School Lunch - Can We Talk About Improving Nutrition for Kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are non-poor people going to pick up free school food now?

All children need to eat.

[Anonymous]

Is brown-bagging verboten nowadays?

[Anonymous]

You are really late to this conversation. Have you heard of Gordon Ramsey, Michelle Obama and the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, Dan Guisti, Jose Andres, Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard Project, etc. etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is brown-bagging verboten nowadays?

Kids bring in bentos nowadays, not disposable brown bags or plastic baggies. But yes, kids bring their lunches. Others buy lunches. It's not a rich/poor divide either.

[Anonymous]

How about we worry about getting the kids back in school and save the food discussion for later?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are really late to this conversation. Have you heard of Gordon Ramsey, Michelle Obama and the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, Dan Guisti, Jose Andres, Alice Waters and the Edible Schoolyard Project, etc. etc.?

Who is late? Some of us have been complaining for years but clearly from here, many parents don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about we worry about getting the kids back in school and save the food discussion for later?

Some of us can care about multiple things at once. Also kids aren’t going back anytime soon so maybe some of us don’t want to have the same arguments over about whether schools should reopen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are non-poor people going to pick up free school food now?

They are. I’ve seen multiple posts from friends who have picked up lunches. N Arlington. They definitely can afford it

[Anonymous]

"How about we worry about getting the kids back in school and save the food discussion for later?"

I agree getting COVID under control and a vaccine are important. I started this thread because we're in a unique situation where everyone is being encouraged to pick up school lunch, and parents (of all income levels) have an opportunity to see what school lunch actually is (vs. hear from kids or just read the menus). This levels the playing field, so to say, in terms of first hand information about what school lunch actually is.

During earlier pushes to improve school lunch I'll admit I didn't have kids so wasn't paying much attention. But I also would think "I have no idea what lunch is like these days - I haven't had school lunch in ages!" That is no longer true, and I would guess a lot more parents have a better idea of what schools feed kids now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue here is it doesn't matter what you think. School lunches are based on what most kids eat, not what the kids of over achieving DCUM members eat.

I grew up in a poor home, we had fast food every night except when there was no food.

I loved school lunch. Still do. It was the one meal we could count on. I loved the cut up veggies and the chocolate milk and the frosted flakes.

Maybe your kids grew up with pureed organic leeks but most kids don't. And won't eat beets or cabbage in any form.

The fact that you think it’s ok to feed kids this stuff is insane. No one said to give kids puréed organic leeks. You realize that it isn’t either/or right?

DP. That PP was right. Kids won't eat cabbage, no matter how long its shelf life is.

The meals from FCPS vary from good to a bit strange (whole wheat cinnamon rolls?). But not bad. I wonder who is complaining.

Speak for yourself. My child loves cabbage. She'll eat a whole jar of rotkraut.

Cabbage rolls are delicious. My kids love them. That being said healthy food isn’t just beets, cabbage, broccoli and organic leeks. PP has a very limited idea of what healthy is.

Oh Lord I would give anything for Romanian cabbage rolls right now.

I'm the pp you're responding to. This is exactly My point. Kids who are poor will not eat cabbage rolls or sauerkraut. Their palates haven't been exposed to t his type of stuff. Hence the tremendous food waste when you try to force it on them.

[Anonymous]

Corned beef and cabbage is in rotation in most govvy office building cafeterias, and hospital cafeterias. Coleslaw is a very american dish that you can find in plenty of salad bars. You don't have to think German and eastern European to eat cabbage. No, it's just that we have slowly derived to finding any last vegetable to be exotic and unsuitable for a kid's palate. It's getting worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are non-poor people going to pick up free school food now?

They are. I’ve seen multiple posts from friends who have picked up lunches. N Arlington. They definitely can afford it

Don't be so sure. Appearances can be false.

Last week the Monday meal was good; a nice burger with lettuce and tomato. Kids liked the snack packs. Wednesday, not so great. Lots of cheese.

Today was great! Cucumber, apple, pear, yummy chicken sandwich (I just had a bite) and tomorrow is a burrito and...some other stuff. Milk.

My kids also ate the veg cups last week that were sent without ranch. Yes, they ate the raw broccoli. Sure it could be more healthy but it's not bad given the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue here is it doesn't matter what you think. School lunches are based on what most kids eat, not what the kids of over achieving DCUM members eat.

I grew up in a poor home, we had fast food every night except when there was no food.

I loved school lunch. Still do. It was the one meal we could count on. I loved the cut up veggies and the chocolate milk and the frosted flakes.

Maybe your kids grew up with pureed organic leeks but most kids don't. And won't eat beets or cabbage in any form.

The fact that you think it’s ok to feed kids this stuff is insane. No one said to give kids puréed organic leeks. You realize that it isn’t either/or right?

DP. That PP was right. Kids won't eat cabbage, no matter how long its shelf life is.

The meals from FCPS vary from good to a bit strange (whole wheat cinnamon rolls?). But not bad. I wonder who is complaining.

Speak for yourself. My child loves cabbage. She'll eat a whole jar of rotkraut.

Cabbage rolls are delicious. My kids love them. That being said healthy food isn’t just beets, cabbage, broccoli and organic leeks. PP has a very limited idea of what healthy is.

Oh Lord I would give anything for Romanian cabbage rolls right now.

I'm the pp you're responding to. This is exactly My point. Kids who are poor will not eat cabbage rolls or sauerkraut. Their palates haven't been exposed to t his type of stuff. Hence the tremendous food waste when you try to force it on them.

This is probably also cultural. Rich minority kids won't touch your cabbage and sauerkraut with a 10 foot pole either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue here is it doesn't matter what you think. School lunches are based on what most kids eat, not what the kids of over achieving DCUM members eat.

I grew up in a poor home, we had fast food every night except when there was no food.

I loved school lunch. Still do. It was the one meal we could count on. I loved the cut up veggies and the chocolate milk and the frosted flakes.

Maybe your kids grew up with pureed organic leeks but most kids don't. And won't eat beets or cabbage in any form.

The fact that you think it’s ok to feed kids this stuff is insane. No one said to give kids puréed organic leeks. You realize that it isn’t either/or right?

DP. That PP was right. Kids won't eat cabbage, no matter how long its shelf life is.

The meals from FCPS vary from good to a bit strange (whole wheat cinnamon rolls?). But not bad. I wonder who is complaining.

Speak for yourself. My child loves cabbage. She'll eat a whole jar of rotkraut.

Cabbage rolls are delicious. My kids love them. That being said healthy food isn’t just beets, cabbage, broccoli and organic leeks. PP has a very limited idea of what healthy is.

Oh Lord I would give anything for Romanian cabbage rolls right now.

I'm the pp you're responding to. This is exactly My point. Kids who are poor will not eat cabbage rolls or sauerkraut. Their palates haven't been exposed to t his type of stuff. Hence the tremendous food waste when you try to force it on them.

I'm the PP and also the PP who didn't eat cabbage (or pierogies, or sushi) until high school. Just because you've never had something before doesn't mean you'll hate it the first time you try it. I never had a cabbage roll until last year, in fact. If kids are completely unwilling to even try a bite of a food they haven't had at home, that's a separate problem and probably a parenting issue. And in that case there's going to be food waste no matter what. No one's suggesting feeding them durian or anything weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about we worry about getting the kids back in school and save the food discussion for later?

Yes, please, let's not talk about ANYTHING other than how much some people want their kids back in school. If we even have one conversation or meeting about anything else, it will surely destroy all possibility of a return to school.