Schools vs. parents: Who decides what’s for lunch?
We often talk about helping kids eat better and what role schools and parents should play in that process. Well the internet is buzzing about a public school in Chicago where the principal said kids had to buy the school lunch, assuming it would be healthier than anything they brought from home.
I’ve read multiple versions of the story and here are some facts and quotes that strike me as the most interesting:
1. The no-sack lunch rule has been in place for six years so why is everyone just noticing it now? Where has the uproar been for six years?
2. Another Chicago school handles it a different way – they just take junk food away from the kids and return it at the end of the day. (I think this would be an administrative nightmare for the teachers or lunchroom ladies. Can you imagine returning the food: “No! That’s my Twinkie!”)
3. This point was made in The Chicago Tribune story:
“This is such a fundamental infringement on parental responsibility,” said J. Justin Wilson, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Center for Consumer Freedom, which is partially funded by the food industry.
“Would the school balk if the parent wanted to prepare a healthier meal?” Wilson said. “This is the perfect illustration of how the government’s one-size-fits-all mandate on nutrition fails time and time again. Some parents may want to pack a gluten-free meal for a child, and others may have no problem with a child enjoying soda.”
3. Also from The Chicago Tribune:
“For many CPS parents, the idea of forbidding home-packed lunches would be unthinkable. If their children do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, such a policy would require them to pay $2.25 a day for food they don’t necessarily like.”
“We don’t spend anywhere close to that on my son’s daily intake of a sandwich (lovingly cut into the shape of a Star Wars ship), Goldfish crackers and milk,” education policy professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach wrote in an email. Her son attends Nettelhorst Elementary School in Lakeview. “Not only would mandatory school lunches worsen the dietary quality of most kids’ lunches at Nettelhorst, but it would also cost more out of pocket to most parents! There is no chance the parents would stand for that.”
4. From AOL on just how healthy school lunches really are:
“But Susan Rubin, a nutritionist and founder of the Better School Food program, said lunches offered by large food providers like Chartwells Thompson are not necessarily more nutritious. …”
“It’s rare that I see a school, especially a public school, that actually serves food that’s good,” she told AOL News in a phone interview today. ‘I get physically sick just looking at it, because it makes me sick that kids are eating this processed crap.’ “
At our new school, I thought they were going to be much stricter about what parents could send in for snacks and lunches. Their publications say it’s supposed to whole grain and non-sugar. I was glad they were setting the bar high, but when I visit the cafeteria I don’t see that many people sticking to it.
I do think that our new school serves far less sweets at school parties. I can’t decide if it’s because this community is pretty health focused. (The school is right next to the Y and everyone works out. All the ladies are in shape!) Or if it’s because the parties are just smaller and more focused on activity rather than food here. Walsh’s winter holiday party was held outdoors and consisted of playing running games. The kids had a great time and there wasn’t a sugar cookie in sight. Rose’s party had literally one cookie for each kid and that was it. In Gwinnett the school parties were far more elaborate and the food usually included several sweets.
So what do you make of the Chicago controversy? Can a public school tell parents they can’t send in lunch? What would you do if your school made this rule?
How does your school handle junk food? If they bring it, it’s theirs? Do they request only healthy snacks? What about school parties?
– Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, ajc.com Momania
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153 comments Add your comment
Hmmm
April 12th, 2011
10:00 am
This type of policy is not meant to infringe upon anyone’s rights. Those commenting here should be thankful that they have the means and education to make thoughtful decisions about what their children eat. They should also take satisfaction in the fact that their children have parents who care about what they eat. The key thing to consider in this case is that the school has an extremely high number of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch which means that these children are poor and there is nothing that they, the children, can do about this. They most likely do not have parents willing to make thoughtful decisions about what they eat or necessarily have the means to make those types of decisions. So, we sit here and demonize (in many cases, rightly) “government” for infringing on the rights of parents but in the case of these children, there is likely no one else to look out for them. Children should not be penalized for being poor and in this particular case, the policy makes sense because the likelihood of these children getting a well balanced meal any other way is small.
scoutmamma
April 12th, 2011
10:00 am
I went to work in a local school system a couple of years ago and was excited that I’d have the choice of a hot meal at lunch everyday – and it be nutritious. WRONG. I promptly gained 10 pounds and the portion sizes given to the adults were the same as the children. Not only that, but we had to pay twice what the children pay. I now bag my own “truly” nutritious lunch, have ridded myself of the extra pounds, and am saving money.
JOD
April 12th, 2011
10:02 am
@Kat – I agree! Maybe Channel 2 would take it and run? And not just the nutritional value – what about the chemicals?
anotherhemppantywearingliberal
April 12th, 2011
10:02 am
You guys and your sweeping generalizations! I am so far left I need a kickstand to keep me from falling over but I don’t think schools should prohibit parents from sending lunch for their kids. I also don’t think it is an act of terrorism that schools are trying to make healthier food available.
Wise Man
April 12th, 2011
10:03 am
For some reason I can’t help but notice most lunch ladies are overweight themselves so how is it we put faith in what they are serving up? A handful of schools have to admit they have more fat and calories than a Big Mac. They would be much better off serving Red Dawn Products in the lunch line since they are less likely to give you a heart attack and have zero calories!
Http://www.reddawnparty.com
Yes kids under 18 shouldn’t be taking Red Dawn Products but should they be eating foods that cause heart attacks??
Conservative
April 12th, 2011
10:05 am
I am a conservative and I am here to say THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS! I completely agree with GeorgiaBorn. This was one person’s decision over 6 years ago for ONE SCHOOL. A school that serves a low income community where nearly 90% of the kids get free lunches. If the school is giving free lunches to that any kids, then it’s the principal’s right to dictate what to serve and that everyone should eat the same thing. Because of her insight over 6 years ago, her school will now get some federal funding as a pat on the back for serving nutritional meals. Stop making everything about politics!
JJ
April 12th, 2011
10:06 am
There is absolutely NOTHING nutritious about institutional food. Schools, hospitals, etc. The food is beyond nasty!!!! I was with my neighbor at Gwinnett Hospital, as she was having surgery. I went down to eat at the cafeteria, with numberous choices, kind of like a little food court. I opted for the baked chicken, asparagus and a small salad, healthy and lite. The chicken was bland and tasteless and the asparagus, you could tell, had been sitting around for a while. I hate salt, but I had to salt the chicken to give it SOME flavor. NASTY. I took two bites of the chicken, one of the asparagus and threw it all away, and went and got some trail mix. An absolute waste of $8.50.
School lunches are horrible. I used to eat with my daughter at her elementary school, and all I could stand was a baked potato and some salad. The salad was NOT offered to the kids, it was separated for the adults. The kids had mac and cheese, nasty looking grean beans and rolls. The kids went through buffet style. Elementary kids picking their own lunches…….80% of them had a mach and cheese and chocolate milk.
Pack a nutritious lunch for your child. Take 10 freaking minutes each night to make a damn sandwich. PRIORITIES people. Your children’s health should be your first priority!!!
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
10:07 am
I find it humorous that some of you play the liberal card here. This was the principal’s policy that she set over 6 years ago. How the “H” do any of you know her political affiliation? This has nothing to do with politics, or government decisions. This was the principal’s decision for one school! I might also point out that over 85% of the children in this particular school qualify for the free lunch program, so with the principal’s decision combined with the new Healthy Kids Act, this school will now receive federal funding to help offset some of the cost for providing free NUTRITIONAL lunches for over 85% of it’s students. No, I don’t necessarily agree with anyone telling me how to raise my child, but this decision by the principal was first based solely on nutrition but now because of the new federal bill, it is also fiscally responsible and good for the school.
Geez
April 12th, 2011
10:10 am
Wow, @GeorgiaBorn . . . just another way for the Government to waste our tax dollars because parents can’t be responsible parents and provide a simple, inexpensive lunch for their child because they want all of us taxpaers to provide for them . . . “fiscally responsible” . . . really??? It’s simply another free something that the “entitlement” people can latch on to . . . I pay enough in property taxes to educate children in my neighborhood I really don’t feel I should feed them as well . . .
Georgia teacher
April 12th, 2011
10:10 am
I work in a Title I school in Savannah. The majority of our kids eat free or reduced lunch…and guess what…they buy the extras sol by the lunchroom every day such as chips or rice crispie treat, and the total spent costs twice as much as the lunch they are eating free. This has been one of out pet peeves for a long time. As far as mandating what kids can bring from home, this is a ridiculous attempt at control that oversteps the bounds. Any teacher will tell you a hungry child is an inattentive and disruptive child. Wer cannot change what kind of food they eat at home any more than we can change the bad parenting. But a choice between the two, I would choose to let the kids eat whatever and have the governamnet impose stricter laws to make paretns responsible for their children’s behavior. food is not the problem…behavior is.
Jean S Scott
April 12th, 2011
10:12 am
Call me crazy ut having a school principal decide what my kids can and cannot eat is not liberal at all. How did this become the same old same old political right vs. left? Vote the current board out, it’s the American way, not Republican or Democratic, just American.
Cindy B
April 12th, 2011
10:13 am
I don’t know where DB’s school is, but here in Douglas Co. things are quite different. They don’t offer vegetables to the elementary school kids. The children have to specifically ask for them to be added to their tray because they don’t want food being thrown away. The apples are basically ruined because they soak them in salt water (Fruit Fresh is too expensive). They will only allow one protein source on a salad, e.g., egg, ham, turkey, cheese, but they are perfectly happy to serve a tray that consists of French fries, bread/cheese sticks and a cookie, and they readily admit that their meals don’t conform to any nutritional guidelines.
But do you know what the real kicker is? After speaking to the person in charge of school nutrition for the County, she told me they previously have tried out a pilot program at another school that provided healthier options with improved nutritional content. Guess what happened. They had to abandon the program because the PARENTS, not the kids, raised heck about it. So while I’d like to think that parents are the best judge of what their kids should eat, my experience suggests otherwise.
Brenda
April 12th, 2011
10:16 am
This is what I homeschool my kids. Healthy lunches, Fox News and Jesus…what more can you ask for?
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
10:17 am
GEEZ! It always saddens me to hear people like you. Underprivileged children should starve because you think their parents are irresponsible? Your children are very lucky to have parents that are able to feed and clothe them but your children are not so lucky to have a parent that thinks all poor people are poor just because they are irresponsible. So sad the way some conservatives think….I provide for my family! Screw the rest of the country!
Tom
April 12th, 2011
10:18 am
Sounds like a situation where the administrators making that decision probably had a substantial personal monetary incentive to maximize the purchases from the food service vendor.
But that’s simply business-as-usual in Chicago.
Michael
April 12th, 2011
10:19 am
I have trouble believing the principle is actually banning bagged lunches. And there’s no way this has been going on, to that extent. in Chicago for 6 years. Parents would have rioted in the streets before succumbing to an idiotic rule like that. I would like to see the principle’s response in the next few days. Don’t believe everything you read….shoot…don’t believe MOST of what you read.
Come on Son
April 12th, 2011
10:21 am
I have seen kids forget lunch or not have enough money in their account to purchase junk from the a la carte menu (pizza, hot wings, etc) and the cafeteria offer them a free lunch from the regular menu and the kids refuses to eat it. Most cafeteria now offer a healthy choice but the key word is choice, the kid has the ultimate decision which is why we send a packed lunch (besides our kids do not like the cafe lunches anyway) One move in the right direction is the school only offers cookies twice a week and french fries twice a week.
Leucis
April 12th, 2011
10:22 am
Ahem…some of us “far-left” liberals (like myself) do agree with the right wing republitards and think that this is a really dumb idea and an assault on personal freedom. Kids can have food allergies. Many religions have dietary requirements that a lunch lady just won’t understand.
And some of us are vegans and don’t want our children eating grade D processed tortured cow muscle tissue with cheese on top complete with a white bread bun and wilted lettuce (what you right wing folks would call a “burger”).
Michael
April 12th, 2011
10:23 am
Right on GeorgiaBorn. Keep the politic bullcrap outta this. Let’s all find out the REAL story first.
markie mark
April 12th, 2011
10:24 am
It appears from some of the comments on this blog that you guys are unaware of a simple formula the government uses in funding schools. School funding is based, and I am no longer aware of the percentage, on how many free lunches a school serves. That is why schools could care less about verifying income on the parent. Thats also why if you walk into a lunchroom in Dunwoody, you will see about as many children on the “free lunch” program as if you were in the poorest sections of Dekalb county…..
RGB
April 12th, 2011
10:28 am
“At one school, parents can’t pack lunches for their kids. School says lunches it sells are more nutritional. ”
Uh, wouldn’t that be “nutritious”?
On another point–somebody wrote “How the “H” do any of you know her political affiliation?”
Would you care to put your money where your mouth is? $5K says Dem. What say you?
Sue
April 12th, 2011
10:29 am
Where do the schools get off telling parents what they can feed their kids? That is absolutely dictatorial. If I had kids in that school, I would be at the next school board meeting raising heck with them. And, if that got me nowhere, my kids would either be home schooled, or put in a private school.
woodrow
April 12th, 2011
10:29 am
School is not a prison. They shouldn’t concern themselves with what the students eat for lunch. No fascism please.
bluto
April 12th, 2011
10:29 am
I am guessing out of the 2 pages of post 0% have been to there kids school to even talk about school lunches, or even know anything about nutrition.
On a side note we should let Jeff W solve the problem because he seems to have so much to add to the conversation. idiot.
Tony
April 12th, 2011
10:31 am
The School Lunch Program is not just from the “far left”. Since the federal funding for this program goes through USDA, you can probably estimate the financial impact it has on the big agribusiness corporations. Follow the money.
The menus for school lunches must meet certain nutritional criteria to be eligible for reimbursement. So, in this since, the lunches are considered nutritious. However, they are high carb meals. Many people assume they are also high fat, but they are not as high as you might think. Much of the food served is processed and I have concerns about that.
Food waste is another issue. Schools get access to very good food selections – fresh fruit and vegetables, good meats, and other items that you would want your children to eat. Unfortunately, when we serve brocolli or apples, much of these portions end up in the trash. The bottom line here is that the kids will not eat many of the good foods.
Some school systems do a better job managing menues than others. This will always be a problem.
Finally, as a principal, I encourage parents to come to the school to have lunch with their children. It is a pleasure for me to see the children bringing their own lunches from home, too. There are parents who send bad food with their kids – Lunchables, potato chips, candy bars, high sugar/fat desert cups, and so forth. Yet, it is within the parents’ authority to make these decisions.
What’s really sad is that we have parents who send their kids to school with junk like this and then we get blamed for the results.
Tony
April 12th, 2011
10:33 am
oops – 2nd paragraph should say “in this sense”
cdc
April 12th, 2011
10:38 am
Spreken ze deutsch??
DwayneL
April 12th, 2011
10:40 am
I would pull my kid from a school that implemented such an idiotic rule!!!
Rooster Cogburn
April 12th, 2011
10:43 am
ANOTHER example of the “nanny state” type of thinking our government enjoys pounding into us. They, the school, knows better then the parent when it comes to packing a lunch for their child. For those who cheer liberalism please do not post negative comments about this story. You should be cheering the government taking control of the child. The rest of us conservatives and independents can rightfully complain and be disgusted.
Rooster Cogburn
April 12th, 2011
10:45 am
Leucis
April 12th, 2011
10:22 am
Ahem…some of us “far-left” liberals (like myself) do agree with the right wing republitards and think that this is a really dumb idea and an assault on personal freedom. Kids can have food allergies. Many religions have dietary requirements that a lunch lady just won’t understand.
And some of us are vegans and don’t want our children eating grade D processed tortured cow muscle tissue with cheese on top complete with a white bread bun and wilted lettuce (what you right wing folks would call a “burger”).
Nice post, even for a libturd.
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
10:47 am
Some of you people are NOT READING THIS BLOG or are NOT READING THE ARTICLE! This is not government controlled liberalism! This is one principal’s policy for one school. Read the facts before you post your hateful political diatribe!
John Pitzer
April 12th, 2011
10:47 am
It is not the schools right to tell parents that their kids have to purchase lunch from their schools system. I in one would still be sending my children to school with what they want for lunch. If you are worried about kids being fat, bring back Gym class, recess for the smaller kids. I also have to blame the parents too. They purchase these video games instead of making the kids go out and play.
I guess I would never survived school if I had to buy lunch at my school, their food stunk, and they would have had a duck for what I brought A jelly sandwich, a hoho, and chocolate milk to drink, but when I was in school I was always underweight.
These people just need to mind their own business
Dawgs88
April 12th, 2011
10:50 am
What a bunch of Nazis. Typical “educators”, still have their heads up their butts. What kids bring to school to eat from home is none of their business. If I sent my child with a bagged lunch and they took it away, somebody would get a serious ass kicking.
say what?
April 12th, 2011
10:50 am
@Gretchen- My kids would never be caught with a brown paper sack lunch.I think shame of having one of these balled up sacks is reason my kids would be late to the bus trying to fix their lunch.
Hypocrisy is the brown paper sack that the school can provide but you cannot, as well as some schools are now banning peanut butter due to allergies, yet this is what is served as an alternative meal.
This is not a politcal (left vs. right) issue.
joe
April 12th, 2011
10:50 am
Chicago is everyday becoming more and more backarsewards. See my post made at 10:44 on the toe nails blog issue for another great example of Chicago government working hard to destroy the traditional family…now here, they are after traditional home-made lunches…which are much better for the child in many cases.
Trout Dude
April 12th, 2011
10:50 am
Slop Slop Slop Sloppy Joes Yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_-KbstEG4E
There is no one shoe fit’s all. If a kid wants to bring his lunch, let them!
I_Teach
April 12th, 2011
10:52 am
I am cracking up over the blame the liberals/Obama…
Correct me if I am wrong..this program began six years ago…..and who was in charge of our government THEN?
I do NOT agree with everyone buying/receiving school lunches if they don’t want them. I NEVER ate a school lunch, and in my 20 yr teaching career, still haven’t!
Years ago, when I first came to GA to teach, there was an outright ban on soda and candy for/with lunch. If kids brought it, it was sent home. Ditto with fast food. If parents wanted to treat Precious or Darling to fast food kid-lunches, they had to check them out for lunch.
I have NO idea when that all came to a screeching halt, but we have parents sending 20 oz. sodas and all kinds of junk, and dropping off fast food bags for their kids to eat.
Re: sugar-yeah, it provides a very TEMPORARY “sugar high,” but any diabetic will tell you-you crash and burn and are ridiculously lethargic (this is coming from a diabetic who lives this). I hate high-carb, high sugar lunches, because I am guaranteed a sleepy, lethargic group of kids.
I also know that here in GA, the school lunches are borderline criminal! Ravioli with mashed potatoes and a roll? First…ravioli (or any pasta/macaroni) should NEVER be served with another starch….(ew. just EW)…and healthwise? What a total JOKE.
If the lunches they are being provided are better than the garbage our kids are fed…and the parents aren’t screaming…why is it any of OUR business?????? I know that we have numerous kids who rely on their free lunch as the ONLY decent meal they can get.
Greg
April 12th, 2011
10:53 am
When I was a child in school, I got sick quite a bit. After a battery of tests, my doctor determined I had low blood sugar. The doctor “prescribed” that I drink Coke and carry candy in my pocket to ensure my blood sugar didn’t drop. Today, I would be doomed to be sick in our public schools.
Doctors should be doctors.
Parents should be parents.
Educators should be eductors.
I miss the days when father knew best and when mother knew best. Now, the mantra is that government knows best.
joe
April 12th, 2011
10:53 am
here here, dawgs88.
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
10:54 am
Yea Dawgs88, good comparison. Nazis kill 10s of millions of innocent people. One principal starting a policy banning bagged lunches. Sounds about right.
Rooster Cogburn
April 12th, 2011
10:55 am
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
10:47 am
Some of you people are NOT READING THIS BLOG or are NOT READING THE ARTICLE! This is not government controlled liberalism! This is one principal’s policy for one school. Read the facts before you post your hateful political diatribe!
Not much difference in what you are pointing out. Where is the government as far as stepping in to stop this policy? By the way, there is talk of the government using this type of policy going forward. Maybe this is a trial balloon?
PMC
April 12th, 2011
10:57 am
This is mainly just discussion though, if anyone wants to actually challenge the school it would be interesting to see the out come of challenging the rule.
wondering
April 12th, 2011
10:57 am
answer is simple.. Home school your kids and you can feed them whatever you want.
Dan
April 12th, 2011
10:57 am
GeorgianBorn, you are correct it is only one school, but it is undoubtedly an example of government controlled liberalism, albeit on a small scale.
A few posters also commented that it is about money and funding which I tend to agree with, did you see the picture of the lunch in the article, hot dog, tater tots, strawberry flavored milk, processed cheese, some kind of fruit that lookes canned and for the healthy part…carrot sticks. While such a lunch clearly won’t doom a child it is just as clearly not a model of nutrition
Dan
April 12th, 2011
10:58 am
wondering, sounds good but unfortunately you still have to pay for the school wasting your tax money feeding the other kids
uhhh
April 12th, 2011
10:58 am
Eric
go back to school and learn what a runun sentence is. until then, why dont you shut up.
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
11:01 am
Ok, a couple of more points. Rooster, first you complain about the Government involvement. Then when I point out for the 10th time that this was the policy of one principal in one school, you complain about the lack of Government involvement. Choose a side. Dan, that picture of the lunch is most likely a stock photo and not an actual lunch from the school. If you Google this, you will see articles with several different pictures of food. These are stock photos and not actual pictures of lunches from the school.
Tuna
April 12th, 2011
11:01 am
Just the beginning of another step in the Obama-Socialist-Hope and Change This Country campaign. Headed up by Michele, no doubt. Can’t wait for Nov, 2012!
Arno
April 12th, 2011
11:03 am
Mandatory supplements next?
GeorgiaBorn
April 12th, 2011
11:04 am
Tuna: Maybe you didn’t read the article either. This was policy set over 6 years ago by the principle of the school. 6 years ago, your guy was President. Now who you gonna blame?