the older kids each take turns helping cook the food every day. That can only happen in our shcool because we have a canteen, not a cafeteria. Most kids bring their lunch. But either way, they serve real food.

I guess the way I see it is that even though they are at school, they should have the chance to eat as healthily as possible, especially for the kids that won't get to eat anyway. I do understand the problem though, whats the point of feeding kids healthy foods if they won't eat them? Defeats the purpose. There really is no way to make everyone happy though.

If your kids are still hungry, can they take a snack with them to school? Or can you pack their lunch for them so they don't have to eat a school lunch?

nbeth901

Not everyone can afford to pack school lunches.

Secondly, every school district is different. The school my children go to actually have great lunches.

I think your best bet is to complain to the school board and try to get other mothers who feel the same way to petition it. Nothing is ever won without a fight.

runnermama81

I think some of you guys are missing the point. I know i can pack them snacks, etc. I just wonder what other peoples opinions are on the changes.

mastone99

Is this new? I'm pretty sure this is not a "first lady" idea. They were doing portion control when I was in school (I'm 35). I think portion distortion is the issue. We think 3oz of meat is just a little bit when that is a normal portion size. A lot of the things we eat are over-sized. We want a quarter pounder, not 3 oz.

At the school where I work, the biggest difference I see is the type of food they offer (more salads, fruits and veggies vs. pizza) and they don't sell sodas and chips in the snack machine anymore (in fact they took out the snack machines last year). This is a lot better than the limited choices they used to offer.

Now with all that being said, I still pack my lunch every day because I refuse to pay for a school lunch when I have food at home that I can throw in a bag and bring with me (#cheap). Plus, I like my cooking better. :-)

AZKristi

The school lunch program only applies to lunches paid for by the federal government. If it ain't good enough for you, send your kids with lunch or money to buy something else.

mom2sons02

And have you looked at the menu? Here it is crap like, wheat breaded chicken nuggets, whole wheat pizza, turkey frank on whole wheat bun. Mouth watering yet?? How about trying real healthy food instead of taking what kids eat and altering it so they don't like it? They may try something they have never had, you take kids who are used to the "regular" food and try to make it heathy, but serve the same things? Not going to work.

runnermama81

Is this new? I'm pretty sure this is not a "first lady" idea. They were doing portion control when I was in school (I'm 35). I think portion distortion is the issue. We think 3oz of meat is just a little bit when that is a normal portion size. A lot of the things we eat are over-sized. We want a quarter pounder, not 3 oz.

At the school where I work, the biggest difference I see is the type of food they offer (more salads, fruits and veggies vs. pizza) and they don't sell sodas and chips in the snack machine anymore (in fact they took out the snack machines last year). This is a lot better than the limited choices they used to offer.

Now with all that being said, I still pack my lunch every day because I refuse to pay for a school lunch when I have food at home that I can throw in a bag and bring with me (#cheap). Plus, I like my cooking better. :-)

I understand portion control. They had it when I was in school too. (I am 30). The changes I am referring to are new this year. I giess they haven't hit all schools yet.

mom2sons02

The school lunch program only applies to lunches paid for by the federal government. If it ain't good enough for you, send your kids with lunch or money to buy something else.

Wrong, they are all served the same lunch whether they pay or govt pays.

savanahspring

I don't understand why it's the government's job to feed our children at all.

runnermama81

The school lunch program only applies to lunches paid for by the federal government. If it ain't good enough for you, send your kids with lunch or money to buy something else.

That's not actually true. I do pay for my kids' lunches. They are absolutely not provided by the government.

shiransom

I actually appreciate it and have no problems. I have 2 middle schoolers.

crazyvermont

Wow...so much truth! My company sells to public school systems and the new menu's are horrendous. I recently was with the director of the Los Angelas Unified School District and she took me to dumpster after dumpster full of school lunches. It's almost criminal...............

runnermama81

I don't understand why it's the government's job to feed our children at all.

Again, the government isnt paying for the food. I am. Wow no one responding must have kids in school!

kimberly702

Been hearing a lot of the same complaints in our town too... especially with the high school kids. My kids (1st and kindergarten) it's hard to tell how much of lunch they really eat anyway, but I know it's not as much as they would eat at home. I would love to pack my kids a lunch everyday, but sheesh! It would take some rearranging the budget. I feel bad for the kids that are in sports after school!

Christine1110

I have a day care and also use the USDA food program....I can't feed the kids the junk the school serves. They have pizza sticks for breakfast...and pizza & burger everyday....they also serve a healthy choice, but not many kids pick it when you can have pizza & burgers. The also serve terrible breakfast, cereal bars (all sugar) cinnamon rolls, pizza, muffin, and lots of sugary cereal over 10 grams. I have to serve cereal with less then 10 grams a cup. We have alot of kids that are poor...and this is the most meals they are getting at school...and they are all junk!

tephey

From what I understand they have hit all schools and yes it is the first lady's baby.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/snacks-usdas-solution-healthy-school-lunch-protests/story?id=17324285#.UGz8ea68GSo

Looks like you are not the only one complaining.

TonkaDanteFriend

So if you're paying for their lunches out of your pocket and they aren't getting enough at school, why not take that money and make their lunches yourself?

Also, newsflash here, but kids in general are *ALWAYS* hungry.

AllonsYtotheTardis

Not everyone can afford to pack school lunches.

Must be very different in the US than here in Montreal... It's WAAAAAY cheaper to pack my son's lunch from home than to buy the one at school.

henryandrewmom

Yes this is new. There are many limitations that have been imposed nation wide on school lunches, including limiting the number of grains, protein, etc., that can be served each week. The calorie limit for students in grades 9 -12 is from 750 - 850 for lunch; the younger grades have a lower limit than that.

I work in a school and this is a huge issue. Our students are starving! I also am coaching volleyball right now, and the kids come to practice hungry and aren't as able to put in a good practice as they have been in the past because they are not allowed as much food.

I know that on chicken nugget day, the limits set forth for protein say that kids in grades K-8 are allowed 1.5 chicken nuggets! And students in grades 9 - 12 could have 3. CRAZY!

salgalruns

I'll share what happens at my school. I am a principal at a low income school in southern Californai and we serve 500-600 lunches a day. Paid or free, it's the same stuff. Our district has implemented a salad bar, so our students have the choice of mixed greens, fresh veggies (today it was cucumbers, jicama, broccoli, & red bell peppers) and fruit (red grapes and peaches today). They then also had orange chicken (about 1/2 cup) and brownish colored rice (about 1/2 cup). Students are offered milk - either 2%, 1% or fat free. With our 5th and 6th graders, if we have extra, we offer seconds.

The new government plan forces schools to provide more fruits and vegetables. I have to say, that at my site, the kids who bring their lunch (smaller percentage), I have sandwiches, which are fine but almost all of them have Cheetos, Hot Cheetos, Takis (similar to hot Cheetos) or Funyans(?). Don't even get me started on the "fruit colored" drinks that they bring.

Since the salad bar started this year, I see a rainbow of colors on plates, and the kids are eating it - they go home and rave about how much they love it. I even sat in on a conversation with 3rd and 4th graders about the best way to eat garbanzo beans yesterday. Who'd have ever thought????

taylorromanyk

I hated the school lunches. I graduated in 2011, and I can remember them being awful from when I was little to the time I was a senior. They tried serving salads in high school, but they were never fresh. Tried serving subs (as an alternative to the pizza, french fries, mozzarella sticks, etc.) but all the meat was chock-full of preservatives. I mean, the lunch meat looked like rubber and smelled like it too. Some kids couldn't even notice and THAT scared me. Wish they'd realize how they're poisoning the youth.

taylorromanyk

Also, even for high school, the portion sizes were always too small. Except on calzone day. I mean, we were 15, 16, 17 year old kids, we were hungry! I've written papers about the school lunch system, how good nutrition leads to better grades, yada yada yada, I just wish someone would listen.

runnermama81

I'll share what happens at my school. I am a principal at a low income school in southern Californai and we serve 500-600 lunches a day. Paid or free, it's the same stuff. Our district has implemented a salad bar, so our students have the choice of mixed greens, fresh veggies (today it was cucumbers, jicama, broccoli, & red bell peppers) and fruit (red grapes and peaches today). They then also had orange chicken (about 1/2 cup) and brownish colored rice (about 1/2 cup). Students are offered milk - either 2%, 1% or fat free. With our 5th and 6th graders, if we have extra, we offer seconds.

The new government plan forces schools to provide more fruits and vegetables. I have to say, that at my site, the kids who bring their lunch (smaller percentage), I have sandwiches, which are fine but almost all of them have Cheetos, Hot Cheetos, Takis (similar to hot Cheetos) or Funyans(?). Don't even get me started on the "fruit colored" drinks that they bring.

Since the salad bar started this year, I see a rainbow of colors on plates, and the kids are eating it - they go home and rave about how much they love it. I even sat in on a conversation with 3rd and 4th graders about the best way to eat garbanzo beans yesterday. Who'd have ever thought????

This sounds great!!! I have no problem with the food being healthy at all. Its just that most schools in my area are not serving this array of fresh salad. They get like two chicken nuggets and some iceburg lettuce and milk:(

spozzybear

I live in Australia and I have never heard of a school "serving" lunch. Schools here have a canteen where food can be bought, or you can bring your own lunch, but I haven't heard about any portion control at the canteens here, nor of any schools providing free lunches.

JustPeachy044

I love some of the changes. having fruits and veggies offered every day in our school is awesome. The "cold cart" has an array of fruits and veggies most days and the children are free to take what they want, after they get their milk and entree choice. It is hard to get kindergartners and 1st graders to take what they will really eat, unfortunately, and much is thrown away. They sit and talk versus eating, then when it's time to be dismissed they know it's recess time and they just toss what is left...but we have to start somewhere.

That said, my own children get school lunches paid for by us 10x per month. I believe packing a healthy lunch from home gives me more say in what my kids eat and saves us money in the long run. I agree with those that say if your child isn't getting enough in terms of quantity or quality, pack them a lunch.

also, young children (K or 1st graders and younger) should go about 3 hours between 2 meals OR 2 hours between a meal and a snack. Their smaller stomachs just can't hold a large quantity in general, they digest what they have eaten within 2-3 hours and need a snack or meal by then. If they are eating early lunch, as younger children generally do in school, it could be that so much time has passed by the time they get home that they are hungry. I offer my kindergartners in school a handful of cheerios about 10:15 AM, just to stave off their hunger. We eat lunch at 11:20. They have snack at 1:00. They go home at 3:35 or to day care. By the time they get home, they are STILL famished!

ZombieSidwell

Yes the new guidlines are different this year. I work within a school and run an after school program. I think the concept over all is a good one but with that said I have noticed an increase of kids still being hunngry. Yes kids are always hungry but it seems that it has increased this year. Something I have noticed in our after school proggram. I agree that kids should be given healthier choices in school, but this can be done in a way that is more filling for the kids. This can be done in a better way. The kids who play sports after school aren't getting the energy they need and not all parents can afford to ensure this. As far as who pays for the lunches, both are true. There are kids who are on the free lunch program and those who's parents who pay for it. While it is true that you can send more money for the child or pack their lunch not all parents can affordd this. What worries me are those families in poverty and the school lunch might me the most important meal they will have all day.

ZombieSidwell

Also I forgot to point out not all schools are equal, some are serving more filing foods while others still are not. These are the schools who need help in learning how to make the new guidlines work for the benefit of the children.