School Lunch: Food for Thought (Infographic)

[accadacca]

blog.teacollection.com

[DiscGo]

Am I the only one that came from a family that couldn't afford school lunch and didn't want to mooch of the Government? I brought my lunch to school every day until about my junior year of high school when I could afford going out (with money that I earned).

[Jaxx]

Only 1 billion per year! what a deal.

Help kids that need it, sure.

Is Obesity from school lunch or from laziness/couch potatoes?

Get outside and play fatty!
That is the new name of the Jaxx initiative of 2010. Every parent with a fat kid buys him fruits and veggies for snacks instead of chips and candy and they cook the kids healthy meals and packs a healthy lunch from home. Then after the kids gets home (and finishes their home work) and you catch them watching TV or playing Nintendo you yell "Get outside and play fatty!!!!!"

I can't see a problem at all with this legislation. I just need 1,000,000,000 to get this going. Who wants to donate?

[REDFOX]

I packed a lunch the majority of the time because I didn't want to spend my lunch time waiting in the lunch line.

[mattandersao]

Unfortunately I eat school lunch everyday (free for me as I also have to babysit the 12-14 year olds) my favorite meals (sarcasm button needed) are the corn dog and french fry day, perhaps the pre made and wrapped Maverickesque burrito!

[tanya]

Sounds yummy. But what they and most adults eat before and after school is not much better. My 3 teen (extremely fit and lean girls) are on a baking spree! They are making cookies and cakes and cupcakes and its almost a daily thing! One is an incredible little gymnast... hmm... wonder how long before she feels the junk she is eating? Another a cheerleader. I assume everyone will let her know if she gains a lb. Then my oldest, Ms. everything sports.... she is the instigator! luckily she goes to college this next year.

Their feeling... they can eat junk while young since they still look good and don't have to be on a diet all the time like....


ME....

I guess its their way of rebelling. It could be worse.

Except all this junk food is at home!!!! Cant they go and be bad and do drugs and rob people or something instead.

[Deathcricket]

Am I the only one that came from a family that couldn't afford school lunch and didn't want to mooch of the Government? I brought my lunch to school every day until about my junior year of high school when I could afford going out (with money that I earned).

Amen brother!!

I was hoping I was wasn't the only one thinking "well if school food sucks so bad, why don't they cut funding out altogether?". Bagged healthy lunches (the parents pack) for the win!

[accadacca]

Screw school lunch! I am headed to McDonald's.

[mtthwlw]

I work in a public elementary school and (in the past) have been amazed at the low quality food that passed for school lunch. Lately I've been pleasantly surprised with needed improvements in the school lunch program-- not that it's perfect, but it is getting better. Before, I wouldn't allow my own kids to eat school lunch. Now, I let them choose a few days a week to eat at the school.

The Washington County Schools (as well as two other districts that I have visited-- Iron and Davis) provides a salad bar for the kids at every school. The salad bar regularly has baby spinach, carrots, kidney beans, celery, guv'ment cheese, cucumbers, salad, as well as two choices of fruit. Not a bad selection of veggies and other healthy foods. My own children, who are MOSTLY vegetarian by choice, have lots of choices at the salad bar even when they don't like the main selection.

The meal choices are getting healthier too. Less fatty. More whole wheat and brown rice rather than the white varieties. They offer skim milk. It's less processed... although the main course can range from really bad (canned raviolis and heated school-pizza) to pretty good (teriyaki chiken or chickn fajitas). They have cut calories and fat. The food is getting better.

This is one of the selections that I would choose to eat, or encourage my kids to try:
http://www4.washk12.org/school_meals...ch/index7.html

The calorie count for the meal listed above is 777-- if the kid gets the cake, has a squirt of ranch dressing, and gets chocolate instead of 2% milk along with everything else. (They also offer skim at 90 calories instead of 160). I'm guessing from watching what my kids eat of their meals, they are probably only consuming about 500-600 calories. A healthy active kid at elementary age should get about 12-1800 calories a day.

I guess what I'm saying is that the lunch program in my county isn't bad... and if kids are used to eating good food at home, they generally make good choices in the lunch line too.

And when you consider that many of these kids don't get a warm meal with ANY veggies... the school meal program (with it's improvements) seems to be a good program. I would love to see more improvements and some limiting of access to vending machines in the secondary schools... but that's another matter.

[offpiste]

1 meal a day, that of which most students throw away, is the cause of obesity? Not defending school lunch just asking.......

[Sombeech]

[offpiste]