A change this year. The kids have always been allowed up to 5 components on their tray, this includes milk as one. Now the main entree counts as more than one component. So a hamburger is a serving of meat and a grain=2 components. Are you ready? Chicken nuggets are a meat and a grain (the coating-or maybe they were grain-fed chickens ). The best one today--nachos (tortilla chips with melted Velveeta and meat)--counts as 3 components. So with the milk, my students were only allowed to take one other item-a fruit or a vegetable--they are only allowed 5 altogether. One of the vegetables was a handful of sweet/sour pickle chips. Most of my kids ate nachos and pickle chips for lunch today. Wonder why they were hungry an hour later? These kids come from low-income homes, let them eat. It just really frustrates me. The kids who were told they took too much (because they don't understand this counting system) had the food taken off their trays and I'm almost positive it can't be served to another child then.
Oh my! It sounds very similar to our lunch service. It's terrible how much they charge to feed the students so little.
Wow. 1) I can't believe what schools consider a 'healthy lunch'...and 2) I can't believe that they would actually take food away from kids.
1. I can't believe they would take it off their trays. 2. I can't believe school children are serving themselves.... 3. I can't believe they are serving nachos at all! That's definitely not healthy!
That is positively ridiculous. I could see if they were loading up on cookies or chips, but denying them a fruit or veggie?! Crazy. The only time our kids get yelled at for taking too much food is on mac-n-cheese day... it's really, really yummy and some of the kids try to take 3 or 4 portions (and they'd run out for later lunches).
How sad. It always breaks my heart to see how kids get treated in breakfast and lunch lines. When I did Summer school, I made sure my kids got an actual meal, not pancakes heated in a bag (eww). I don't care if the lunch ladies hated me. I know there's a budget etc, but really, the stuff they serve our kids. I bet people in prisons get better food. It's usually the kids who NEED a good meal at school that end up with the worst.
I don't know about the number of items, but they only let them have one fruit and do take it away if they have 2. The really annoying thing is that sometimes one fruit is on thier tray and then another is in a cup as a choice, but they can't actually choose to not have the one that is already on their tray. Apparently our old manager was breaking the rules because she felt like whatever we could get the kindergarteners to eat was fine and she let them have as many as they chose because they couldn't really understand all the guidelines and choose appropriately. We got a new manager last year and she is not so nice.
You do know, that velveeta type cheese that is actually mostly oil has lots of milk in it... ????? Ugh. I feel for those kids.
I'm guessing not without silly things like a doctors not to "prove" they can't have milk. Because the dairy lobbies are allowed to heavily influence school lunches. I always had to go through those contortions at school. Nobody needs milk; it is time schools get over that nonsense. For one thing, many, many African American and Asian students are lactose intolerant. Give them fruit flavored water and some real vegetables full of real nutrients instead. Offer low sugar fortified rice milk or similar. Or chocolate soy milk. Another benefit would be to antibiotics. Vegetables aren't forcefed fistfuls of antibiotics. School lunches make me angry.
I agree with you that the school lunches suck. However, I have to take issue with the prison food statement. My husband is part of a volunteer prison ministry, and he goes into a federal prison once per month for a day, and twice per year for 4 days. He sees firsthand what is offered. Often, whatever is available in a can is thrown into a pot as "soup." Imagine, canned tuna soup. Not kidding. Now imagine that, no matter how long it takes to use it all up, that same "soup" is served, breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it is gone. One of the "draws" for the residents who choose (and are chosen) to participate in the ministry of which my hubby is a part is that (1) the food is unlimited, (2) the food is fresh "home-cooked," and good, and (3) fresh produce is offered in abundance. They feed their stomachs, then try to feed their souls (gently, no bible thumping). Anyway, my point is that prison food and school lunches are nowhere near being similar.
We are blessed with a wonderful cafeteria staff who really seem to "get it." I've had children who I know might not have food to eat at home ask for extra servings of vegetables, and our lunch ladies are all too happy to oblige. The only thing that they won't serve extra is dessert. If we see that a child has eaten their allotted food on their tray and they are still hungry we can send them back through the line for another serving of fruit/veggies.
I believe this is due to a new initiative headed by Mrs. Obama. President Obama signed a new law in 2010 that focuses on calorie intake along with healthier eating. I appreciate the wanting to help fight childhood obesity since it is such a big problem. I just am not sure this is helping. Our local news station did a story on the new food guidelines and a lot of parents were concerned about the kids nit getting enough calories to make it dinner.
I hate cafeteria rules. Teachers/employees cannot 'charge' if we are short. The kids can rack up $10, but we can't charge a penny- they know where we work if we done pay Anyway, they once refused a pregnant teacher her lunch over a QUARTER. She said she would bring the quarter down after she ate. (None of us in the cafeteria had any money on us and they won't let our account be charger, either!) They threw the tray away. CRAZY!
Now that's just wasteful and pisses me off. How cruel. Every time I forgot my lunch last year the lunch ladies fed me. I never paid for anything. I say feed the kids within reason. I've never seen a kid want 4 plates of food....but feed them if they're hungry!
The problem is, the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act gives guidelines - most of these are just to promote healthy eating and promote breakfast and to extend meal offerings for low-income students. Only part of the bill talks about what schools can offer, and even this part doesn't give a ton of directives. The way this is carried out is up to the school nutrition program and maybe the state. So while it might be in the act that the kids have to have 5 servings of certain food groups, I am sure no where in the act does it say that nachos count as a healthy food item or that kids can't have more vegetables if they want them. It's up to the nutrition program to design meals that fall into the nutritional guidelines but that are still filling and satisfying for the kids. In fact, I would send a heads up to your nutrition department that the nacho meal is not getting the job done for your kids.
I really think it's due more to budgetary concerns. I say that because another change they made was adults pay double the child price for lunch, but now get the child serving--it used to be they would give a bigger serving to adults. One of our higher-ups was once quoted in the local paper saying fresh fruit was a luxury that the kids didn't need. Our cafeteria ladies are wonderful-they are just following the rules they are given. Their bosses come audit them a lot.
This does sound ridiculous. I guess I am spoiled that in my school the kids are given portions BUT unless they are on a diet can get 2nd helpings. Also, there is a huge box of fruit from which we all help ourselves. Staff and students. They even give out extra baggies so we can bring fruit back to class with us. Salad is also all you can eat. I have to stay at lunch with my students so I make sure they eat as much as they want. They seem less cranky in the afternoon when they are full!
If we want to focus on reducing childhood obesity, we should be feeding kids more meat and vegetables and less junk like pizza and nachos. More sausage and eggs and less pancakes and Froot Loops. It astounds me what people think is healthy.
Wow, that is crazy!!! I think the rule in our cafeteria is that they have to take a minimum of 3 things (including milk). They can take more than that, but they cannot come up for seconds. I disagree with most of the main dishes. Nachos, cheese sticks, hamburgers, pizza-NOT healthy! They do, however, have a salad bar and fruit every day.
New this year for us: The kids who bring their lunch must walk through the lunch line before the kids who are eating from a tray so that they can see the "wonderful array of healthy choices available to them." Ugh. Also, the kids eating from a tray MUST get at least one item from the salad and fruit bar, whether they intend to eat it or not.
Wow! This pisses me off! To parade those students through the lunch line...just amazing the stupidity. Amd I hate, hate waste. I ate ZERO fruits or veggies except for potatoes up until just a few years ago. I had/have major food texture issues. To think of all the food I would have been required to waste.
It reminds me of when I was on free lunch as a child...they required us to go through the breakfast line. So many of us, though, took the tray straight to the dumping window.
A couple of years ago I asked about our menus. I had a child with a severe peanut allergy. At the time they were bringing a morning snack to everyone. I cannot tell you how many times they would send food that contained nuts or peanuts to my classroom. Even after I repeatedly told them that a particular item had nuts. Grrr. . .. I asked about the menu, it was peanut free. I asked about the kitchen where the food was prepared. Kitchen was not peanut free.
