Are America's children hungry or obese?

[rainydayplay]

Why can't they just not put it on the tray in the first place and just ask the kids if they want the fruit/veggie?
FWIW, I think the law about not being able to recycle foods that have been on other's tray has been around for awhile. My kid's schools was never allowed to do it.

At the school where I teach, there is a sign at the beginning of the lunch line that they must have certain items on their plate. No leaving it off if you aren't going to eat it.

Can't he buy 2 lunches....that is what my dh dd when we were in hs. Over 30 years ago. . And I am sure he ate as soon as he got home too.... It's called teenage growing boys...

But, if the child is on free/reduced lunch, s/he won't have the $$ to buy a second lunch, and the program does not allow for a child to get a second lunch. So there's that option out.

But again, don't you think this is the fault of your school? Other schools are able to serve salads just fine. Your school was told it didn't meet the protein requirements so why not fix it so it does? Cheese, chickpeas, chicken breast, tuna, etc would boost the protein. How are the other schools able to serve salads? There is a way to do it, but it sounds like your school isn't trying.

As for the green beans, there are a ton of other seasonings in this world besides butter and salt. It is truly sad that the lunch personal can't come up with a palatable option, or the taste buds of the children will only except veggies with butter or salt.

For the salad, I think the PP was referring to having the Caesar salad as an entree. A lot of schools serve a side salad with the entree. It's probably more than just the protein count for a Caesar salad, but I'll get into that in a minute...

For the seasonings, they are limited in their choices.

We had a workshop session during inservice in which the head of our nutrition program spoke to all of us about the changes. (Small groups, about an hour.) Previously, the schools had a minimum calorie goal to reach. If you went over, great, but you had to reach that minimum. Now, it's a window. And it was like 450-550 calories for ES, 550-650 for MS, and 650-750 for HS (and it may be another 100 calories up on each of those. I don't have my notes with me. But, even then, max caloric intake for a day's lunch is 850 for the older kids).

There are so many goals/restrictions. There are only so many starches that can be served, so some elementary schools have to compensate by serving open-faced sandwiches, or they can't give the kids bread one day. All whole wheat products, too. No white potatoes, no white rice, no white bread, no white pasta. Certain number of times per week that fruits/veggies of certain colors must be served. Nothing fried. No ketchup (or it's limited to 1 packet because of the salt content). Sodium content of a patient in kidney failure.

The humor in this?
1. Calorie content is based on GRADE, not AGE.
We are a 7-12 school. Our 7th/8th graders now must have their own lunch so the proper portions can be served. We have a few (I can think of at least 5, off the top of my head) who are 15 or 16 and in 7th or 8th grade. But, as they are 7th/8th graders, they must eat the smaller portion. (We joked at inservice that if those kids found out and complained, then we could say that if they wanted more food, they'd have to pass.) We've also had a 15 year old come up from the elementary school. Can you imagine being 14/15 and having to eat the ES portions? (And please don't turn this into a "wow, your district must just have horrible teachers...these kids have no home life and very little, if any, motivation at home to succeed. One failure through the years can cause one to just stall out, and it doesn't matter how much, sometimes, that you talk, encourage, beg, bribe, whatever to pass. I have had kids over the years who were raised by grandparents because mom and dad both were in prison from drug charges, or live with mom and she works overnights, leaving for work when the kids come home and getting home when the kids leave...and that's just the tip of the iceberg, there.)

2. There are no regulations on breakfast, yet. So they can still have rice crispy treat, or breakfast pizza, or whatever, an call it breakfast. Tell me: in what world is a rice crispy treat, honey bun, or pop tart a filling breakfast?'

3. All this stuff may be healthier, but they aren't used to eating it. It will probably go over better overall with the younger kids, and will be great for them to grow up with the healthier things, and might help them make healthier choices when they are older because they will be used to it. Older kids, though?

My own child? I fix her lunch and send it with her. At least I know she'll eat it.

 

[tnmt]

School starts at 8:15 am for my son and he doesn't eat lunch til 1:15 so he is starved by then and they serve very little food on the trays. If he ate at a decent time then he might not be so starved by lunch time. He is a growing teen boy. They don't have snacks in between either unless he brings something from home which he rarely ever does.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Volunteer/teacher what we have tried to get the kids to eat and according to the teacher it has worked is we have bribed our kids to eat. Our kids are Pre K so lunch is a little to long so we give them blocks to play with at the table for every bite they take it keeps them occupied and feed

 

[LisaR]

At the school where I teach, there is a sign at the beginning of the lunch line that they must have certain items on their plate. No leaving it off if you aren't going to eat it.



But, if the child is on free/reduced lunch, s/he won't have the $$ to buy a second lunch, and the program does not allow for a child to get a second lunch. So there's that option out.



For the salad, I think the PP was referring to having the Caesar salad as an entree. A lot of schools serve a side salad with the entree. It's probably more than just the protein count for a Caesar salad, but I'll get into that in a minute...

For the seasonings, they are limited in their choices.

We had a workshop session during inservice in which the head of our nutrition program spoke to all of us about the changes. (Small groups, about an hour.) Previously, the schools had a minimum calorie goal to reach. If you went over, great, but you had to reach that minimum. Now, it's a window. And it was like 450-550 calories for ES, 550-650 for MS, and 650-750 for HS (and it may be another 100 calories up on each of those. I don't have my notes with me. But, even then, max caloric intake for a day's lunch is 850 for the older kids).

There are so many goals/restrictions. There are only so many starches that can be served, so some elementary schools have to compensate by serving open-faced sandwiches, or they can't give the kids bread one day. All whole wheat products, too. No white potatoes, no white rice, no white bread, no white pasta. Certain number of times per week that fruits/veggies of certain colors must be served. Nothing fried. No ketchup (or it's limited to 1 packet because of the salt content). Sodium content of a patient in kidney failure.

The humor in this?
1. Calorie content is based on GRADE, not AGE.
We are a 7-12 school. Our 7th/8th graders now must have their own lunch so the proper portions can be served. We have a few (I can think of at least 5, off the top of my head) who are 15 or 16 and in 7th or 8th grade. But, as they are 7th/8th graders, they must eat the smaller portion. (We joked at inservice that if those kids found out and complained, then we could say that if they wanted more food, they'd have to pass.) We've also had a 15 year old come up from the elementary school. Can you imagine being 14/15 and having to eat the ES portions? (And please don't turn this into a "wow, your district must just have horrible teachers...these kids have no home life and very little, if any, motivation at home to succeed. One failure through the years can cause one to just stall out, and it doesn't matter how much, sometimes, that you talk, encourage, beg, bribe, whatever to pass. I have had kids over the years who were raised by grandparents because mom and dad both were in prison from drug charges, or live with mom and she works overnights, leaving for work when the kids come home and getting home when the kids leave...and that's just the tip of the iceberg, there.)

2. There are no regulations on breakfast, yet. So they can still have rice crispy treat, or breakfast pizza, or whatever, an call it breakfast. Tell me: in what world is a rice crispy treat, honey bun, or pop tart a filling breakfast?'

3. All this stuff may be healthier, but they aren't used to eating it. It will probably go over better overall with the younger kids, and will be great for them to grow up with the healthier things, and might help them make healthier choices when they are older because they will be used to it. Older kids, though?

My own child? I fix her lunch and send it with her. At least I know she'll eat it.

I don't doubt that the new regulations are a PITA. I know from past threads on this same subject that some schools are getting it right, though. They have made adjustments, tweaked spices, added salad bars, and they are making it work.

There will always be two schools of thought on junk food. One believes that it is better to let them eat junk rather than not eat at all. The others believe it is better for them to go hungry than eat junk. Obviously, I believe in the latter. I believe if they are truly "starving" they will eat eventually.

 

[kacaju]

Why can't they just not put it on the tray in the first place and just ask the kids if they want the fruit/veggie?

Because it is now the law that we, as lunch ladies are required to put the serving of fruits or veggies on their tray....we are not allowed to ask them if they want it.

 

[tvguy]

Our city school district discovered that half the kids eligible for free breakfast and lunch weren't signed up for it. They pushed them to sign up,(since the district actually makes money on the free lunches) but the kids wanted no part of them because it wasn't food they would eat. They wanted pop tarts and soda pop for breakfst, and all the banned foods like Doritos and soda pop for lunch. Given how many kids I see walking to school with a Coke or Pepsi in their hand, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Our city school district discovered that half the kids eligible for free breakfast and lunch weren't signed up for it. They pushed them to sign up,(since the district actually makes money on the free lunches) but the kids wanted no part of them because it wasn't food they would eat. They wanted pop tarts and soda pop for breakfst, and all the banned foods like Doritos and soda pop for lunch. Given how many kids I see walking to school with a Coke or Pepsi in their hand, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Would you rather them have a monster in there hand that killed a middle school kid.

 

[Poohforyou]

When referring to New York City, I capitalize City, as it's a proper noun (name of a person, place, etc.).

That's true if you're using the entire name but if you're just using the word city it shouldn't be capitalized.

 

[crashbb]

That's true if you're using the entire name but if you're just using the word city it shouldn't be capitalized.

It is clearly the most important city in the entire world, so it should be *obvious* that "City" is a noun meaning NYC.

 

[phorsenuf]

Why can't they just not put it on the tray in the first place and just ask the kids if they want the fruit/veggie?
FWIW, I think the law about not being able to recycle foods that have been on other's tray has been around for awhile. My kid's schools was never allowed to do it.

Because it is now the law that we, as lunch ladies are required to put the serving of fruits or veggies on their tray....we are not allowed to ask them if they want it.

Former lunch lady here and what Kacaju said is correct. There are government guidelines that have to be followed. Whether the kids eat it or not there are specific components that must be on a school lunch or they can risk losing their funding.

Would you rather them have a monster in there hand that killed a middle school kid.

That was an isolated incident and it was determined after she had a pre-existing medical condition that could have attributed to it.

 

[Poohforyou]

It is clearly the most important city in the entire world, so it should be *obvious* that "City" is a noun meaning NYC.

Meh, I worked in Manhattan for about 6 years. It isn't all that.

One other thing, when speaking of NYC you're referring to all 5 boros - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. Typically people use the actual name of the individual boro when speaking of it.

 

[crashbb]

Our city school district discovered that half the kids eligible for free breakfast and lunch weren't signed up for it. They pushed them to sign up,(since the district actually makes money on the free lunches) but the kids wanted no part of them because it wasn't food they would eat. They wanted pop tarts and soda pop for breakfst, and all the banned foods like Doritos and soda pop for lunch. Given how many kids I see walking to school with a Coke or Pepsi in their hand, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

How? Not doubting you, just not sure how that works (programs here seem quite a bit different than yours).

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

Former lunch lady here and what Kacaju said is correct. There are government guidelines that have to be followed. Whether the kids eat it or not there are specific components that must be on a school lunch or they can risk losing their funding.



That was an isolated incident and it was determined after she had a pre-existing medical condition that could have attributed to it.

Thank you for information I did not have I have been holding back on the cherry amp because I did not want to die that way so sincere thanks

 

[phorsenuf]

Thank you for information I did not have I have been holding back on the cherry amp because I did not want to die that way so sincere thanks

All the same it should be something you drink in moderation.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

All the same it should be something you drink in moderation.

I will

 

[torinsmom]

How? Not doubting you, just not sure how that works (programs here seem quite a bit different than yours).

She may be referring to Title I funds. I know if a certain percentage of students in a school are eligible for free lunch, our school can get Title I funds. Students have to be signed up in order for the school to get the funds.

We have several kids who were getting free lunch who are now bringing home lunches. I let the parents know their child was eating very little. They aren't bringing in junk. It's usually a sandwich, yogurt, fruit and a juice.

The junk they sell at our school for breakfast is ridiculous--breakfast pizza, pancakes with syrup, donuts, etc. Maybe they need to stick to cereal and milk or oatmeal and fruit.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Would you rather them have a monster in there hand that killed a middle school kid.

One monster did not kill that kid. That child had an underlying heart condition, and a hot chocolate could have done the same thing.

My DD16 has a monster most mornings as her morning drink, and I have no issues with it.

 

[JoiseyMom]

My DS11 is always hungry when he comes home from school. He usually has 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast at 8 am. He eats lunch before 11, and gets home at 3:30 and is starving.

He loves fruits and veggies and always grabs an apple or banana, and a bag of carrots, but if he doesn't get a chance to finish it at lunch, they make him throw it out before he leaves the cafeteria . THe carrots he usually shoves in his pocket, he really cant do that with the fruit. He wants to eat them later.

 

[cornflake]

This is the article I was particularly referring to: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/19/bloomberg-strikes-again-nyc-bans-food-donations-to-the-homeless/

It did seem a bit slanted and from what you're saying now inaccurate too. That's a relief.

As for school lunches, how does making them more healthy help anyone if the kids won't eat them?

I saw that one and a couple others using basically the same wording when I saw your post. I went looking for who was reporting that, then backtracked. I can find the thing if you'd like but it was from March and referred to the rule the Dept. of Homeless Services has had about not accepting unpackaged, unlabelled food and why and that they do accept packaged. Does only apply to City shelters.

As to the making the stuff more healthy helping if it's being binned - hopefully kids will be hungry and eat and learn that the things they're not so familiar with are actually good. The alternative - keep giving them terrible stuff because they theoretically like it - isn't any better, imo.

That's true if you're using the entire name but if you're just using the word city it shouldn't be capitalized.

Yeah, it should if it's used the way I used it. Same as 'The President boarded the plane,' takes the capital P even though it's not in the 'title name' format.

 

[mjantz]

I think we probably have more than a few kids who are obese & malnourished. I could go on a long rant but I'll just say that we as a society have stopped valuing food for what it does for our bodies & now we just see it as a fuel source to be acquired as cheaply & quickly as possible.