This is depressing: "High School Lunch Photo Causes Concern Among Parents"

[SheHateMe]

Seriously? Recess and PE are gone? Give me a link or something, I find that really hard to believe.

My little sister is 7 and they still have Recess and PE.

They aren't even allowed to have flavored drinks for lunch. No Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, or Banana milk. You get White/Soy/or Almond Milk, Water, or No sugar added Apple Juice.

The school has sent several notices home saying that the kids will not be allowed to have junk food at lunch or at snack time. Any junk food sent to school with them will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

They go outside twice a day, once after lunch time and again at the end of the school day while the kids are being picked up from school.

They even have the kids doing Yoga in Gym class from time to time.


She goes to a (very small) private Elementary K-2nd Grade school in Michigan though. They can opt to add a charge in the tuition to give the kids 3 meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner that have been balanced by a nutritionist and takes food sensitivities into account on an individual basis. If you opt out, the food you send will still be checked for garbage. Any food taken away is substituted.

 

[emperus]

What healthy options? I see a styrofoam tray with nothing but processed garbage on it.

And who exactly was complaining about "healthy options" anyway?

Pretty poor reporting all the way around anyway, as I can't really tell what the actual complaint is- I'd assume the opposite of thinking the garbage shown is anything particularly healthy though.

Someone did invent (intentionally?) a great new term though: "Vomplaining."

I would assume 'vomplaining' involves vomiting your dissatisfaction with the lunch menu.

This is why I get depressed. Between people refusing to be informed (by actually reading the article) to people who are informed complaining about the new dietary restrictions on school lunches (that the schools have vegetables for kids to eat).

We live in a country of one manufactured outrage after another. When if people sat back and really asked themselves, "what issue do I really have that my school district is trying feed my children more healthier options", I'm sure they would realize how silly the question even is.

 

[ivwshane]

My little sister is 7 and they still have Recess and PE.

They aren't even allowed to have flavored drinks for lunch. No Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate, or Banana milk. You get White/Soy/or Almond Milk, Water, or No sugar added Apple Juice.

The school has sent several notices home saying that the kids will not be allowed to have junk food at lunch or at snack time. Any junk food sent to school with them will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

They go outside twice a day, once after lunch time and again at the end of the school day while the kids are being picked up from school.

They even have the kids doing Yoga in Gym class from time to time.


She goes to a (very small) private Elementary K-2nd Grade school in Michigan though. They can opt to add a charge in the tuition to give the kids 3 meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner that have been balanced by a nutritionist and takes food sensitivities into account on an individual basis. If you opt out, the food you send will still be checked for garbage. Any food taken away is substituted.

Well, she goes to a private school so I guess your parents have to follow the rules. For a public school, I'd be pissed if they prevented me from packing whatever I wanted for my kids lunch. They provide lunch, they can serve what they want, I provide lunch, I can serve what I want.

 

[Ns1]

The school has sent several notices home saying that the kids will not be allowed to have junk food at lunch or at snack time. Any junk food sent to school with them will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

WTF

caps

 

[DrPizza]

I'm probably a picky eater. I used to stop by our school's cafeteria in the morning to get a breakfast sandwich. They used to make nice sandwiches - an English muffin, with egg, sausage, and cheese.

Now, Wheat English muffins??? A piece of sausage that's roughly 50 cent piece sized, and rather thin, a little patty of cooked egg that also doesn't reach the edges of the muffin, and a bit of cheese. No thanks.

 

[Hugo Drax]

If we can afford to send billions to Pakistan, we can sure afford to feed every American student who attends public school a proper lunch.

 

[waggy]

Seriously? Recess and PE are gone? Give me a link or something, I find that really hard to believe.

yeah a lot of schools are cutting out recess. to many subjects to be taught and not wanting to extend the day. quick search brings up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/syracuse-elementary-schoo_n_1871560.html

granted this one leaves it up to the teacher

Teachers will have the option of offering recess if they so choose, but at the expense of English language arts and math instructional time.

but that was a fast search most came up with canceling it during cold weather. but it's really not new.

as for lunch they keep reducing the time for lunch. when i was in 6th grade i had time to eat and a 20 minute recess. My daughters school has 20 minutes total. she complains that at times she barely has time to get the food and eat in the 20 minutes. all the schools around here have 15-25 minute lunch's for k-8th

 

[emperus]

I'm probably a picky eater. I used to stop by our school's cafeteria in the morning to get a breakfast sandwich. They used to make nice sandwiches - an English muffin, with egg, sausage, and cheese.

Now, Wheat English muffins??? A piece of sausage that's roughly 50 cent piece sized, and rather thin, a little patty of cooked egg that also doesn't reach the edges of the muffin, and a bit of cheese. No thanks.

Guess you aren't as picky an eater as you think..

 

[Exterous]

On the subject of school lunches, I would love to see all public schools ban serving any processed sugar foods. You want candy, sugary soda and pixie sticks for lunch? Let your parents pack that for you.

FWIW the school my wife used to work at did that and included vending machines and the school store. What they saw was a plummeting of revenue from the lunch program, vending machines and school store. The students also started a thriving gray market, selling candy bars and soda out of lockers and backpacks. Actually had a couple of fights break out over selling 'territory'.

Faced with low revenues that wouldn't support keeping the school store open and a larger than usual lunch budget shortfall they reversed the ban 2 years later much to the chagrin of a couple of entrepreneurs. It's a shame too because they had some items that were quite good like pita bread and hummus but they had to throw so much out they stopped making it

So did anyone actually look at the menu?

Why would I want to do that? I want to be mad now!

 

[Mai72]

Wait what? A mom, who apparently doesn't supply her own lunch for her kid is complaining about a lunch provided by the school? Shut the fuck up!

Yep. Guess who is feeding her children? The taxpayers. I'm all for helping people, but when the taxpayers pay the bill the people getting g the lunches should be grateful.

The lunch looks awful.

 

[michal1980]

worst thing about that lunch is the Styrofoam try.

 

[Newell Steamer]

FWIW the school my wife used to work at did that and included vending machines and the school store. What they saw was a plummeting of revenue from the lunch program, vending machines and school store. The students also started a thriving gray market, selling candy bars and soda out of lockers and backpacks. Actually had a couple of fights break out over selling 'territory'.

Faced with low revenues that wouldn't support keeping the school store open and a larger than usual lunch budget shortfall they reversed the ban 2 years later much to the chagrin of a couple of entrepreneurs. It's a shame too because they had some items that were quite good like pita bread and hummus but they had to throw so much out they stopped making it

Sorry - was this a private or public school??

Just how many sugary snacks do you think schools serve?

In my high school, which was private (and they can do whatever they damn well please), we had:
- vending machines (no bottled water, it was all sugary soft drinks and Snapples)
- fountain drinks (no seltzer, no flavored club soda,.. all sugary soft drinks)
- 2 'quick stations', which had packaged cakes, danishes, sweets, candies,.. and a small selection of sandwiches,.. as well as canned sodas
- the main cafeteria lines did have fruits, vegetables, etc,.. but, they also had canned sodas, packaged cakes, danishes, sweets, candies, etc.

My experience, from a private school perspective, was pretty bad in what food is available - and, again it was private, so, I understood where the over saturation of bad food comes from; they want to make $$$.

From a public school perspective, the money is there - our money. There is no justification to buy crap and feed it to the students. If it is bad, don't give it to the students. The whole point of providing students meals, is to provide nourishment. I see no nourishment in sugary garbage. Fruits, carbs - sure. But, not processed sugar. If it was up to me, public schools would not allow any processed sugar on their menus. And, if the students want it,.. let mom & dad provide it.

 

[Tombstone1881]

I remember our lunches pretty much always had a vegetable with them.

Thanks to Ronald Reagan, ketchup has been declared a vegetable.
I'm sure that burger has ketchup on it, satisfying the vegetable requirement. :biggrin:

 

[ch33zw1z]

/this

many schools have cancelled recess's and kids get 15-20 minute lunch.

I think keeping recess and PE have two benifits. 1 it helps kids keep the weight off. 2nd is boys just have a ton of energy. it helps them focus on schoolwork if they get to burn some off.

I have brought this up in more than one meeting for my son, who's "disruptive". I'm not denying he's difficult to handle at times, but they've limited actual playtime and replaced it with worksheets and subjects that were not presented to me until a couple years later.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yep. Guess who is feeding her children? The taxpayers. I'm all for helping people, but when the taxpayers pay the bill the people getting g the lunches should be grateful.

The lunch looks awful.

Lunch for kids in my town are $2.50 a day, and it's still junk. Not everyone qualifies for free lunch, and just because you do doesn't mean you immediately lose your say in what that lunch is.

 

[Mai72]

Has anyone seen the special on school lunches in France? The schools there employ a real chef who cooks real meals. They take lunch seriously.

 

[Exterous]

Sorry - was this a private or public school??

Public

From a public school perspective, the money is there - our money. There is no justification to buy crap and feed it to the students. If it is bad, don't give it to the students. The whole point of providing students meals, is to provide nourishment. I see no nourishment in sugary garbage. Fruits, carbs - sure. But, not processed sugar. If it was up to me, public schools would not allow any processed sugar on their menus. And, if the students want it,.. let mom & dad provide it.

Schools in Michigan are required to make X number of meals per day (varies based on student population size). Even if consistently no student chooses to buy lunch the school still has to make X number of lunches and all the left overs are thrown out. If you are providing food that students aren't buying then you are losing a lot of money, money that a lot of schools don't have. This was the problem her school ran into and one of the reaosns why they reversed their decision

 

[dainthomas]

So did anyone actually look at the menu?

So the troll who posted the picture conventiently skipped the fruit and vegetables (among other things). I, for one, am stunned that an outrageous story on the internet was completely fabricated.

 

[Newell Steamer]

Public

Gah!

Schools in Michigan are required to make X number of meals per day (varies based on student population size). Even if consistently no student chooses to buy lunch the school still has to make X number of lunches and all the left overs are thrown out. If you are providing food that students aren't buying then you are losing a lot of money, money that a lot of schools don't have. This was the problem her school ran into and one of the reaosns why they reversed their decision

So, yeah, the gauge they are using to determine what to actually make, results in waste. And, then it leads to having to sell crap, to make up the difference and loss in budgeting.

Further more, to your earlier point, the students then create their own market - selling crap from their lockers, to one another.

Would it make better sense to base the amount of meals to create for students, off of parents asking for them? Instead of just making all this food?

 

[Exterous]

Would it make better sense to base the amount of meals to create for students, off of parents asking for them? Instead of just making all this food?

Probably buts its a tough for a school to depend on parent interaction\action. (I mean they have attendance problems and thats a requirement by law) I could see it backfire on them when a bunch of kids show up unexpectedly for lunch and they run out. Then we'd have all sorts of sensationalist articles about schools forcing kids to go hungry

 

[dainthomas]

Well, she goes to a private school so I guess your parents have to follow the rules. For a public school, I'd be pissed if they prevented me from packing whatever I wanted for my kids lunch. They provide lunch, they can serve what they want, I provide lunch, I can serve what I want.

That sounds great, but then you get the people who pack only a can of Dr Pepper and Twinkies for their second grader.

 

[BoberFett]

If we can afford to send billions to Pakistan, we can sure afford to feed every American student who attends public school a proper lunch.

Not that I support us sending money all over the world, but why is it my responsibility to feed someone else's children?

 

[DrPizza]

Guess you aren't as picky an eater as you think..

I probably should have pointed out that now, I won't touch those things. They're nasty.

 

[OutHouse]

Have you seen how fat kids are today?

No, the kids at my kids high school are not fat.

 

[OutHouse]

What healthy options? I see a styrofoam tray with nothing but processed garbage on it.

And who exactly was complaining about "healthy options" anyway?

Pretty poor reporting all the way around anyway, as I can't really tell what the actual complaint is- I'd assume the opposite of thinking the garbage shown is anything particularly healthy though.

Someone did invent (intentionally?) a great new term though: "Vomplaining."

I would assume 'vomplaining' involves vomiting your dissatisfaction with the lunch menu.

Jail inmates eat betier than that.