School Lunches

[Coconut36]

Exactly. I'm hearing friends complain about their kids being hungry, but those are the same parents I've heard complain time and again about how their kids don't like any veggies other than maybe canned corn or raw carrots with ranch. Of course they're hungry, because they're eating the entree and throwing out all the rest.

I volunteer in the lunch room at my girls' school once a week. Today, I watched a young man, 7th grade I think, pick each and every shred of lettuce and tomato off of his taco, eat the meat & cheese with a fork, and throw out the whole wheat tortilla along with his black beans & rice and the carrot sticks that were his only selection (they have to choose one, but can have up to four) from the fruit & veggie bar. I'm sure he'll be starving by the end of the day. But from that same lunch program, my 5'8", 177# 8th grade football player has no problem getting full - because he eats the whole taco, the beans & rice and all four of his fruit & veggie selections.

So what is the solution? Do we decide having full bellies is worth serving junk/kid food without regard to calories or nutrition? Or do we keep offering healthy meals and trust that kids will eventually try some of these "weird" (different) items rather than go hungry?

Personally, I think it is far too soon to make any judgments as to success or failure of the new standards - the program isn't even a month old in much of the country, and at most two months old in the earliest starting regions. Kids generally need to be exposed to new foods multiple times before they accept them. If this is still a problem in May, then it is time to rethink how to go about changing youth diets.

I agree..especially in regards to them being hungry not because it isn't "enough" (because the reality is that it is plenty) but because they eat 1-2 items and toss the rest.

I personally can't get behind the mentality that since junk is all they want/know we should give them junk for the sake of a fully belly. Repeated exposure is key to kids trying and eating new foods and I also agree it is way too early to call things a failure (I also imagine it doesn't help when they go home and Mom and Dad pat them on the back and say "your right..how dare they give you carrots and whole grain tortillas..that's gross" and just enable their complaints and lack of willingness to try.

 

[Aneille]

My big complaint is that next year my children can not purchase a chocolate milk because it is no longer on the al a carte menu. If they buy lunch, they can have a chocolate milk.

My oldest can't purchase lunch because she has a celiac disease.

My petty complaint of the day.

I don't know exactly how much my kids eat when at school, but I do know I feed them a huge second lunch when they get home.

 

[Coconut36]

The sad part is that most people aren't listening to the complaints because they assume all that kids will eat is junk. They will eat good food - if it tastes good. What is so hard to understand about that?

Why do you assume it doesn't taste good? SOME posters have indicated food was poorly prepared but if the cafeteria can't prepare whole wheat then they can't prepare the white any better. If they make brown rice mush then they wouldn't be able to make white any better. If the food is crap the food was crap before they changed the nutritional standards. Nothing in the standards states that foods can't be flavorful (although they are required to keep sodium content within a certain level). The standards simply state things like 1 cup of veggies (but doesn't limit what veggies) and 1 cup of fruit per meal or the serving size protein should be, limits on sugars and trans fats.

If a school is preparing poorly tasting food the issue is the school/vendor not the new standards (and I can't believe it is only a problem now..what I believe is that they can't keep pumping out nuggets and pizza and thus their inadequacies in their cooking ability is becoming apparent now).

 

[mjkacmom]

If I am reading correctly, your DS is 2. You wait until he is a teen. Well one serving for my DS is half a chicken. And fruit, multiple servings, not doing them any favors, it is still sugar. I read an interesting article a while back, it said people believe fruit is so good for you because it is natural, and while it is good for you, people think that they can eat as much as they want. This article also mentioned that back in the old days fruit wasn't as readily available and you had to eat what was in season, limiting the amount you ate. It said that these days people are in fact over doing the fruit.

Everyone warned me, and boy is it true - teenaged boys can eat! Ds14 easily eats two sandwiches in a sitting. He is about 5'9", 130 pounds, and not done growing. He plays HS sports, so doesn't get home from school until after 6. I have his dinner hot and waiting for him (all the kids have daily activities, so we eat at different times).

Granted, I can't even imagine eating over 800 calories for lunch, but teens need way more calories than a middle aged woman:


Calorie needs jump for both males and females ages 14 to 18 years, when growth spurts occur. Males in this age group, approximately 68 inches tall and 134 lbs., require 3,152 calories daily. These are general guidelines. To be more specific, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture My Pyramid Plan, a 15-year-old male, 68 inches tall and 134 lbs. who participates in moderate physical activity 30 to 60 minutes every day needs about 2,800 calories daily for optimum health

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/131657-how-many-calories-does-teenage-boy-need/#ixzz27bEKrCbz

 

[Coconut36]

My big complaint is that next year my children can not purchase a chocolate milk because it is no longer on the al a carte menu. If they buy lunch, they can have a chocolate milk.

My oldest can't purchase lunch because she has a celiac disease.

My petty complaint of the day.

I don't know exactly how much my kids eat when at school, but I do know I feed them a huge second lunch when they get home.

So you feed them a 2nd lunch and then proceed to feed them dinner a few hours later? I can't see why a "huge 2nd lunch" could possibly be needed when dinner would likely be served within a few hours of returning home (here kids get out at 3:30..we eat dinner by 5:30-6pm at the latest). Maybe I am misunderstanding your school start/lunch/stop and dinner times?

 

[Aneille]

Oh and my big complaint....

Changing the food isn't the only answer. They need to educate the kids on healthy food choices. Telling them a few times isn't good enough either. They need to put into practice with food logs etc and help them understand good food choices.

But that will not happen in most schools as it will take away valuable time away from reading, math etc..

So I don't see this as really helping anything. Its a band aid.

 

[mjkacmom]

My big complaint is that next year my children can not purchase a chocolate milk because it is no longer on the al a carte menu. If they buy lunch, they can have a chocolate milk.

My oldest can't purchase lunch because she has a celiac disease.

My petty complaint of the day.

I don't know exactly how much my kids eat when at school, but I do know I feed them a huge second lunch when they get home.

I have this same vent - no meal, no milk. I have one with celiac, so of course she never buys. It would be nice to send her in with some gf cereal, and have her be able to at least buy milk. There is no milk for sale in the elementary school.

 

[Poohforyou]

In my house we give one serving of things with the exception of fruits and vegetables. Those are unlimited. I tell them if they are hungry enough, eat fruit or drink water. Otherwise, I don't want to hear it. Suck it up buttercup! The other night my son had a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread, a handful of pretzels, 3 pieces of watermelon and about 25 grapes. I know not all parents are that way. I watch my SiL cry how my niece is so obese yet offers her nothing nutritional or does not limit her intake because" she is hungry and will only eat certain things". 3 bowls of pasta, and 2 hostess cupcakes does not a nutritional dinner make. Granted, I started the healthy eating early so it comes as second nature. My DD is more challenging as she is not a big fan of fruits and vegetables. I still don't cave into her though. I had the talk about how she has to keep the right fuel in her body to keep it going.

However, even saying that, I agree the portion on that tray is more geared for elementary students. I cannot see that as a proper portion for high school students and probably not even middle school students. I would think 4 - 6 nuggets would be more appropriate.

Wait until your kids are teens. You'll have mutiny on your hands if you limit their food. My dd is 13 and a string bean but she can out eat me and sometimes even dh. I agree with limiting junk but when she's hungry she's free to eat almost anything. I believe in teaching kids to read their own cues when it comes to what their bodies need. Controlling doesn't work in the long run Imo.

 

[ccgirl]

My big complaint is that next year my children can not purchase a chocolate milk because it is no longer on the al a carte menu. If they buy lunch, they can have a chocolate milk.

My oldest can't purchase lunch because she has a celiac disease.

My petty complaint of the day.

I don't know exactly how much my kids eat when at school, but I do know I feed them a huge second lunch when they get home.

If they don't like the lunch the school isn't serving; why don't you send in a lunch? Genuinely curious.

I have this same vent - no meal, no milk. I have one with celiac, so of course she never buys. It would be nice to send her in with some gf cereal, and have her be able to at least buy milk. There is no milk for sale in the elementary school.

Can you send her in with milk? I find it's less expensive to buy DD the little milk cartons that have her buy it in school.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I'm an adult female and to maintain my weight, I need to eat about 1400-1500 calories a day. I could never imagine eating an 800 calorie lunch. That would be more than half of my daily caloric needs.

Yes, but you aren't still growing. A child will burn more calories.



Personally, I would love for schools to be less strict about eating in class. When I was in junior high and high school, the teachers didn't care if you brought in a drink or a snack to class. I mean, you couldn't bring in an entire Big Mac meal from McDonalds, but they had no problem with a kid drinking a Dr Pepper, a bottle of orange juice, or some water during class. They also didn't care if the kid was munching on apple slices, carrot sticks, or even potato chips. I'm not saying that kids should be eating junk food while in school, and I'm not saying that they need to take enough food to graze all day like cattle, but I can see the benefits of a kid having an apple and a bottle of water in their backpack so that if they get hungry during 6th period, they have something to munch on.

 

[Aneille]

So you feed them a 2nd lunch and then proceed to feed them dinner a few hours later? I can't see why a "huge 2nd lunch" could possibly be needed when dinner would likely be served within a few hours of returning home (here kids get out at 3:30..we eat dinner by 5:30-6pm at the latest). Maybe I am misunderstanding your school start/lunch/stop and dinner times?

No and yes. They have lunch early somewhere between 11:00-12:30(if I remember right) and get home at 3:30 so they are hungry. They have a small breakfast and usually a small dinner around 7:30-8pm.

My 2 oldest are extremely active and they need that extra fuel at 3:30 to get through there activities. They have 1-2 hours of high energy sports after school M-F.

 

[Coconut36]

Oh and my big complaint....

Changing the food isn't the only answer. They need to educate the kids on healthy food choices. Telling them a few times isn't good enough either. They need to put into practice with food logs etc and help them understand good food choices.

But that will not happen in most schools as it will take away valuable time away from reading, math etc..

So I don't see this as really helping anything. Its a band aid.

Well by all means they should just continue with crap because they don't have enough hours in the day to do yet another thing the parents should be doing. Food logs are excessive IMO and I know my kids school does nutrition education starting in 1st grade. Do they spend hours every day on it? Of course not..nobody did that when I was in school either but they do spend some time each year on things like the food pyramid (well now "the plate"), food choices, portion sizes..etc.

Really the job belongs to the parents and it's ridiculous to fault the school for not doing yet another parental job on top of everything else that falls to them. Offering them healthy food choices is a more positive step than saying "oh well" and continuing the way things are.

Has anyone taken a look at the standards? They are not torturing these kids..they are just doing things like increase veggies from a 1/2 cup per meal to 1 cup. They are doing things like capping calorie content and removing trans fat..not giving them twigs and rocks to eat.

 

[Coconut36]

No and yes. They have lunch early somewhere between 11:00-12:30(if I remember right) and get home at 3:30 so they are hungry. They have a small breakfast and usually a small dinner around 7:30-8pm.

My 2 oldest are extremely active and they need that extra fuel at 3:30 to get through there activities. They have 1-2 hours of high energy sports after school M-F.

That matches when my kids eat and I have never found a need to serve them a 2nd lunch and then a dinner. Now they have a snack when they get home (some fruit, a yogurt, cheese..etc) but not an entire meal. Obviously in my instance we have an earlier dinner. My kids are getting ready for bed at 8pm..I can't imagine eating dinner then..what time do your kids going to sleep (just curious).

 

[ccgirl]

Wait until your kids are teens. You'll have mutiny on your hands if you limit their food. My dd is 13 and a string bean but she can out eat me and sometimes even dh. I agree with limiting junk but when she's hungry she's free to eat almost anything. I believe in teaching kids to read their own cues when it comes to what their bodies need. Controlling doesn't work in the long run Imo.

Bring on the mutiny then. My DS will eat me out of house and home if I let him now. Not all children listen to their own cues. As I mentioned, fruit and veggies are unlimited but everything else is limited. If they are hungry they can get all the fruits and veggies they want. All kids are different. So far it has worked great. I am very good with feeding a well balanced meal though.

 

[Aneille]

If they don't like the lunch the school isn't serving; why don't you send in a lunch? Genuinely curious.

My kids pack their lunch. My oldest has celiac disease and my other 2 are gluten free by our family choice.

I just don't know how much they actually eat. It comes back empty but my 9 year old often complains she doesn't have time to eat. I think she talks to much...but I don't really know, I'm not there.

 

[SaraJayne]

Well by all means they should just continue with crap because they don't have enough hours in the day to do yet another thing the parents should be doing. Food logs are excessive IMO and I know my kids school does nutrition education starting in 1st grade. Do they spend hours every day on it? Of course not..nobody did that when I was in school either but they do spend some time each year on things like the food pyramid (well now "the plate"), food choices, portion sizes..etc.

Really the job belongs to the parents and it's ridiculous to fault the school for not doing yet another parental job on top of everything else that falls to them. Offering them healthy food choices is a more positive step than saying "oh well" and continuing the way things are.

Has anyone taken a look at the standards? They are not torturing these kids..they are just doing things like increase veggies from a 1/2 cup per meal to 1 cup. They are doing things like capping calorie content and removing trans fat..not giving them twigs and rocks to eat.

There is a happy medium between "crap" and tofu, though you for some reason seem to be fixated on the incorrect notion that everyone feeds their children "crap".

 

[ccgirl]

No and yes. They have lunch early somewhere between 11:00-12:30(if I remember right) and get home at 3:30 so they are hungry. They have a small breakfast and usually a small dinner around 7:30-8pm.

My 2 oldest are extremely active and they need that extra fuel at 3:30 to get through there activities. They have 1-2 hours of high energy sports after school M-F.

Bolding mine. That could be the reason they are hungry when they get home. They did not get the right start. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It jump starts the metabolism and the body.

 

[mhsjax]

I have this same vent - no meal, no milk. I have one with celiac, so of course she never buys. It would be nice to send her in with some gf cereal, and have her be able to at least buy milk. There is no milk for sale in the elementary school.

I would think that because of her dietary issue, she should be able to purchase milk. that is WRONG. I think I would try and go over to a higher power and get permission for her to buy milk.

My DD was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, there is a strict no food or drink policy in the classroom, but you better believe that her teachers and the nurse are over the top cooperative in allowing her food and drink in the class. They have been WONDERFUL.

 

[Aneille]

That matches when my kids eat and I have never found a need to serve them a 2nd lunch and then a dinner. Now they have a snack when they get home (some fruit, a yogurt, cheese..etc) but not an entire meal.

Well mine do. Dont' know why. I'll make them a sandwhich with chips or fruit. Or mac and cheese. Yesterday they had some gluten free pizza.

My kids are very fit, lean and very active maybe thats why(I dont' know), they have no extra weight on them and eat pretty healthy but not as healthy as I would like. But thats what they eat and they have never had a weight issue.

Maybe I shouldn't have said huge and instead they eat about the same as their first lunch they have at school.

 

[SaraJayne]

Everyone warned me, and boy is it true - teenaged boys can eat! Ds14 easily eats two sandwiches in a sitting. He is about 5'9", 130 pounds, and not done growing. He plays HS sports, so doesn't get home from school until after 6. I have his dinner hot and waiting for him (all the kids have daily activities, so we eat at different times).

Granted, I can't even imagine eating over 800 calories for lunch, but teens need way more calories than a middle aged woman:


Calorie needs jump for both males and females ages 14 to 18 years, when growth spurts occur. Males in this age group, approximately 68 inches tall and 134 lbs., require 3,152 calories daily. These are general guidelines. To be more specific, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture My Pyramid Plan, a 15-year-old male, 68 inches tall and 134 lbs. who participates in moderate physical activity 30 to 60 minutes every day needs about 2,800 calories daily for optimum health

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/131657-how-many-calories-does-teenage-boy-need/#ixzz27bEKrCbz

I agree with everything you said.