Reply to California passes free school lunch for all

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DD isn’t a picky eater but she refused to eat the food in FCPS last year. Powdered Mac-n-cheese is gross and has been linked to cancer. Why is it still be served every week?  I’d much rather pay for higher quality food and subsidize the poor kids so they receive healthier meals. This year FCPS is charging again but I don’t see any difference in the menus. Does anyone know if the food will be better? [/quote]

I think the food is, at least for the most part, starting from a better place at most CA public schools. I haven't done an actual study, but just glancing at the available menus, CA had healthier, varied options. The money being used for the free lunches is also meant to be used for fresh, healthy, local food when possible. The Berkeley USD is a leader in providing healthy school lunches. Alice Waters made a huge effort to improve meals for kids in Berkeley. Some of the healthiest counties for kids are in CA, so it makes sense that parents value healthy food options in school. It's not like in some parts of the country where health and eating well aren't valued as much so parents don't care that schools aren't improving over the processed foods we remember from childhood.

I think, besides the healthier food culture in CA compared to most of the US, two other factors really play into the lunches being decent here. CA is very diverse, especially the large cities. The menus reflect that somewhat. It's not just Taco Bell style taco Tuesday, but varied foods from hispanic and asian culture. Americanized versions like at American Chinese or Mexican restaurants, sure, but variety. Kung Pao chicken, veggie chow mein, pork burritos, veggie burritos, beef tostadas, cheese tamales, chicken and broccoli, banh mi, etc. The other is that the school districts, at least where I live, won't let one school in the district have a different menu than the other schools. Parents can't fundraise and hire a caterer for their kids' school and leave the other schools in their district eating processed junk. This means parents have to advocate for the whole district if they want lunches to be better at their kids' schools, so the poor kids/poor schools are going to benefit just from being in the same district. Some of the districts are smaller, so it's less impactful, like Berkeley (there aren't any really poor public schools in Berkeley), but in Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area it's impactful. I'm sure it's the same in LA.

I think it's kind of funny that instead of being happy for the kids who are getting better food as a result of this, or the relief to MC and LMC families who might appreciate the relief of getting free meals. Instead it's crapping on CA suggesting mismanaging funds, or crapping on school lunches as being awful and no one wants them anyway. This could be very impactful for real people, improving their daily lives. This is a wonderful gift to so many families and children.[/quote]

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