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

[Anonymous]

Now that school lunch/breakfast are available to anyone, is there any chance for a national dialogue on improving the nutrition of school feeding programs? I'm completely baffled by parents posting on Facebook how nutritious the food is. It is wonderful the meals include milk and fresh fruit and some vegetables, but the sugar cereal and prepackaged muffins leave me baffled. How is that nutritious? Obviously some food is better than no food if it is a choice between sugar packed "food" and going hungry, but can't we do better as a society, especially for kids who aren't getting fed at home?

[Anonymous]

Yeah people in the FB group for my district posted pictures of the meals they were handing out yesterday. On one hand, free food. But on the other, it's not super appealing. Cooking is my main hobby and I'm not that impressed by a blah build your own pizza kit with pitas, cheese, and marinara sauce.

[Anonymous]

We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

[Anonymous]

Jamie oliver had a show on tv about 10-15 years ago trying to reform the food in one west Virginia school district as a pilot program. It was wildly unsuccessful. He had done the same thing with more success in Britain. He’s from a very working class background and it was a passion project for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

They made required changes and then schools reported that kids were throwing away the food and causing waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

Like look at the sample menu you can open here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/002312

I wouldn't want to eat this. Why is there ranch dressing almost every day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

Like look at the sample menu you can open here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/002312

I wouldn't want to eat this. Why is there ranch dressing almost every day?

Because kids eat veggies when they have ranch to dip them in. That one makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

Like look at the sample menu you can open here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/002312

I wouldn't want to eat this. Why is there ranch dressing almost every day?

Because kids eat veggies when they have ranch to dip them in. That one makes sense.

Apparently not, since there was a ton of food waste. I don't know any kids (and not many adults) who actively want to eat raw broccoli with or without ranch. It would be better to cook them with herbs and spices. Making a healthy vegetable dish that tastes good isn't that hard.

[Anonymous]

I didn't have kids in school during the Obama administration, so TBH I wasn't paying a lot of attention. But yeah, I thought improvements were being made so that is part of why I'm surprised. I picked up the free food for the first time on a cheeseburger day. The kids ate only 1/2 of the hamburgers, but loved the grapes and carrots.

I guess now since we're all home parents could cook the veggies if they think their kids would eat them cooked instead of raw. I realize that isn't a long term solution though. I can see the food lobby thwarting good nutrition in school. But I think we're getting waste either way. If the food bank won't take the sugary cold cereal and prepackagd muffins, they're going in the trash. We don't eat that stuff anyway and we're not going to start now. TBH I might not continue picking up free lunch because I don't like throwing food away. But it was interesting to see first hand what is offered.

[Anonymous]

In our district, they give out two days meals at a time. They cannot presume that those who truly need the food at home have a lot of refrigeration, full cooking facility, or an adult at home at lunch to prepare it for them. It needs to be packaged. And yes, it would be nice if they didn’t serve Frosted Flakes, but those are likely to get eaten. We went one time (also for cheeseburger day as a treat and to get my kid out for a walk in the middle of the school day), but may not go back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't have kids in school during the Obama administration, so TBH I wasn't paying a lot of attention. But yeah, I thought improvements were being made so that is part of why I'm surprised. I picked up the free food for the first time on a cheeseburger day. The kids ate only 1/2 of the hamburgers, but loved the grapes and carrots.

I guess now since we're all home parents could cook the veggies if they think their kids would eat them cooked instead of raw. I realize that isn't a long term solution though. I can see the food lobby thwarting good nutrition in school. But I think we're getting waste either way. If the food bank won't take the sugary cold cereal and prepackagd muffins, they're going in the trash. We don't eat that stuff anyway and we're not going to start now. TBH I might not continue picking up free lunch because I don't like throwing food away. But it was interesting to see first hand what is offered.

+1. If we start picking up food, the packaged stuff is going to the food bank. We don't need a bunch of sugary applesauce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

Lunch lady dorris isn’t cooking briam for 400 kids

[Anonymous]

I wish there were more “real food” and less processed food. I just don’t see that happening easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We already had a national dialogue--remember Michelle Obama? Let's Move? Big changes in the school lunch program thwarted by the food industry, so badly that pizza is now considered a vegetable?

Plus kids wouldn't eat the food. But to be fair, it sounded like it was not very appealing. Raw vegetables, salads, bland steamed vegetables. Our family eats a ton of vegetables but we cook them in interesting recipes (usually Greek).

Lunch lady dorris isn’t cooking briam for 400 kids

Other countries manage to provide good meals in their schools. France, Greece, etc