How does this country serve worse than dog food to children?

[Anonymous]

I only watched the first video OP, but I found it sad to see them peeling the skin off all those lovely locally sourced apples - the skin is where the best fiber and nutrients reside, the kids should be eating the skin of washed apples.

As to the American school lunch examples - those disgusting ultra processed meals are a result of selling out the locally run school lunch program to regional administration contracting with the food industry to buy the same toxic processed junk that kids can source from fast food restaurants etc. Some of the food is even labeled in some schools so kids can start making a brand connection early on. Watch Fed Up and Fat Fiction documentaries for more information about how the American school lunch program has been transformed for the worse in recent decades.

When I was growing up in the 70s, my elementary school had an on-site full kitchen, where the lunch ladies cooked big batches of vegetables as sides to our primary protein which was often meatloaf, Salisbury steak, chicken - all whole food made on site. For dessert we’d get a square of brownie or sheet cake made on site from fresh ingredients. None of the food was prepackaged other than veggies often came in cans so not always fresh.

By the time I was in middle school in the early 80s we were getting the french fries and pizza and chips and cheese sauce junk in place of wholesome food.

Chicken or egg? The obesity epidemic tracks with the altered school lunch program and the steadily increasing consumption of added and refined sugars and other processed foods in the typical American family diet.

And yes of course whole grain brown rice is better than any kind of white processed rice. I eat a lot of homemade curry and months ago I gave up basmati (*sniff*) for brown. I miss the basmati a little, but the difference in effect on my blood glucose and resulting hunger levels was so great I readily learned to love brown rice. I can lose weight eating brown rice, but not while eating white which drives me to eat twice as much.

[Anonymous]

They need to look at the food that Panera serves and replicate it. Sandwiches, soups, salads, with a side of an apple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because people hate taxes. No one cares about the poor when they might have to pay a slight % more.

^This is stupid. Nourishing meals do not have to cost more. These kids are accustomed to junk food, and if they don't get it in the cafeteria line they'll skip the cafeteria food and head for the vending machines.

There are no vending machines in my kids’ public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Major problems with our school lunch program:
1) the ridiculous notion that the money for it needs to cover all the operating and staffing costs too vs just the food for kids getting free lunch.

2) the shift away from staffing so that all the food has to be microwaveable rather than actually cooked fresh. My grandma was a lunch lady and they used to actually cook the food in the kitchen way back when.

My private school had lunch ladies who really cooked, too. For required service hours to the school, I helped them bake cookies sometimes. Great ladies who made my day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because people hate taxes. No one cares about the poor when they might have to pay a slight % more.

^This is stupid. Nourishing meals do not have to cost more. These kids are accustomed to junk food, and if they don't get it in the cafeteria line they'll skip the cafeteria food and head for the vending machines.

Of course they cost a bit more, but it's not astronomical. You should do some research into the budgets, it's quite the racket. It's also more work for employees, who are generally not highly trained, which will cost more.

And what will the result be? Higher healthcare costs bc all these kids who grow up eating this garbage will have health issues later in life. No one ever thinks long term. It’s much more $$ to pay for a whole population’s healthcare for preventable issues than it is to pay for kids to eat healthy foods at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to look at the food that Panera serves and replicate it. Sandwiches, soups, salads, with a side of an apple.

Except the way Panera makes it, none of the soups, sandwiches, or salads are healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because people hate taxes. No one cares about the poor when they might have to pay a slight % more.

Maybe some of that tax money should be kept here to feed kids instead of giving freebees to illegals or funding unending wars in foreign countries that line defense contractor pockets.

We know you don't care about kids because your own post advocated against feeding kids here, troll.

School funding and military funding are wholly unrelated.

The school food corporate caterer pockets.

Where do you think the money for schools and military comes from though? It all comes from the same place. Yes, it is then separately allocated to education, military, etc. education should get a much much larger percentage of the federal budget than military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Major problems with our school lunch program:
1) the ridiculous notion that the money for it needs to cover all the operating and staffing costs too vs just the food for kids getting free lunch.

2) the shift away from staffing so that all the food has to be microwaveable rather than actually cooked fresh. My grandma was a lunch lady and they used to actually cook the food in the kitchen way back when.

+1

When I was growing up (was in public elementary school in the 80s), we had lunch ladies and they actually cooked the food in the kitchen. Typical big batches of foods one would serve to a crowd and holds well (spaghetti and salad, ground beef tacos, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, casserole etc…sometimes whole turkeys etc with fixings). Some “kid favorites” (grilled cheese with tomato soup or that sheet pan style homemade pizza cut up in squares) also. Nearly everything was served hot/made as fresh as possible (that day) and was very much edible (even if it was not something I personally cared for).

My own kids would be so much happier with the above, and would choose to eat hot lunch most days. But at our school it is all premade microwaved “kid food” that tastes bad. Dried out burgers and chicken sandwiches with soggy French fries etc. The burgers are also weird (the kids claim the meat is something weird). Nachos with neon orange cheese and so on.

I don’t know why they got away from in house kitchens but it was not a good move at all.

.it’s very simple: Bc the current (microwaveable) food is way cheaper (fewer staff members needed since they’re not actually cooking)

[Anonymous]

Our ultra processed foods seem like a kibble type product where as the non processed dog food does seem to be the healthier option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how to fix the school lunch issues (particularly given there are barely even kitchens at schools anymore). However- I wish they’d just move to serving mostly cold lunches, given they really don’t have the proper facilities to serve tasty and edible hot food anyway. It is all soggy, dried out and/or tastes microwaved. They’d be better off serving a few types of cold sandwiches or wraps with an alternative like cheese sticks or hummus and crackers + salad and/or fresh cut veggies/dip + fresh cut fruit and call it a day IMHO. Maybe a simple soup (chicken noodle etc) if kids are an age where it can be served safely. Easy enough to keep warm. That is healthier and more appealing than soggy chicken nuggets or faux hot pockets (and is the type of stuff parents send in packed lunches anyway). If kids truly won’t eat any of that, then they obviously are not hungry IMHO and if it gets thrown out- whatever. Throwing in the towel and serving soggy French fries and nugget type junk for every meal is not the right answer.

When FCPS served cold lunches during the return-to-school period of 2021, it was things like warmed chicken strips that had been allowed to go cold and had sweated so they weren't crispy any more (so soggy chicken nuggets, only now cold), sandwiches where things had congeled, and other equally appetizing sights. The return of hot lunch was incredibly welcome.

Oh I don’t doubt it at all. The problem is all of the food comes from some “central facility” with a long process and lead time before it is actually served to the kids. That is going to be gross no matter what kind of food it is. These central kitchens are the problem IMO. It beats me why they can’t just have a small crew work AT the school in the AM assembling simple sandwiches like PB, ham and cheese, plain turkey or whatever (condiment packets on the side), cutting the fresh fruit and veg that need cutting and organizing packaged cheese sticks, crackers, hummus cups or whatever. Maybe warming some soup. None of that requires actual cooking or anything beyond a basic kitchen setup (refrigerators etc). But yeah- cold food prepped 2 days ago will be nasty vending machine quality for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t expect any better. It’s not a social priority. It’s like the healthcare crisis—most with political power have the economic power to avoid the problem. Rich people don’t wait 6 months to see a specialist, and their kids don’t eat public school gruel for lunch ( they pack a lunch or attend private school that serves better food). So the problem remains.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of you saying it's too expensive- you should see the lovely meals my preschoolers eat in preschool compared to the dog food given to my elementary schooler. And all the preschoolers eat it and enjoy it.

Obviously the preschoolers meals are mass produced, but can you imagine the outrage if my 2 year old was served a honey bun? I think the 2 year old teachers would have a heart attack if they had to put up with the behavior of 2 year olds who all ate a honey bun. They'd be bouncing off the walls. My 2nd grader routinely eats honey buns for breakfast, donuts, etc. In our school everyone gets a free lunch, so everyone is served "breakfast" as they walk through the door in the morning. Even the juice has got to go. My preschoolers are never served juice or chocolate milk. They get milk or water, just like parents serve at home.

+1
Breakfast is the worst. Why don’t they just serve cheerios and white milk??

Yes. Our school serves breakfast too. Some things I’ve seen: packaged chocolate chip mini muffins, coco puffs, Lucky Charms cereal bars, pop tarts, and chocolate milk of course. If they can’t manage to pass out anything nutritious, then just have white milk available. No one is starving, in fact those that are economically disadvantaged are the most likely to be overweight. The last thing they need is chocolate milk and a pop tart

+1 if they are going to serve anything (and I understand it is hard to come up with a “sack breakfast”- I agree with the person who said plain cheerios and white milk. Add a banana or an orange. Why on earth the chocolate milk and pop tart route? That is the last thing they need ffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach in Fairfax at an ES and the lunches don’t look anywhere near what those pictures show. The salad bar is good (I’ve eaten it) and the vegetables I’ve seen the food service workers chopping look fresh. The hot foods are better than they used to be.

I'm an FCPS parent and the salad bars widely vary in quality. Some of the vegetables look fresh and my kids love them. Sometimes it's literal corn and beans out of a can that's fairly nasty looking.

What’s wrong with corn and beans out of a can?

Canned corn tastes tinny and gross. Beans can be OK, but do you know anyone who likes plain kidney beans (which is what I've seen there when volunteering)?

Are we really calling beans and corn that taste “tinny” (I love canned corn btw) the equivalent of dog food?

No, just saying it's not the same as the fresh vegetables the service workers are chopping. OP was the one who said worse than dog food. I am not OP.

[Anonymous]

It will cost more but worth it to have real kitchens in schools or a central kitchen like in japan and korea. But with ES schools with 600 kids its very challenging to serve anything but pre made food. But that food could be better. But also in those countries noone brings any food and everyone eats school lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools serve trash food because that is what most Americans eat. My kids go to a title one school where everyone gets free lunch. The fruits and vegetables are taken (because they have to) and are thrown away or thrown around the lunch room. The only milk that is taken is chocolate or the strawberry, no one drinks the white milk.

Honestly schools waste SO much money and food on school lunch and do such a poor job. They should end not lunch. It’s just packaged reheated crap.

Parents should be the ones responsible to fed their children. Just pack their lunch. Schools should offer free white milk, sandwiches (whole wheat bread PB/sunbutter or cold cuts/cheese), and whole fruit (bananas, apples, oranges). That’s it. No one would be hungry, there is something nutritious for everyone, and way less food and money waste

I agree with this. Given the current state of things (budget, logistics, lack of facilities etc) this would be preferable, realistic, and make a lot more sense. Milk, sandwich and fruit is just fine for lunch.