I see the point but I am not sure DC should have the last word on school menus.
GaleHawkins
Posts: 8,159 Member
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Well somebody needs to get a firm grip on improving how our country nourishes our children. Have you ever seen a comparison between the typical USA school lunch and the school lunches of other countries? The USA lunch is pathetic!0
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There have long been rules for any school with subsidized lunches, so this is just an attempt to clean up the rules.0
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Oh dear, they mentioned my state. WV is notorious for poor food choices so it doesn't surprise me a preschool got in trouble for handing out candy. We my teenage daughters were in elementary school candy had been banned for all holiday parties yet the hot dogs (better than candy?!) they served at back to school night were green. Now in high school the lines are so long they either go through the quick sandwich line, carry a sandwich in their backpack, or go without. I long age learned to rely on myself to teach them healthy eating.0
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I had to laugh at the comments about less kids eating the school lunches due to lack of flavor, and the idea creating a black market for salt!
But it goes to show that if the schools did serve healthy lunches, the kids that grew up on complete crap would probably not want to eat them. I know in this area the lunches are just horrible. This city has a very progressive school system, and some innovative ideas with specialty programs at all levels, but they still can't serve a decent lunch.
Not that I oppose the idea. I really think the best shot at helping change the health levels in the US is to start with the younger kids and educate them properly, as well as provide them with balanced and nutritious food options at school.0 -
I haven't noticed a change in my kid's school menu since all of these new rules went into place-there's still hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza etc on the menu every month. I guess a salad bar has been added, but my kids have informed me that no one uses it
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concordancia wrote: »There have long been rules for any school with subsidized lunches, so this is just an attempt to clean up the rules.
Yeah, this is the point I was about to make, 'til I saw you already had. Fed control over the school lunch program (which relies on fed funds, at least in part), is not new. Indeed, it's related to the whole "ketchup is a vegetable" thing of the Reagan era.0 -
ReaderGirl3 wrote: »I haven't noticed a change in my kid's school menu since all of these new rules went into place-there's still hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza etc on the menu every month. I guess a salad bar has been added, but my kids have informed me that no one uses it
Brian Wansink has been involved in designing school cafeterias to help encourage use of the salad bar and other healthy choices, and has some interesting ideas about what works (supposedly his changes resulted in huge increases in some test program, although I don't have the details at hand and expect there may be another side to the story).
Anyway, I thought this was kind of neat: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/10/21/opinion/20101021_Oplunch.html?_r=00 -
If states and local schools systems don't want to follow the federal rules on nutrition in school lunches, they don't have to take the federal money for school lunches. Why is it OK for states to set rules for how low-income individuals should use "food-stamp" subsidies, but it's not OK for the federal government to set rules on how schools use their school lunch subsidies?0
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America's school dinners are a joke and tantamount to child abuse. Why would you let the profit churning uncaring governors take hold?0
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Here in Germany, at school we usually had the choice of one out of 4 different meals, usually something along the lines of Regular meal A, regular meal B, Vegetarian, and Special which would be something like Pizza or whatever. You were supposed to choose together with your parents (you got a schedule for the whole month in advance to choose so they know how much of each to make), so you wouldn't take the Special food every day.
Now at university we've got even more freedom. It's a huge university compared to the size of the town (over 20% of the population are students), with multiple campusses divided all over town and thus also multiple cafeterias all with different foods available. It's something like 20 different meals you can choose from every day. It's all varied and nutritious and cheap because it's subsidized by the state. Between 1,50 and 3 Euro per meal depending what it is. Tuition is less than 200 Euro per semester and that includes a permanent ticket for almost all public transport in the whole state.
What I want to say is, yeah the USA needs to get their *kitten* together concerning the whole education thing, the food being one of them.0 -
@DancingDarl what are school lunches like in your country. Steven gave examples from Germany. For money reasons mom fixed our lunches especially in the lower grades. I had a friend that was an only child who always had money and he wanted to buy what mom fixed for me so I would sell my lunch for cash. He died in his 40's from stomach cancer so I wondered if Mom's food was bad for him. Since he lived on junk food a lot of the time and was heavy may have been more of an issue however. Of course the doctor having on antacids for years when it was cancer was the thing that did him in at the end I expect.0
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DancingDarl wrote: »I was shocked when i saw what kids in america eat at lunch. Just terrible. There needs to be some big changes for the children.
You can't generalize like this. Kids in the US eat lots of different things for lunch. School districts offer differ things. You need to be more specific if making a claim like that, so we can evaluate the evidence it is based on and how applicable it is to our various parts of the US.
On the other hand, I agree with steven's comment. We do need to. It feels impossible.
Re: Gale's comment -- I was a somewhat picky kid, so I always brought my own lunch. I had to make it myself after a point. I am not sure how bad our lunches were, as a result (my own personal lunch wasn't bad until high school when I stopped eating lunch for a good bit of the time -- after I quit cross-country skiing).0 -
When my son was in school there was a caf there but he wouldn't use it he was picky.
So for about 3 years he ate ham, lettuce and cheese slices between bread.
For the next year it was kraft dinner out of a heated thermos
For the next year it was snacks
kids are kids and some refuse to eat certain things.
As long as they are eating well balanced meals who cares....and remember it's only one meal at school...lunch.0 -
Ok, found my kid's school hot lunch menu for April, we live in the mid-west, U.S. Here's the first week-
$1.95/served with skim and 1% milk
Monday: A. mini corn dogs B. hot sub sandwich (both served with green beans and choice of fruit)
Tuesday: A. Eggo mini pancakes with sausage and syrup B. Turkey with cheese on bun (both served with choice of fruit)
Wednesday: A. Sizzlin' Chicken Fajitas (2) with cheese B. Mexican burrito (both served with refried beans, Tostios Scoops, choice of fruit)
Thursday: A. Sloppy Joes with bun B. Club sub (both served with curly fries and choice of fruit)
Friday: A. Baked popcorn chicken B. baked fish shapes (both served with chocolate pudding, golden corn, choice of fruit)
And then there is an option C. of a chef salad
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When my son was in school there was a caf there but he wouldn't use it he was picky.
So for about 3 years he ate ham, lettuce and cheese slices between bread.
For the next year it was kraft dinner out of a heated thermos
For the next year it was snacks
kids are kids and some refuse to eat certain things.
As long as they are eating well balanced meals who cares....and remember it's only one meal at school...lunch.
That depends-around here, many kids eat breakfast at school and then take bagged suppers home with them as well (provided by local charities/churches). I've helped make the sack suppers and they include a pb sandwich, piece of fruit, juice box and then something like animal crackers. We are in the suburbs, between a rural area and a large city.0 -
School-provided lunches are an unfamiliar concept to me. Do students have the choice to bring their own lunch, or is it mandatory to partake in the school lunch program? What is the purpose of the school providing lunch?
Sorry if these are stupid questions, I'm genuinely curious.0 -
SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »School-provided lunches are an unfamiliar concept to me. Do students have the choice to bring their own lunch, or is it mandatory to partake in the school lunch program? What is the purpose of the school providing lunch?
Sorry if these are stupid questions, I'm genuinely curious.
Here at least, hot lunches are optional (most days my kids bring in packed lunches because I'm too cheap to spend almost $2 for what they offer). However, there's a lot of kids who use the program, as well as the breakfast option. There's local districts that now offer totally free breakfast/lunches for all students as well. I don't want to start a debate on top of a debate here, so I'll keep my thoughts on the hot lunch program to myself I'm pulling my kids from the traditional public school after this year anyways (one is already out). Counting the minutes lol. 0 -
I have 2 daughters. 1 is 15 slim athletic build. Takes her own lunch. She will take leftovers in a thermos or make a sandwich.
2nd daughter would prefer to eat school lunch and she is obese.
Our school still offers bags of chips, cookies and ice cream for the kids to buy. I caught her buying this crap and told her I'm not putting money into her lunch account anymore for the rest of the year.
As for the salad bar I know my oldest daughter would love a salad bar.
Lunches here (rural midwest):
Corn dog, au gratin potatoes, peaches milk
hamburger on bun, broccoli w/cheese, peaches, milk
so on and so forth. Pizza, pizza crunchers, tacos, quesadillas, hot dogs, country fried steak, and bbq on a bun. I know that the girls have stated they can get a breaded chicken sandwich on a bun as another option. That's if they don't run out.
I guess the addition of veggies and fruit is what makes it healthy. Personally I wouldn't eat any of this on a daily basis.
I would like to know where lunch costs $1.95 since I'm paying $2.90 a lunch. Another reason why I told my youngest I wasn't paying because I can easily buy this same crap for a lot cheaper than what I'm paying the school to sell it to her for.
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I have 2 daughters. 1 is 15 slim athletic build. Takes her own lunch. She will take leftovers in a thermos or make a sandwich.
2nd daughter would prefer to eat school lunch and she is obese.
Our school still offers bags of chips, cookies and ice cream for the kids to buy. I caught her buying this crap and told her I'm not putting money into her lunch account anymore for the rest of the year.
As for the salad bar I know my oldest daughter would love a salad bar.
Lunches here (rural midwest):
Corn dog, au gratin potatoes, peaches milk
hamburger on bun, broccoli w/cheese, peaches, milk
so on and so forth. Pizza, pizza crunchers, tacos, quesadillas, hot dogs, country fried steak, and bbq on a bun. I know that the girls have stated they can get a breaded chicken sandwich on a bun as another option. That's if they don't run out.
I guess the addition of veggies and fruit is what makes it healthy. Personally I wouldn't eat any of this on a daily basis.
I would like to know where lunch costs $1.95 since I'm paying $2.90 a lunch. Another reason why I told my youngest I wasn't paying because I can easily buy this same crap for a lot cheaper than what I'm paying the school to sell it to her for.
West Michigan/$1.95 per lunch (breakfast is $1.10). That's full price-if you qualify for the reduced cost program it's .30 breakfast/.40 lunch (we don't qualify for this program, even being a one income household though).
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Here are the menu options for my kid's school lunch today and tomorrow:
Lunch Entree
Whole Grain Spaghetti with Seasoned Meatsauce & Breadstick
Chicken Nuggets,w/ Roll
Vegetables
Fresh Broccoli
Fresh Baby Carrots
Fresh Lettuce/Spinach Mix
Fresh Cucumber Slices
Fresh Celery Sticks
5 Way Mixed Vegetable
Fruit
Fruit Cocktail
Fresh Banana
Milk
Fat Free Chocolate Milk
White 1% Low Fat Milk
Lunch Entree
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Whole Grain Southwestern Veggie Wrap
Vegetables
Fresh Broccoli
Fresh Baby Carrots
Fresh Lettuce/Spinach Mix
Fresh Cucumber Slices
Fresh Celery Sticks
Salad Bar, Beans, Garbanzo
Fresh Steamed Broccoli
Fruit
Apple Slices, Cnd, Unswt
Fresh Sliced Oranges
Milk
Fat Free Chocolate Milk
White 1% Low Fat Milk
We have free breakfast and lunch throughout our entire district. Kids get the entree, at least one veggie and at least one fruit.
They recently had samples of the food at one of our PTO meetings, I thought it was decent.
My kids bring their lunch probably 3 days/week and get school lunch the other two - but it is on days like today with chicken nuggets, not likely the southwestern veggie wrap tomorrow...
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$2.50 a day here for high calorie foods. There's a hot lunch that's like chicken nuggets and fries with a canned veggie or corndogs, fries and canned veggie. I am critical of the canned veggies because the cafe workers do nothing to make them taste good. Pizza and burgers are available every day. There's an unappealing salad bar to meet the federal rules. It's unappealing because they don't freshen it until everything has gone over. It's a disgrace.
The public university my daughter goes to has a great food program. The cafe has their own calorie counting site. Everything that is served can be added to see how many calories you are eating. Lots of vegetables. In fact, they highlight a vegetable every week and cook it different ways. They also hold free cooking classes to teach how to create healthy, tasty meals on a small budget. There's the usual burgers and pizza but plenty of other lower calorie tasty choices. It's pricey but I think it's worth it. So much better than when I was in college.
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SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »School-provided lunches are an unfamiliar concept to me. Do students have the choice to bring their own lunch, or is it mandatory to partake in the school lunch program? What is the purpose of the school providing lunch?
Yes, they can bring their own lunches.
It's so the kid (well, the parent) can buy lunch or, much of the time and why the feds are involved, part of a subsidized meal program that also includes breakfast often. I live in a big city where the public schools are disproportionately low income, and it's a huge thing.0 -
Oh, and our breakfasts and lunches sound pretty similar. They do kid-friendly food so the kids will eat it, I assume. From the FAQ (of course it's self-serving):CPS offers breakfast, lunch, after school snack, after school meals and snacks, and Saturday meals and snacks to all students during the school year. CPS also serves breakfast and lunch to students during the summer months.Research shows that school meals often exceed the nutritional content of meals packed from home. Parents and guardians play a vital role in the development of students’ eating habits both in and out of school. Meals served as part of the CPS school meal program exceed USDA standards for school meals. A well-balanced and healthy diet will help students to be more alert and ready to learn.The federal nutrition standards ensure students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week; increase the availability of whole grain-rich foods; offer only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties; limit calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size; and reduce the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium. CPS school meals meet or exceed the federal standards.While we encourage families to pack nutritious snacks and lunches for their children there is no board policy that requires home packed food to meet specific nutrition guidelines. There are guidelines for foods brought for classroom celebrations or foods to be shared with other students.School menus are planned by a team of Registered Dietitians from both CPS and Aramark. Nutrition Support Services closely monitors student participation and feedback from parents and students to continuously improve menu options. The dietitians ensure that first and foremost all USDA and CPS nutrition guidelines are met. The new standards require schools include a daily fruit and vegetable. Vegetables are split into several subgroups (dark green, red/orange, beans/peas, starchy and other) to ensure that students get a variety of vegetables. For example, a meal needs to have at least ¾ cup of vegetables per day but limits starchy vegetables (like potatoes) to ½ cup a week. All grains served must be whole-grain rich, meaning they contain at least 50% whole grains.0
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Here's a video about school lunch in Japan.
https://youtu.be/fcLjRSkqqnk
The kids work together to prepare the meal.
I would love to see something similar here. However, I don't see it happening in my school district. Too many parents would be outraged.0 -
To be honest I am less concerned about the nutritional value and taste of the meals offered at my kids school, and more concerned that the lunch period is not long enough to give them adequate time to consume their meal - brought from home or school provided! I used to think it was because of gabbiness of the kids but my husband and I have both attended lunch and it is not enough time for us to eat a complete meal, even without the distraction of wanting to socialize with little friends. My kids often bring home half their meal saying they didn't have time to finish.0
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I'm still wondering where DancingDarl's information about all US school lunches came from, such that she knows they are all shocking and terrible, but in the meantime if anyone recalls that whole "school lunches around the world" thing, here's something kind of interesting that serves as a reality (including with respect to US lunches):
http://www.thelunchtray.com/why-im-fed-up-with-those-photos-of-school-lunches-around-the-world/0 -
That poor Ukrainian.0
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How awful that children are eating chicken nuggets and canned peaches. O the humanity. [clutches pearls and swoons].
It seems odd to get worked up over the canned plebian fare offered to little critters whose taste occasionally runs to boogers. "The canned vegetables are just not special enough!" Maybe the fed govt can just force all the schools to serve the menu that is served at Sidwell Friends, a particularly elite school in Washington DC that may or may not have some very famous students. It's amazing what $37,750 tuition ("includes hot lunch") will get you. Here's what they had today:
Chilled Strawberry Soup
Tuna & Pasta Salad
Baja Corn Salad
Shredded Chicken
Soft Tortillas
Spicy Mexican Beans
Broccoli
Texas Rice Casserole
Red Grapes
Here is what they will have tomorrow:
Calico Wild Rice Soup
BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad
Coleslaw
All Beef Hot Dogs
Brauts
Leanie Dogs
Roasted Acorn Squash
Baked Organic French Fries
Melon
And here is Friday:
Senegalese Soup
Rainbow Chopped Salad
Mamadou & Papas African Menu
Saludu Awooka ak Mango
(Avocado Mango Salad)
Senegalese Chicken Yassa
African Vegetable Dish
Sautéed Greens with African Spices
White Rice
Orange Wedges
*****
Although my children are offered an array of healthy fresh fruit and vegetables at lunch, I cringe to think of what goes into the trash when I am not there to make them sit at the table till they are finished (or to serve them--specifically--Granny Smith apples, peeled, side of Balsamic Vinegar, to the one and Honey Crisp apples to the other).0 -
What I would love above all is for schools to be properly funded so they don't need to have big Coke or Pepsi contracts with machines all over the school to subsidize our kids' educations.
Also, especially in regards to kids on free/reduced cost lunch (of which I was one), if this is the only meal they are getting all day, and for some it might be, I hope it's well balanced. But, if a kid wants extra (portion issue), feed them!!!0 -
Ours don't have those anymore (state law, although they were out of local schools even before). AND, for unrelated reasons, the local schools are a financial basket case and our state funding both is so confusing that no one seems to understand it and routinely ranked as one of the least equitable in the country. Go us.
Anyway, interesting piece about a study on soda bans (ours bans more than soda, as I read it -- for drinks energy drinks and sports drinks too, but not 100% fruit juice or juice diluted with water): http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/soda-bans-in-schools-have-limited-benefit/
This part isn't particularly surprising:The researchers found that the proportion of students who purchased sugary drinks at schools in states that removed only soda — 28.9 percent — was similar to the proportion in states that had no bans against any sugary drinks at all — 26 percent. Both groups also reported having identical levels of access to sugary beverages at school: about 67 percent in each category.
This is more disappointing, I suppose:In states with policies banning all sugary drinks in schools, students had less access to them on campus, but their overall consumption of the drinks did not fall, suggesting they were getting the drinks elsewhere.0
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