School Lunches?

[PrincessFiona]

How are your schools handling the new federal mandates? I'm totally cynical about this because I'm starting to feel like the govt. is swooping in and starting to control large parts of our lives.

Here, they are restricting calories in school lunches to 800 or something. If your child gets hot lunch and for example gets an extra slice of pizza ... you will pay for that extra slice and then it will be dumped in the garbage. No kidding. It doesn't matter if you didn't have breakfast and are making up the calories or you are a football player, are doing strengthening and conditioning and running cross country after school and need the calories...you may not have them.

Consequence? Kids are:
1: Driving off campus to McDonalds and eating on the way back ... therefore having a total shit lunch!
2: Bringing a bagged lunch AND eating the school meal.

Some people agree with this. They say that if you aren't happy you should just bag it.
I wonder if those people would feel that way if they mandated you pay for a minimum of 1200 calories because people like my son are significantly underweight and need many more calories?

Why can't the government just get our of our personal lives? I'm sorry that obesity is on the rise. Maybe schools should have recess time again?????

Kris

[diggitydot]

I truly have no clue what is going on with the kids' school lunches. I don't even think the two youngest have ever eaten a school lunches and DD1 hasn't since probably 2nd grade. Not because I'm necessarily for or against them, but because the kids prefer to pack and take their own.

[scrub-jay]

Some people agree with this. They say that if you aren't happy you should just bag it.
I wonder if those people would feel that way if they mandated you pay for a minimum of 1200 calories because people like my son are significantly underweight and need many more calories?

Why can't the government just get our of our personal lives? I'm sorry that obesity is on the rise. Maybe schools should have recess time again?????Kris

Childhood obesity is a huge issue in our country and it is growing dramatically. But you are correct, not every child fits the "guidelines" as they are written, is there a way to opt-out with a medical note or something? I guarantee that the guidelines will not fit a child with multiple severe allergies. From a public health perspective, I think offering healthier options to students is a good idea, but I didn't know about the restrictions, I am off to read about the new mandates in detail. IMO - One of the best lessons for food consumption is teaching children to eat until they are content (vs. overstuffed), not until they reach a magical caloric number based on population averages that no individual truly fits.

ETA: And what about the schools that won't allow kids to "bag lunch" it?

[SoonerTexan]

Or maybe offering something other than hamburgers/pizza???

[HouseofWool]

I had no idea about the calorie limits. Do you have any links to the background on this because I would really like to look into it further. I know our local school district is partnering with local farmers to have more regional produce in the lunches, but I cringe at the thought of a magic number for kids' intake.

[moonlight]

I'm not sure what a athletic preteen or teen needs for lunch, but I'm going to say 800 calories is A LOT of food for lunch. On the other hand I don't like how school children are mandated and basically treated with the same regulations as prisoners. What the man says goes. The kids (and parents) don't get much of a say unless someone raises all kinds of hell and becomes "that mom" in the neighborhood. Can't wait for my turn.

[SoonerTexan]

ETA: And what about the schools that won't allow kids to "bag lunch" it?

Dude, they exist??

I'm not sure what a athletic preteen or teen needs for lunch, but I'm going to say 800 calories is A LOT of food for lunch.

My 18 year old brother was downing ridiculous amounts of calories before he left (intense athletic training for ROTC) and just called my mom and told her his meal plan at OU (with AN ALL YOU CAN EAT CAFE) may not be enough. He's very fit. My guess would be he is taking in at least 3000 calories a day right now, maybe even 4K

[weeniegeniewife]

I had no idea about the calorie limits. Do you have any links to the background on this because I would really like to look into it further. I know our local school district is partnering with local farmers to have more regional produce in the lunches, but I cringe at the thought of a magic number for kids' intake.

This. I hadn't heard about the new mandates either, and our school is also partnering with local farmers.

My DD is tall and skinny and eats a LOT because she has a huge appetite and is growing. She also has a healthy body image, which I hope will continue!

I hope these new mandates don't encourage disordered eating.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Yikes! I think it's all sorts of wrong. Let's not teach/encourage/offer healthy food, but let's only allow them to have 800 calories of pizza...too stupid. "Teach a man to fish..."

Good grief...

[scrub-jay]

Dude, they exist??

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_847581.html

This is just one of the main examples and the ban has been in place for YEARS! As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir in the food-allergy community, which is where I first heard of this trend.

[corn poffi]

If it's actually examining nutritional value, and not just calories, I don't have a problem with it. However, there's a big difference between 800 calories of healthy food, and 800 calories of garbage, which is what most schools serve anyway.

[Phoebe]

I only have kids in elementary school so I can't speak to the choices of upper level grades. Our school's lunch policy has changed this year. They have adopted a five food group plate. You have to choose 3 of the 5 offerings of meat, carb, dairy, fruit and veggie. You have to take a fruit and a veggie whereas students used to be able to choose two fruits. Fruit juice is considered a fruit so if you take a fruit and a juice that counts as ala carte and you have to pay extra for it. The only choices to drink are milk or water.

I don't think it is too bad, but my daughter hates vegetables and will just throw the food away. I think it is wasteful to have to take something when you know you won't eat it. They have upgraded the nutritional value of most of the meals, but they still aren't great.

[mommax3]

I don't think our district has any caloric limit on lunches. My boys eat a lot, but they are grazers and don't tend to eat a lot at any one time, so maybe it is going on and I just don't know. I would think I would have heard something about it, though, if there had been a policy change.

[niener]

If it's actually examining nutritional value, and not just calories, I don't have a problem with it. However, there's a big difference between 800 calories of healthy food, and 800 calories of garbage, which is what most schools serve anyway.

This, exactly.

[PrincessFiona]

It's actually 600 calories not 800.

The real question is how free do we want to be as a country? Should we have the freedom to buy nutritionless shite if we want? Or overeat and be fat?


Will we start heavily regulating all activities that could present a health issue or just the ones that make us fat? Obesity does seem to be one of the last things that it is acceptable to be predjudiced over. :/