Today’s menu: cheeseburger, corn, peach fruit cup, popcorn chips, milk
I’m feeling so yellow after this meal. Can you get over how everything is the same color? And then there’s two corn-based sides…
I love popcorn. It started because of my Grandma, who was a popcorn fanatic and ate it whenever she watched a movie. I’m not referring to movie theater popcorn, but popped on the stove, drizzled with real melted butter, and consumed while enjoying an old movie in her den. Good food is all about memories and family, no?
I’m trying to figure out why the popcorn had to be made into crisps?! Popcorn is good without being further processed! The last picture is a look inside the package at this strange food. It didn’t taste like popcorn to me.
My seven year old gained 25 pounds on cafateria food. I didnt think I could afford to send my children with daily meals but I didnt think that their health could take anymore. I had a seven year old who weighed 90 pounds and a eleven year old who weighed 150. Since they have taken away all recesses the children couldnt burn off all of those fatty carbohydrate foods that they were eating. Nothing but gluten. At home I would feed them a healthy veggie rich meal with lean white meats and low fats and they would play so I couldnt account for why they were so big. $1.05 is what it cost me for each childs lunch and I can send them with healthy low fat meats, veggies and a fruit. We reduced the carbohydrate, decreased the fats and got them to a healthy weight. Junk in Junk out is what I preach and this is what your eating. Thank you for taking the time to put your body through this to show that we shouldnt feed this to those poor babies and expect them to do well.
I'm really saddened by your blog. It has been almost 15 years since I had to rely on school lunch. But I do have to say either things have changed drastically, or I was in a school that actually cared about nutrition.
For every meal we had three options: a salad, burger basket with baked fries and shake, or the "lunch lady special." The lunch lady special really wasn't that bad, it was always a balanced meal, but we weren't able to take it out of the lunch room like the other two choices because it was put directly on a pre-formed plastic tray. I often took the salad, and I was in the best shape of my life back then. Once in a while I would mix in the burger basket when it was chicken sandwich Wednesday for a little variety.
Honestly, we complained about our food back then, but compared to what you're showing me, we had it good!
Let the White House serve school food daily and watch how fast changes would be made.
Hello.
Please explain why those pictures were taken on the 11th. Between 11:30 and 11:40 AM. That sounds about right for lunch, but the 11th (last Thursday) certainly does not seem to fit with todays date.
Since they were taken with your Droid Eris I doubt your time was incorrectly set like someone could do with a regular camera.
Please explain this.
I'm sorry to say, but this food looks appealing compared to the food they serve in Houston Independent School District (HISD), trust me, I'm a student. In HISD the kids get burnt food, optional old fruit, and meager meals that most would rather throw away because of the poor quality. The new superintendent does not help either, stating that the "fresh" fruit is not a necessity and might be cut in the new budget. With the horrible food, many opt to eat the food brought in from an outside restaurant, or to not eat at all. I agree full heartedly that America needs a better food option.
Thank you for doing this. I've worked in the public school system for 20 years and have refused to eat school food due to the lack of healthy choices and carb filled food. Thank you for bringing awareness to this serious issue.
I think you are doing a wonderful. I have 5 children and have seen the school lunches for a long time and have long been dissapointed at seeing what they eat and how long they have to eat it. Yesterday I had lunch at school with my son in 5th grade. They get the last lunch of the day and the lunch workers were trying to cook more food while the kids (and myself) waited in the line. The meal that day was tacos or possible taco salad. It was impossible to tell because what the kids, my son (and I) got was a serving of cooked meat a smattering of cheese and lettuce and a little salsa. There were no tomatoes and no shell of any kind, chips or shell. I was appalled. The lunch lady didn't charge me (The cost being more for an adult even though you get the same exact meal and serving size as the children) because she said it wasn't worth charging for!! By the time the kids got their food they had 15 minutes to inhale it. No wonder they don't eat it all. Also included in the lunch was applesauce which most of the children did not even take. I understand that they make the lunch period short so that the children do not have time to get out of hand but the children are never given an opportunity to talk and relax a little during their day. They have to rush to eat so most of them start with the dessert and end up eating even less that is nutritional. Anyone who has children eating school lunches should join their children for lunch a time or two to see what goes on. The more that see. The more that can speak up.
I don't think I'd eat this lunch. I'm not sure how this is suppose to nurture the growing minds of America.
Hello! I just discovered your blog and I LOVE what you are trying to do!! I am a dietetic intern and I have just wrapped up my school foodservice rotation! I absolutely LOVED it- but there are SO many changes that need to take place!! I tried to implement a new recipe into the school system, and I was appalled at the negative attitude of EMPLOYEES + TEACHERS!! Please check out this post to get the full story–> http://redheadrecipes.com/?p=3336
I have a blog devoted to "recipes and Ideas for a balanced lifestyle". I am really hoping to find job as a foodservice director in a school once I finish my internship and earn my Registered Dietitian credentials!I, like you, want to make a difference and I think that our children deserve quality, nutritious meals! After all, they are our future!
http://redheadrecipes.com/
Just came across this blog from a "news" website. FYI, I work in a cafeteria and not all schools offer the kind of lunches you are showing. We don't. We try very hard to make home type food for our kids and have it be good tasting and as healthy as we can. It's a tough job we have, maybe you comment on that, I don't know. We have a lot of requirements put on us by the government with NO ADDITIONAL money to provide what they ask for, AND they cut our help because we run in the red, because we have no budget. Off the soap box now, but this type of stuff just reinforces awful stereotypes and makes our jobs harder.
I think it's really admirable, what you're doing. I'm a senior in high school this year, so I know that any difference you make won't affect me personally, but people really do need to see the junk they serve us. At my school, we at least have the option to buy a salad instead, but it's always iceberg lettuce that looks like it may wilt on its way down your esophagus. So there's still next to no nutritional value in it.
I just skip lunch if they're not serving anything I think I can stomach. I'm fortunate enough to be able to whip up a snack when I get home. The extra three-hour wait is definitely worth it if I can eat a hot pocket instead of the school's idea of what spaghetti should look like.
That looks way better than my school lunch…
so much better. The only fruit we get is an apple everyday. And the only veggie is a bag of carrots.
As a parent and health care professional, I cannot thank you enough. Keep up the great work!
This is the first time I've read your blog. WOW is my thoughts. I will say that my boys are lucky. I eat lunch with them at school about once a month. They have little time to eat but the food is not at all like what I see in your pictures. The have a true tray, real utensils and very very little pre-packaged food. We don't live in an afluent town but it is small. If our school served the crap I've seen in your blogs I'm sure the parents around here would be outraged. Parents everywhere should be concerned!!!
I go to school in Texas, that picture looks better than the food we are given! I have had food poisoning twice due to school lunches because of that I now make my own lunches to take to school. I am so glad someone realized what they fed us should not be considered food!
Whoa and i thought my school lunch was bad.
My theory is the lunch food schools in general serve us is really jail food hahaha
i'd like to visit a jail just to see how good their food is, compared to ours. 🙂
I just learned of your blog today and I'm so happy to have found it. I have a 4-year-old in pre-school who was given a Twinkie before 11 a.m. in the morning. I'm so pissed!
That meal looks so crappy, I would never feed it to my kids. I have a blog that I started after my kids were in daycare when they were younger and I was working. I had the option to give them the hot lunch and I refused. It's called ourlunchbox.blogspot.com.
Wish people realized that one of the biggest investments that we can make is in the foods we feed our children and the next generation. Most of the time it's willful ignorance, which is very sad.
Research presented this past weekend at a meeting of the Annual College of Cardiology determined that kids who eat lunches served by their schools are almost 60 percent more likely to be overweight or obese when compared to children who bring their lunch from home.
Read more: http://www.good.is/post/is-school-lunch-contributing-to-childhood-obesity/r#ixzz0iUM2JkNf
my school sometimes has decent food but not all the time is it the best. it all comes from packaged material and they take it out and put it in bowls and serve it to use. at my old school the lunch ladies actually cooked for us unlike my school now they dont. im lucky cuz my mom makes me food every morning. its always rice with some kind of bean and fish or chicken or beef. i consider myself lucky no having to eat that school lunch food
I don't think i've ever seen so much "prepackaged" food before. Wow. It looks gross. I used to like the cafeteria food at my high school, and there were a lot of healthy options. Sadly though, i feel that this is a rarity in America. Good luck with your mission!! 🙂
@anonymous–
please read Mrs. Q's prior blog posts, where she mentions that she didn't post every day for a couple of weeks, in order to be able to have something to post during her spring break, or on days when she wasn't eating the lunch.
I too like many others found this on yahoos home page. Now that you have so many comments I can say with certainty that I feel confident in saying you probably won't see this, but making it to yahoo is your safety net. I notices in their report of your blog and having read more of your posts here that you are considerably and rightfully so worried about your job. By being shown on yahoo you have insurance now. If they fire you you can right it here. They don't want that kind of action. Especially since statistically speaking there has to be at least one lawyer who reads your blog and would probably be only too happy to represent you thinking of the publicity they could get by doing so. Then your blog would turn into your battles in court. You're safe. Now to the food. I totally agree with you. You're one brave soul eating that crap and in turn that means all those other students who do it everyday are brave too. God bless!
Dear Mrs. Q, I am a student in Oregon and I pack myself lunches everyday, not because the cafeteria food is exactly DISGUSTING but it's the SAME THING EVERYDAY. You can get a) pizza b)sandwich c) yogurt. every now and then we get fried chicken or teriyaki or something. It seems like your school has different stuff every day. Why is that do you think?
omg. did you eat that? ugh. I'm so sorry! I'm lucky to say that our elementary school has a fantastic school lunch program. Lots from our own school garden and local farmers. Salad bar every day. Nothing deep-fried. My kids love the school lunch
Hello, Mrs. Q.
I studied in the Philippines and now residing in USA. The lunch school system in Philippines has 1-2 recesses (15 minutes) and lunch break (1 hour). Before lunch break, the teacher will say grace before sending the students to cafeteria. And, a prayer of thanks will be prayed after that. The school's meal are not free, so student's were given money to buy food in cafeteria. The schools are required to serve home cooked meals such as rice, soup, vegies, etc. Though, I admit that the school cafeteria also serves junkfood and softdrinks. But, kids/students will only buy those after they eat their healthy meal since teachers are around to monitor them. Otherwise, parents will prepare meal for their child's lunches and will not be provided with money. Most of the parents are doing these, to make sure their kids eat healthy.
Having 2 recesses and lunch breaks will help kids enjoy the food they eat, as well as, finish the food. It's a big practice in our country to finish the food since we were thought that there are people dying hungry. Also, interpersonal skills were improved since they can chat and make friends with a 1 hour lunch.
After reading your blog, I am now worried with what my daughter will be eating when she goes to school here in USA. I can prepare meals for her, but I doubt that she can finish the food in 15 minutes, hence, she won't be enjoying the food she eat.
Proper digestion of food includes proper chewing, hence, eliminating obesity. I'm sure you have experienced eating food fast and feels unsatisfied and moody afterwards. But, I'm sure whenever you eat home cooked meals and take time to chew it, not to mention enjoying every bite, you are happy and fully satisfied after. Which now leads me to share with you my health after my annual physical check-up. I am now 31 years old and arrived in USA last February 2009, while still in the Philippines I had a 100/80 blood pressure and no problem with cholesterol, weight, etc. Last December 2009, my husband and I had an annual physical check-up, it resulted with high cholesterols and blood pressures increased to 120/100 (I know it's still normal, but never had that result before). Having said this, you can barely see obese adults and children in Philippines since fresh vegetables, fish, meat, fruits and seafood are everywhere.
Mrs. Q, I agree with you that without proper nutrition tends to slow the performance of students in school, weakens their brains and metabollism. Nutrition is health.
Ugh. That would have been one meal that I would have gone without a fruit or veggie if I was still in school; I hate peaches. I also always hated the dressing they put on the salads. In high school it was get a hamburger or hotdog or wait in line the whole time for a sandwitch. The hamburgers made me sick the next day and the hotdogs were green so I started making my own lunches. Just for reference, my freshman year was ten years ago.
Also, that does not look like a burger.
This stuff looks like something that would be served in a penitentiary. It actually makes me wonder what sort of food they serve in prisons. I don't care really what foods they serve in prison but it just makes me wonder if prisoners get better quality food than our kids or if we are feeding are kids the same stuff that we feed to convicted felons.
You are doing a great job with this blog. It is fair and representative of many school lunches in this country. We must do something about the food we feed our children and their physical activity level. If your job would ever be compromised because of your observations on school lunch, I would be willing to bet that there would be a large support group behind you. I can only see good things coming from your blogging. Keep it up!
the elementary buildings in my district don't have kitchens, they have "food prep" areas with styrofoam pre-packaged lunches. The middle schools are slightly better (there's a stove and an oven) but they serve the same meals on the same days of the week (Wednesday is always pizza day, Friday is always burger day, etc.) food choice only happens in high school, and even then the choices are school lunch, pizza, or cold cut sandwich and chips
With so many comments i am doubtful you will get a chance to read them all-but i have to say that this blog practically made me cry. Its so unfair that kids are fed such garbage. My own kids 'like' the school lunch most of time-but ive seen it, and-NO. I saw the lunch one day while visiting my kids, and its almost sadder that they just accept it as normal that its gross. My daughter got a tuna sandwich and it was filled with onions (what elementary kid likes raw onions?) and it wasnt even tasty-i tried it. She just shrugged (and this is a girl who loves to eat) and made do with her orange. An Orange for lunch! thats it! sad. No more-packing their lunch from now on. Im glad your posts are making an impact here. at least on the readers!
Hi there,
I found out you through the link on Yahoo and just read all your entries in one sitting.
I'm not a mom, but I grew up eating school lunches in public schools in New York, and some of the stuff you've described, I remember it well. 🙂 The cheese sandwiches, in particular, are reminiscent.
I grew up in a middle class home, in the 80s. My parents are immigrants, who provided well for my siblings and I, but they were clueless about nutrition and the facts about processed foods. They assumed school lunches must be good for kids… otherwise, why would they offer it? (Despite my repeated protests, my parents still stock their fridge with soda, instead of juice and water, so when I visit, I have to bring my own non-sugary beverage.)
As an adult, having self-educated myself on the values of a good nutrition, my food choices have changed tremendously. I've cut processed foods to almost none, I eat organic when I can, I eat locally grown foods, and my diet is very balanced of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and meats. Your blog is interesting to me in that… I know what it was like to grow up eating crappy school lunches and processed foods, and how differently my body felt when, as an adult, I switched over to fresh, organic, unprocessed foods. I think it's important for the U.S. to offer school lunches that are nutritious to kids. With all this country's resources, why are school kids only getting the by-products?
That guest blog by the teacher in Japan was great, as is the lunch posted by a teacher at a school in NYC.
Thanks for blogging! I think you're doing a great service. 🙂
Wow. I am so going to be checking up on the sort of foods my son is being offered at school lunch!! He says he doesn't usually eat much for lunch, but would never tell me why. Maybe now I know?? Thank you for this! I have spent the last hour completely enthralled in all things "fed up."
Hi,
You may want to consider having parents visit the school board and ask the board why it's wasting money on pre-packed food.
That pre-packed food, as cheap and nasty as it appears, can't be cheaper than making most of the food from scratch or near-scratch.
I'm amazed you have "lunch ladies". Whatever do they do? Why does your school district employ people to hand out packaged food? Certainly the school's superintendent and principal could pile this pre-packed "food" on a table and let everyone pick one off.
I'm a reporter in a rural (and paper-work proven poor) area, and I've never seen school lunches as sad as what you're eating.
I do know most schools in "poor" districts receive subsidy food, and none of it looks like what you're eating (except the whole fruits, like the pears and oranges).
I have to wonder what's happening to you're district's subsidy food. (These would be things like 5-pound blocks of cheese; bulk frozen hamburger which could be turned into hamburgers, meatloaf, meatballs, etc.; cases of fruits and vegetables).
There's more wrong at your school than bad lunches.
Don't you have any local media doing anything at your school?
I cover more than FIVE school districts, and know many of the school personnel. Even the school cooks are worried about what they have to serve sometimes, and work to improve with what they have.
Sorry, starting to ramble. My point is the quality of the lunches may indicate larger issues at your school.
As for the "tan" menus, these have been long-time Friday favorites during Lent. I've never understood what's so evil about serving a green vegetable on Friday. Our Friday Lent feast was fish, mac and cheese, tan veggies, and bread. Tan. Tan. Tan. or beige.
So much for the separation of church and state.
Good luck with your blog (Yahoo pointed the way); you may want to consider that your pictures are enough to give away your school.
With the brands of pizzas (clearly shown on the boxes), milk brand, and other packing brands, someone who works at your school could probably pick them out in seconds.
I'd be looking for a job elsewhere.
I feel like you're over reacting just a little bit. Perhaps the lunches your school serves really are that bad, but I've eaten school food at a number of different schools across the south both during my time in school and now that I'm a teacher. While they've never been as good as a home cooked meal, the food wasn't horrible. I've eaten school food more often than not this year and I think it's pretty good. It's better than the fast food the kids could be eating if they were allowed to leave campus and, at the high school level at least, there are a wide variety of options every day. It is definitely healthier than the bologna and mustard I ate on a regular basis for 12 years. Of course there is always room for improvement, but I feel like the schools are doing a fairly decent job right now.
Also, if commenting on the school food is a risk to your employment, I think you have far greater concerns than what the school is serving.
I'm a high school student and i'm so happy that i go to my school now. Our food is better than some restraunts. We have fresh made food. Sushi, chowmein, alfredo, and soooo much more. I used to think that stuff looked nasty, but now its amazing. Anyway… thats so gross
So, I just spent about an hour or so reading through all the posts. I love this project.
Just some stuff for comparison's sake:
I do have to say, my school food growing up was better than what you are eating…but not by much. We always had a salad bar available, but none of the fruit was ever fresh aside from the apples. The best part of the salad bar was: it didn't cost extra or count as the whole meal. It was an extra that most kids enjoyed. We also had the option of (processed) turkey sandwiches with (plastic) cheese, and mayo. I'm surprised that I haven't seen the(fake) mashed and turkey gravy combo show up yet.
High school food was strange. At one point the administration decided to take all salt shakers out of the caf. Too bad every item besides the salad bar was full of salt. We had pizza in every shape imaginable. Pizza sticks, pizza pockets, pizza rolls, and the triangle kind as well. There was also a move to take out soda. However, we still had snapple, and 'lemonade' and fruit punch. Salad got really old really quickly, and there were never decent dressings available. Only the ranch variety. Am I being too picky?
I was lucky though. I was able to spend a year abroad during high school in a country that actually has a food culture. Sad to say the drink situation was not improved (Thais love the sugar loaded variety) (but come to think of it, we did have soy milk and regular fat-free milk). However, I had some great food options. There were a few stalls where a nice lady would slice a variety of fresh fruit right in front of you. There were different kinds of Thai salads. There was even the option to have fresh corn-on-the-cob taken off the cob for you. There were hot options too. Fresh hot soups, chicken and rice, noodles and curry. There was also time to sit and ENJOY the food in front of you.
Plates where provided, and every student kept a spoon and fork (knives are largely absent in that country) in their backpacks. At the end of the meal they would wash their utensils, and most students even had time to brush their teeth!
I don't think food policy was run through large state apparatuses. I believe (although I cannot be sure) that all the 'lunch ladies' were local people who had agreements with the school to provide discounted food at meal times, in exchange for a large hungry student population.
Also: even in high school there was 'sports day' every week, and 'sports week' once a year (a track and field competition between the local school, in every city across the country) that was accompanied by a parade. Even high schoolers like to run around. I can't imagine making little kids sit in one spot all day.
I think its a great thing your doing. I work in a high school cafeteria and I must say that our food looks nothing like y'alls. Texas has a great nutrition system. Most things are not processed the way it is up there. And you can tell it makes a great difference in the kids health. Good luck on your quest.
I am pleased to see this endeavor.
I remember when I was a kid in elementary school (back in the stone ages) our food was prepared in the cafeteria, it was good food with vegetables, meats, carbohydrates.. all the stuff in the food pyramid scheme was represented for each meal. This was part of our governor's program.
My town was a population of 2,400 and we still managed to have this kind of quality because the State recognized the need and provided the funds.
After the administration changed and I moved on to High School I noted that the quality of food offerings dropped over the course of my four years there. In spite of having transitioned to a high school in a larger town (woohoo! Population 36,000) our meals were more flavorless and less variety. I packed my lunch more and eventually the school allowed open campus lunch period where students could leave for the 45 minute lunch period we had to get lunch anywhere in the town and return to classes.
Yes, 45 minutes… those were the days!
How is it that we have supposedly progressed as a society and yet we cannot manage to have an acceptable standard set nationwide to provide good, healthy and nutritious meals for our children? As others have pointed out here, there are many school districts which have outstanding food quality and provide excellent meals. Some in neighboring counties are completely different from one another.
Our children should not have to suffer because one politician changes the policies of the previous one. The school systems themselves should network and coordinate with a nationwide effort that will establish a standard that can be maintained regardless of who is in office.
I've been looking through your lunch pictures, disgusting! I finished my Student Teaching in December, but I still go in and help the class I work with. I go through their cafeteria a lot (although, I have not eaten in it), but our school lunches seem to look pretty good. We have different areas, 'the grill,' 'the deli,' 'salad bar,' etc. Breakfast has cereal (Kellogg's cereals), milk is either 1% or non-fat (same with the chocolate milk), different fruits (peaches, pears, apples, and oranges are the main fruits), then whole wheat toast, or they can choose a pancake wrapped sausage (reasonable serving size), or a french toast strip, etc. They choose one of the main foods (cereal, pancaked wrapped sausage, or french toast), then choose two more things off of the cart (from what I remember it's just fruit and graham crackers in the cart during the morning). For their main lunch dishes there are sub sandwiches (turkey and/or ham, cheese). Lettuce and pickles can be added on for sandwiches/burgers. There are nachos, hot dogs, hamburgers, PB&J sandwiches, the same usual lunch options at other schools. For lunch they have pretty much the same fruit options on the cart, then there are carrots, celery, corn, peas, etc. For the after school programs, they receive snacks and it is either graham crackers, teddy grams, pretzels, or peanut butter crackers, carrots, then an apple or orange, and apple or orange juice. What I have noticed though is our food looks a lot more appetizing then what your school lunch looks like. I noticed your lunch has a lot of pre-packaged foods, while at our school the only thing pre-packaged would be the cereal and milk and the snacks for the after school program (because they eat their snacks outside and do not use food trays, so those are all pre-packaged, except for the fruit).
This is just sad. When did school lunches become so horrific? And what's what all the prepackaged food items? Wow. This blog seriously makes me worry about my niece and nephew who eat both breakfast and lunch at school every day. This is just depressing.
I just came across this blog and I have to say BRAVO Mrs. Q. Isn't it sad that you are concerned about losing your teaching position because of this! I am a parent of 3 children that eat school lunches daily and have been working for 4 years to improve the nutrition, all to no avail. Please continue your crusade and if there is anything we parents can do, please let us know.
I am a teacer in a private school that actually offers very tasty, homemade school lunches for $3.50. Each meal includes fruit and veggie…sometimes canned, often fresh. The main entree is sometimes lacking nutrition….chicken nuggets and corn dogs come to mind. Some of them are more nutritous…today was baked chicken and rice for example. What I've noticed is that the children will eat corn dogs and chicken nuggets, but very few of them will eat the nutritous items. I don't know how much offering nutritous food helps when children haven't been taught by their parents to eat healthy food. And I am frankly appalled by many of the lunches that parents pack. There is no nutrition in a naco and cheese lunchable, for instance. I have one student who has brought nothing but blueberry muffins for lunch each day this school year. I once had a student who ate nothing but lucky charms for lunch every day. Yes, public school lunches are often nasty and unhealthy. But I'm not sure how much offering better ones will help. Children will only eat things that look familiar, and from what I'm seeing not many children are familiar with homecooked food.
I would just like to clear up something that the anonymous lunch lady said:
I am a lunchroom manager at a school that serves this exact food and I can assure you that there are food saftey guidelines in place.
Every school has a certified manager on hand. A manager who has to have the same type of food safety training as every other type of school in the state. Just because the food is reheated instead of fresh cooked does not mean there aren't very specific training and food safety guildlines factoring in. Nor does it mean that our saftey standards are lower in any way. And the idea that she would suggest otherwise frustrates me to no end.
There are already enough issues with the lackluster food, let's not scare the parents even more by causing them to believe that those who are serving their children these lunches care any less or aren't trained as well in our fields as those who provide the fresh cooked meals.
By the way; if your school district does find you out and fire you, I hope you'll consider moving to North Carolina. I'd be happy to have a concerned teacher like you educating my daughter.
One would hope the school would recognize your intention is to help the students and applaud you rather than punish you.
My guess is lots of yellow #5 and 6 went into that meal along with two heaping helpings of GMO corn.
google Yellow #5 and 6, nasty stuff….
Thanks a lot for doing this. Being in health care and the increasing incidents of obesity and the problems associated with it, this is definitely an area that needs attention. I want my child to bring home meals to school but the school won't allow it. Mrs. Q your efforts in this silent but powerful revolution are much appreciated.
Dear Mrs. Q
I 110% agree with you. At my daughter's school, they serve a "healthy" lunch along with an alternate choice. The alternate choice is usually something unhealthy (cheeseburger,hot dog, nachos, etc.). What five year old is going to willing choose a healthy meal over a cheeseburger and ice cream. As long as a student has money, he/she can buy whatever he/she wants. I noticed my daughter gaining weight. After I found out what she was eating, I switched to packing her lunch. At least this way I can monitor what she eats. By the way, she is returning back to her original weight. Why can't schools make the alternate choice something healthy?
Child nutritionist KNOW processed foods are bad! Does it really cost that much more to feed our children (and teachers) healthier foods. I am a teacher and I try my best not to eat the school lunches but sometimes it's just more convenient. I get so aggravated when I see what is served. One day it was breakfast for lunch…biscuit, egg, sausage, cheese and greasy hash brown patty. Oh yeah, and gravy. Healthy? I think not!!!
We are supposed to be educating our children. They are learning to eat hotdogs, corn dogs, pizza, and chicken nuggets. All the stuff that is bad! Better eating habits need to be taught!!
The school district that I work at also serves these "types" of meals. Children ONLY can pick from a veggie hot lunch or a regular hot lunch- about 80 of these suckers get put into a giant oven and bake right before the kids come and get them.