Rant: School lunches stink!
Please note: This is not an actual picture of a school lunch from my daughter's school. I just put this image up to further gross myself out!
Before I begin, let me just say that I in no way wish to condemn the excellent cafeteria staff at my daughter’s school. Those woman (they are in fact all women) bust their buns every day to make two meals a day for hundreds of kids; put up with a constant din of adolescent noise, clean up disgusting spills, and manage to get it all done each day with a smile on their faces.
But it is no secret that I am not thrilled with the quality of food served in schools, at my daughter’s school, and at schools around the country. For the most part, I have tried to work quietly behind the scenes to improve this nutritional fare. But an incident occurred yesterday that just has me spitting mad….and shouting out loud.
Here’s the scoop.
My 7 year old daughter, Emily, has recently become fascinated by the Nutrition Facts label on her food. She has always been a numbers girl, so the fact that different foods contain varying amounts of calories and fats is enthralling to her. She took it upon herself to start a food journal, writing down the calories in the food she eats each day.
Just to clarify…this project was never meant as a way for her to limit her caloric intake. I don’t think that my kid needs to start counting calories, nor does she need to be on a diet. She was merely interested in learning how many calories each different food has. So you can imagine my dismay when her own school blocked her efforts to learn more about nutrition.
Just for the record, my daughter packs her lunch 95% of the time. But yesterday was one of those rare days when she wanted to buy lunch at school. She was still trying to keep her food journal, so I suggested that she nicely ask the cafeteria staff about the nutritional content of the day’s lunch.
Turns out, when she asked, the cafeteria staff told her that they had “no idea and no way of finding out” how many calories and fat grams were in that day’s meal. Are you kidding me? I know my kid, and I know that she asked politely, so even if they had to tell her to wait until after lunch, they should have been able to find that info for her.
Again, I’ve never been thrilled with the never-ending rotation of hot dogs, pizza, and corn dogs fed to these kids each day at school. But my issue here was more that they didn’t know and didn’t seem to care to find out about the nutritional content of the food they were serving these kids.
Isn’t this the same school where I send my kids to learn each day? Why was it necessary to totally squash the interest of a first grader who was taking it upon herself to learn about healthy foods? It’s obviously not something they think is important for the kids to know and I couldn’t disagree more on that point. I do think that health and nutrition should be emphasized, even in the 1st grade.
Childhood obesity is in the news each day. It’s killing our kids. Everyone seems to agree that we should do something about it. Yet, the actual quality of the food that is served to kids in school each day (and marketed to kids at home) seems to be an afterthought.
There is quite a discussion going on via my page about this incident at Emily’s school and school lunch programs in general. One of the posters contends that we can’t make school lunches healthier without “ponying up the big bucks.” But I disagree. And as I said on Facebook, I think that’s just a cop-out for folks who are too scared to try new things (like Farm to School, school gardens, etc.)
What do you think? Care to rant (or brag!) about your own school’s lunch program? Do you know of a school district that is offering healthier lunches without breaking the school’s budget? Let’s hear it!
/images/ads/120.jpg)
Despite you being very right about school lunch, back then as a child, I had no choice but to eat it because my mother was too busy to pack school lunch. However, our lunch was just as bad as the one on the image, but it is free. It sucks how your daughter has to pay for something like that! What state is this?
Though I agree an unhealthy diet leads to childhood obesity, I have eaten this lunch 8 years if my life in school, and I have no been overweight. The only time I was overweight was in high school, where we ate out in huge portions at the Deli that serves and sells delicious food everyday across the street from the school.
Other than that, I used to always eat potato chips and ice cream outside of school.
I am definitely not saying parents are feeding their children bad food, but most childhood obesity comes from the child overeating at home and anywhere else. School lunches here, you can only have one tray per person.
The time school actually serve healthier choices is when McDonald’s actually serve healthier choices! I feel awfully bad about saying this because my mother works with the school department in our state, but she agrees. But to keep processing cheap and save money, we spend less. But if we want healthier choices for all public schools, this requires a tax increase, which I am sure not many parents are happy about. If so, my mother would probably just pack lunch for us. Taxes here are crazy already and spent on selfish people and for wrong intentions
Jamie Oliver had a great plan, but it just didn’t work. Most kids just don’t care about food that much. They want anything that resembles fast food. After reading Fast Food Nation, I did everything I could to dissuade my daughter from eating school lunches, especially on meat days. The whole thing scares me to death, and leaves me feeling powerless. What can we do to make it better? I’ll do whatever it takes, I just need direction. The food issues in our country are absurd, and every time I feel like getting active about it, I meet dead ends and my will gets squashed. If I felt I could make a difference, I would in a heartbeat.
There are two things I want to say:
Firstly, perhaps your daughter (and you) can speak with her science teacher about learning anatomy & physiology (at her level) and incorporating nutrition facts. Maybe part of an assignment could be to determine how many calories, fat grams, protein grams, etc are in their meals (at home and school) and for them to calculate BMI and write a journal of their favorite foods and see how they measure up. Then the lunch ladies would have to comply if it came in the form of an assignment.
Secondly, I get rubbed the wrong way when people say” I ate such and such my whole life and I am healthy and not obese…” As if obesity is the only issue – and is if they are truly healthy. Health is not just the absence of disease – but vitality and physical, mental and social well-being. and If we were transparent beings I would hate to see the artery linings, fatty livers, black lungs, toxins stored away in body fat, etc. of most people who claim to not be damaged by smoking, eating high fat, nutrient-poor fast food, etc. They will realize that it did damage them when they have a heart attack, get cancer, emphysema, etc. But they will think it JUST happened and that the lifetime of bad choices didn’t pave the way for illness.
We never had lunch provided in grade school. We always packed our own, and I started making my own from an early age. We would make ours in the evening, after dishes were done. Then we could just grab it in the morning. Why can’t we just do that anymore? Then we’re garunteed to have a healthy lunch and the schools could use the lunch budget for other things. On the other hand, a handful of baby carrots and an apple instead of french fries wouldn’t cost “big bucks!”
Thank you Pure Mothers for responding as you did! My head was about to explode . . . I lived close enough to home for most of my school life to go home for lunch. It certainly helped me as a child to eat healthier . . . I was raised on powdered skim milk and whole wheat bread. My family has a history of both heart disease and diabetes. As I got older and had access to a car in High School my eating habits became worse and worse. To the point where I became a complete and utter sugar addict. No joking, this is a serious addiction. You can’t tell me that tipping the scales at 300 lbs. doesn’t come from addictive behaviour. I’ve known all my life that my horrific eating habits could outright kill me due to my family’s medical history, yet I still kept right on eating. I’m working on staying clean or sober, however you’d like to put it and I’m working on making sure no other child has to go through what I’ve gone through. Fixing school lunches and educating children about nutrition and healthy eating is an essential part of ensuring long healthy lives for our kids. My biggest concern . . . we are starting our kids on sugar at younger and younger ages these days. The more processed junk their little bodies have to deal with, the more likely they may become addicts too. That’s when it becomes extremely difficult to change their eating habits.
While not everyone has the potential to become addicted to something . . . everyone does have the potential to be harmed in some way or another by the sugar, salt and chemical additives found in our “so called” food these days. Even if you give your child just one processed food at each meal they are getting a dose of sugar, salt and chemicals. At every single snack and meal this adds up to serious health issues. The late afternoon crash, where you just want a nap, children unable to focus on their classes, behavioural issues in the class, any weight issues, to tired to go out and play . . . much if not all of this can be attributed to the poor quality of processed food they eat. Imagine that poor little brain trying to deal with all that garbage in their system and trying to learn something at the same time.
It does affect them and what we put into their little bodies does matter. It builds over time and will someday cause them serious health issues in the future. Real food is key . . . treats should be just that . . . a treat, once in a while. Not sugar in every single meal and snack they eat. A treat can also be local, in season fruit like the strawberries arriving at local farmers markets right now! We need to stop denying what we know to be true and make the tough decisions and changes right now for their healthy future.
The food provided to children at school lacks any real nutrition, yet is loaded with bad fats and ingredients created through unsustainable practices! Check out PlanetBox – it’s an environmentally conscious product that makes it easy to pack healthy lunches for kids. Made out of high quality stainless steel, its the safe non-toxic alternative to plastic. Part bento box, part TV dinner tray, PlanetBox is a custom-designed, all in one solution for packing well-balanced lunches kids love. Kids can personalize their PlanetBox with their choice of super hip magnet sets. Check out http://www.PlanetBox.com for more information.
Schools in the northeast are also starting to use styrofoam trays to lower the expense of washing re-usable trays. This is such a huge turn in the wrong direction if this continues to happen. First of all, styrofoam should be banned, especially in a school setting. Schools should at least be using compostable trays – which they could even compost on site themselves. These do tend to be more expensive, they don’t leak toxic chemical into the environment and even into children’s food.
Luckily, groups of parents have gathered in different cities with the initiative to ban styrofoam use in schools. Let’s hope their efforts pay off!
I agree with what’s being said here. I have two children: boy age 14, girl age 10. Here at home I make sure that we eat healthy well balanced meals. But during the school year all of that is undermined by what the school feeds them. The problem is not only the types of food they are given, but the amounts they are allowed to have. We tell them not to overeat and to drink juice, but the school they attend lets them go back for seconds, and I’ve found out that they can sometimes get away with thirds! They have 2 or sometimes 3 chocolate milks with breakfast AND lunch. They are continually gaining weight at school. And the teacher gives the 10 year old pieces of candy as a reward for good behavior or answering questions correctly. Michelle Obama has started her anti-obesity initiative, but I think it’s aimed mostly at parents and the way they eat at home. I think she needs to push it into the schools as well.
Perhaps the lunch ladies at your daughter’s school couldn’t tell her about the calorie counts in that day’s meal because they didn’t know. In my state, a registered dietitian makes each school’s lunch menu so that they follow the federal nutritional guidelines within the school’s food budget. The lunch ladies have no say about what they prepare or what items the kids are actually eating or not. They are given a predetermined menu so I doubt that they’d have the nutritional values on hand since they personally didn’t create it.
New leaked photos! justin bieber and selena gomez kissing in bed! Look hare , http://www.cledit.com
I hope that your post will be a warning to all who read it …
Hello!Effective Sexual Health Product For Woman Or Man ,
do you think that what you’re saying the truth has been confirmed by the facts?
http://mybronchitissymptoms.com/okay-to-exercise-with-oxygen-and-emphysema-how-low-oxygen-level-drop-to-safe-rest-comes-back-to-95-in-2-minut/ Thanks for that awesome posting. It saved MUCH time
Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using? I’m looking to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!
Stellar idea for reality show: Garey Busey, Ozzy Osbourne, Sarah Palin, FlavorFlav and Lady Gaga all on an island.We’ll call it Pandemonium.
I’ll hyperlink to this specific blog post at several places to aid get the word out all about this excellent info.
Wow,Fantastic article,ts so helpful to me,and your blog is very good,I’ve learned a lot from ok yyour blog here,Keep on going,I will keep an eye on it,One more thing,thanks for your post!
Hello, i learn your blog straightaway after time and that i own a nonetheless household and i occupied to be satisfactory wondering if you to the casual observer to run a umpire of spam feedback? In that concern how do you wine bar it, any plugin or something you may advocate? I’m getting a interest recently it’s driving me random so any instant is bar much appreciated. Anyway, in my lingo, there immobile not be a realistic correct process like this.
Hello, i learn your blog interval and that i own a totally covenanted and i set to be detached wondering if you come close to to become infected with a set of spam feedback? In that in the event that how do you shut up it, any plugin or something you may advocate? I’m getting a lottery recently it’s driving me random so any jug is solely much appreciated. Anyway, in my sanctimony, there interest not be a moment adequate outfit like this.
There are tons of websites that simply make no sense information,but yours are different , I am so happy to read your post.2
Thanks so much for providing individuals with an extremely remarkable chance to read critical reviews from this web site. It’s always so beneficial plus stuffed with a lot of fun for me and my office fellow workers to search the blog nearly three times in 7 days to find out the fresh tips you have got. Of course, we’re certainly happy considering the exceptional techniques you serve. Certain 2 tips in this posting are surely the best we have ever had.
The mountains ringed the country on one side, the jungle on the other; and few and far came the people to try to teach Cinnamon to speak. But come they did: and they stayed in the room in the palace, and cultivated the field of mango trees, and fed the parrot, and admired the portrait of the Rani’s aunt (who was quite a celebrated beauty in her day, although she was now old and crabbed and pinched with age and disappointment), and, eventually, they went away, frustrated, and cursing the silent little girl.
I from customer acceptance wanted up clandestinely to your blog numerous times. The added articles are incredibly captivating and interesting. I unswerving to signup in compensation your rss florence nightingale, so I can hearten in the sympathize with of your remodelled editorials.
Hello, i learn your blog on and over and that i own a have a liking discrete and i euphemistic pre-owned to be light-complexioned wondering if you conceivability to envelop a collection of spam feedback? In that faulty how do you fend off it, any plugin or something you may advocate? I’m getting a connivance recently it’s driving me perspective so any with is surely much appreciated. Anyway, in my wounding, there intention not be a purposefulness tow-haired wrong like this.
Best post comments are written by brilliant people, like the same article. greetings author
Hello, brilliant site. I’m very delighted. Cool job. The texts are superb. I also run a blog, stop sometimes to me. I hope you like it too.
Wow!, this is a real quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too, taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and never seem to get something done
I don’t necessarily agree however I can understand where you are coming from with that. At least it was well thought out.
SCHOOL LUNCH STINKS!!! LITERALLY I CANNOT STAND THE STINKY SMELLS!
as I website possessor I conceive the articles here is really excellent , appreciate it for your efforts.
Out of curiosity, where did you end up finding your source for the post? Was it the top of your head? Either way you obviously know your stuff
I agree that school lunches STINK. Not just figuratively either. I would eat lunch away from the cafeteria to avoid the stinky smells. I would have been upset to. It shows that they don’t really care about people being concerned with the nutritional benefit.