Lunch police...

[billc]

Toilets, lightbulbs, medical care, retirement, and now...school lunches...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/15/Democrat-Pizza-SLICE-Act

Yes, the federal government wants to control everything -- including the lunches schoolchildren eat. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) has proposed legislation titled The SLICE Act (School Lunch Improvements for Children’s Education) that would allow the federal government the power to set nutritional standards for schools and stop pizza from being listed as a vegetable. Currently, pizza can be listed as one vegetable serving in school meals because it has tomato paste in it.

hmmm...parents are so 20th century. Don't worry, Big Brother loves you...

 

[Steve]

Jesus, about damned time. School lunches should be nutritious. Seriously. I typically poke fun at the propaganda machine. But this is a serious concern. So many kids eat school provided lunches, and it's just a bunch of crapola. We need to go back to a time when food was prepared from actual, recognizable ingredients and not microwaved or frozen. We need to charge parents more who can afford it, and subsidize lunches for parents who can't afford it, and make lunches that are nutritious and healthy and that aren't processed beyond recognition. And parents always have the option of bagging lunches for their kids.

 

[billc]

You would think parents have the option for bag lunches but don't hold your breath. There was already the story of a lunch worker who confiscated the lunch of a little girl, it contained a turkey sandwich, banna and a juice box, because it didn't have a vegetable. The worker forced the girl to buy the school lunch which had chicken nuggets. If you give the feds this power, they will quickly abuse it. You can put vegetables and fruit on the plate of every school lunch and the only thing you will get is heavier garbage bags. The next step will be the lunch ladies will then inspect the kids plates to make sure they ate the lunch and so on and so on. People need to learn that "We are from the government and we're here to help," isn't just a joke anymore. Help the poor kids but keep the power at the state, or better, the local level where there can be more parent control over the school authorities. Better yet, encourage the parents to not have kids till they are ready to support them, then they can buy lunch items for their kids and not be forced to endure government "charity."

You think the lunches should be nutritious, sure, I'll buy that. Then add in the corrupt politician who gets the contract for his campaign donor and then see how nutritious the lunches become, especially if the feds have a hand in it...

 

[Josh Oakley]

You would think parents have the option for bag lunches but don't hold your breath. There was already the story of a lunch worker who confiscated the lunch of a little girl, it contained a turkey sandwich, banna and a juice box, because it didn't have a vegetable. The worker forced the girl to buy the school lunch which had chicken nuggets. If you give the feds this power, they will quickly abuse it. You can put vegetables and fruit on the plate of every school lunch and the only thing you will get is heavier garbage bags. The next step will be the lunch ladies will then inspect the kids plates to make sure they ate the lunch and so on and so on. People need to learn that "We are from the government and we're here to help," isn't just a joke anymore. Help the poor kids but keep the power at the state, or better, the local level where there can be more parent control over the school authorities. Better yet, encourage the parents to not have kids till they are ready to support them, then they can buy lunch items for their kids and not be forced to endure government "charity."

You think the lunches should be nutritious, sure, I'll buy that. Then add in the corrupt politician who gets the contract for his campaign donor and then see how nutritious the lunches become, especially if the feds have a hand in it...

Got a link to the story?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Josh Oakley]

Toilets, lightbulbs, medical care, retirement, and now...school lunches...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/15/Democrat-Pizza-SLICE-Act


hmmm...parents are so 20th century. Don't worry, Big Brother loves you...

Is it OKAY that pizza is listed as a vegetable??

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gentle Fist]

Yeah my kids bring their lunch to school for that very reason...

 

[ballen0351]

Yeah my kids bring their lunch to school for that very reason...

Mine also. After I watched that show by the chef I cant remember which one (jamie Oliver maybe) about school lunches Ill never let my kids buy lunch again.

 

[granfire]

Jesus, about damned time. School lunches should be nutritious. Seriously. I typically poke fun at the propaganda machine. But this is a serious concern. So many kids eat school provided lunches, and it's just a bunch of crapola. We need to go back to a time when food was prepared from actual, recognizable ingredients and not microwaved or frozen. We need to charge parents more who can afford it, and subsidize lunches for parents who can't afford it, and make lunches that are nutritious and healthy and that aren't processed beyond recognition. And parents always have the option of bagging lunches for their kids.

Well sadly in times past the institutional kitchens around the world have managed to turn perfectly fine ingredients into blech.

However, a sad fact of life, what the farmer does not know he won't eat: Too many kids have never been exposed to real food from real ingredients and they.will.not.touch.it.
Ever.

And sadly enough, the drizzle of tomato sauce on pizza will be the closest they will be the closest they will ever get to a real life vegetable.

now, don't get me wrong. One can make pizza that is nutritious and still good.
I just don't see it happening any time soon.

 

[WC_lun]

On the other side of the spectrum, youhave Republicans that thoguht ketchup should be considered a vegetable serving. i think I prefer trying to make it so kids get nutritious lunches.

 

[Josh Oakley]

Mine also. After I watched that show by the chef I cant remember which one (jamie Oliver maybe) about school lunches Ill never let my kids buy lunch again.

Yeah. The naked chef. I didn't see the show but he also gave a TED talk about his program. Good stuff.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[Josh Oakley]

And tomatoes aren't even vegetables!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[granfire]

On the other side of the spectrum, youhave Republicans that thoguht ketchup should be considered a vegetable serving. i think I prefer trying to make it so kids get nutritious lunches.

not arguing with you, but all the vinegar and salt aside, ketchup IS the closest many kid will get to something vegetable.
That is a sad fact.

It is also a sad fact that at home the closest those kids (many, in certain areas) come to a fresh salad is what the Golden Arches serve up between their sandwiches and the preservative doused culinary atrocity of Iceberg masquerading as lettuce in their 'salads'

We live in a semi rural area...I have more than once gotten the question 'you make pizza yourself?!' from the lady at the checkout. And I was cheating up the middle HARD with ready made crust mix, tomato sauce, shredded cheese blend and peperoni slices...

The problem runs deeper. You offer the good food and the kids won't eat it and throw it away.

The problem needs to be solved much earlier and closer to the root:
Add Home ec to the earliest classes. Every kid can grow something, and if it is in a flower pot, a bit chives, some parsley...maybe a couple head of lettuce, a few green beans or peas.
Even rather little kids can help in preparing simple meals - best with what they grew.
bring dang cooking back into schools. I don't expect the kids to actually do it, but at least they would know how to do the basics. And how real food tastes compared to boxes.

But just putting the stuff on the plate, expecting them to change their habits? Not gonna happen.

Of course, we have removed ourselves so far from our roots that grown people proclaim in all seriousness that one ought not to kill one's own cow for meat, or go hunting for meat, since stores have those handy shrink wrapped packages for which no animal must suffer.

 

[granfire]

And tomatoes aren't even vegetables!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Oh details...

It says fruit and vegetables, so it's covered.

 

[billc]

Here is the story about the little girls lunch...

http://www.39online.com/entertainment/onlinedish/kiah-online-dish-preschoolers-lunch-confiscated-for-being-unhealthy-story,0,2109598.story

There's a food fight going on at a North Carolina elementary school after a preschool student's homemade lunch was confiscated and she was forced to eat cafeteria nuggets.

The little girl's grandmother had packed her a turkey and cheese sandwich, on multi-grain bread, a banana, potato chips and apple juice. Sounds healthy to me, but it obviously was not up to par for the state agent who inspects sack lunches. Yes, there is such a thing. Talk about lunch police. They declared the lunch unhealthy because it was missing a veggie and milk.

According to the Carolina Journal, The Division of

Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs, including in-home day care centers, to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

My point is simply that having the feds takeover is not going to help the situation. This sort of thing needs local attention. So, in typical big government solution mode, instead of giving the girl the milk and the vegetable part of the school lunch to round out her sack lunch, they confiscated the whole thing and made her eat...chicken nuggets. It is the perfect example of why the feds should not be involved and the local government should be closely monitored by concerned parents.

 

[Empty Hands]

They already have this power, you goof.

I can only imagine how bad it's gotten now. I 've been in school from around '83 to '95. Only in elementary school did we have a cafeteria that actually cooked stuff, instead of warmed it up. Even then, it was heavy on mashed potatoes and gravy, fish sticks, and the like. From middle school on school lunches consisted almost entirely of pizza, burgers, and very greasy (so much it was soggy) tater tots and hashbrown squares. In high school, they started selling Arby's and Taco Bell right out of the cafeteria. And for all that, I lived in an upper middle class town with a brand spanking new high school, fully funded teams and art programs, and schools with good budgets.

It's an abomination. Only a blinkered partisan could look at the current situation and call it even slightly reasonable.

 

[Makalakumu]

As long as the government provides school lunches, you'll never have healthy food. The government always (eventually) ends up doing the opposite of what it says it will do. Healthy, locally grown, food isn't something you can mass produce. It's something the free market produces and something that enlightened, emboldened, and inspired individuals can take advantage of. I can't tell you how many schools I've seen opt out of the federal lunch program and jump into the local, for profit, natural food market here in Hawaii. Parents and schools can take advantage of this website.

http://kokuahawaiifoundation.org/wastefreelunches/

 

[MJS]

I've been out of school for 20yrs now. I'm not sure how much has changed since I went to school. I'm sure someone regulates, to an extent, the lunch program. Health wise...not sure where it rates, but I'm sure its not the best. I remember some kids would just opt to go to the snack stand and eat the twinkies, apple pies, cupcakes, etc, that were available. However, given the fact that there're alot of fat kids, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to at least offer 1 healthy meal. I say 1, because once they leave school for the day, nothing stops them from chowing down on junk and sitting down in front of the tv.

OTOH, kids learn what they live, so a big start is right in the home. I have to wonder...if we looked at a bunch of fat kids, I wonder if their parents would be fat as well. I'm sure we'd find some pretty unhealthy findings.

 

[dancingalone]

OTOH, kids learn what they live, so a big start is right in the home. I have to wonder...if we looked at a bunch of fat kids, I wonder if their parents would be fat as well. I'm sure we'd find some pretty unhealthy findings.

I used to volunteer time at a food bank. Many of the clients didn't have basic cooking skills. They had no idea how to cook fresh vegetables or staples like beans and rice until we started offering cooking classes. We got in a big truck of fresh produce once and most of the clients passed up offerings like carrots and tomatoes for Rice-a-Roni and canned spaghetti sauce.

 

[billc]

My point in all of this is that having the feds insert themselves even deeper into the situation is not going to improve it. Does anyone disagree with that...

 

[granfire]

My point in all of this is that having the feds insert themselves even deeper into the situation is not going to improve it. Does anyone disagree with that...

it's not the feds, it's the local eggheads....

THINK ABOUT THE FRIGGIN CHILDREN!!!