I just go back from being a lunch volunteer. This was my first time since my child is Kindergartener. They were serving chocolate milk and this neon pink strawberry milk which is what most of the kids had chosen.

They also had oranges but honestly, its really hard for a K student to peel an orange. Most of them went uneaten. : (

In fairness to Marla Caplon, that is one of the main objectives of the school lunch program -- to feed kids who can't afford it. That and to prop up America's industrial food complex through USDA commodity subsidies as an artificial price support.

There are much stricter guidelines in the new regulations and school districts are teaming up with manufacturers to fight them, saying they would be too expensive to implement.

I have empathy, OP. A bunch of parents from my kid's school got together and met with Marla Caplon last year. She was helpful but basically said that they were meeting USDA guidelines (eg tackling salt, fat, sugar) and were not able to deal with processed food/additives/preservatives/colorings etc. She framed it in terms of working to make sure that kids who get free and reduced lunch had nutritious food (implied that our concerns were more upper middle class concerns a la Whole Paycheck living). Also keep in mind that while DC is just now renovating lots of schools (thanks to Fenty) and is able to put in school kitchens after the local food/Pollan wave hit, MoCo renovated its schools 5+ years ago and what we have are mostly prep kitchens. That limits what we can accomplish considerably.

All that said, just last year MoCo actively prohibited school gardens, and this year they lifted the ban. So who knows? Maybe they will 180 on healthy food too..

Anonymous wrote:Idea. Someone who is in the cafeteria everyday -- parent volunteer or staff -- Start a blog and post a picture of the school lunch every day. Supplement with reports of MCPS senior staff luncheons. Flog to media.

Like this woman, who writes the Fed Up with Lunch blog:

http://fedupwithlunch.com/

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure Josh Starr's kids bring their lunch to school...

How do you know?

I'm pretty sure Josh Starr's kids bring their lunch to school...

OP HERE!!!

WOW. I am blown by this response. I'm glad I'm not the only one wishing for a decent lunch. I think the first thing we can do is follow the suggestion of a previous poster and start a simple email campaign to the new Superintendent. His email is Joshua_Starr@mcpsmd.org Josh is new to the school system and his own kids are attending MCPS. I'm SURE his wife and him have discussed the abysmal lunch options as well. I honestly know that things can change.

Also, I think while this may seem like a small thing to some folks, this is actually very important not just for our kids and our lifestyle (imagine the time saved by not having to make lunch each morning!) but also for the voiceless kids whose parents do not have the time or resources to enjoy a decent lunch from home.