With Kids Saying 'Yuck,' Some US Schools Quit Healthy-Lunch Program

[Purveyor]

By CAROLYN THOMPSON — Associated Press

After just one year, some schools around the country are dropping out of the healthier new federal lunch program, complaining that so many students turned up their noses at meals packed with whole grains, fruits and vegetables that the cafeterias were losing money.

Federal officials say they don't have exact numbers but have seen isolated reports of schools cutting ties with the $11 billion National School Lunch Program, which reimburses schools for meals served and gives them access to lower-priced food.

Districts that rejected the program say the reimbursement was not enough to offset losses from students who began avoiding the lunch line and bringing food from home or, in some cases, going hungry.

"Some of the stuff we had to offer, they wouldn't eat," said Catlin, Ill., Superintendent Gary Lewis, whose district saw a 10 to 12 percent drop in lunch sales, translating to $30,000 lost under the program last year.

"So you sit there and watch the kids, and you know they're hungry at the end of the day, and that led to some behavior and some lack of attentiveness."

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/08/27/3045008/some-school-districts-quit-healthier.html#storylink=cpy

[msongs]

1. lard sandwiches on white bread with gobs of mayo, and a bag of cheetos, are much cheaper nt

[Wait Wut]

2. "...that led to some behavior and some lack of attentiveness."

So, does feeding them crap.

I saw one pic of what was being passed off as a 'healthy' lunch and was disgusted. I wouldn't eat it, either. This was designed to fail.

[Stargazer09]

3. My kids would rather go hungry

Sure, this was probably a good idea, on paper. Only offer "healthy" food in school lunches, so kids wouldn't be fed high-calorie garbage.

The problem is, kids would rather go hungry than experiment with foods that are tasteless and unappetizing, and I can't blame them for that.

For a year or two, I refused to send lunches with my kids. I paid full price for school lunches, and the kids were told to eat whatever the school served. I wanted to expand their food tastes, to more or less force them to eat what was offered. Instead, they would eat the dessert and drink the milk, and every other item got tossed in the trash. The lunchroom teachers said that the vast majority of the kids in the school did the same thing. And every afternoon, the kids acted like locusts as soon as they got home, eating everything from snack crackers to bowls of cereal to whatever fruit was in the house at the time.

Once I went back to making lunches for them, they stopped coming home hungry, and their behavior in school (particularly the afternoon sessions) dramatically improved.

Personally, I say feed the kids what kids like to eat in school. Let the parents figure out how to balance the rest of the meals to compensate.

[hobbit709]

4. You can start with the best ingredients in the world

But by the time the cooks ruin it, it may be tasteless crap.

[DinahMoeHum]

5. . . .if the cooking is done by a third party outside the school, that is.

If parents, teachers, cooks AND local farmers work together, the results will be more favorable.

Some time ago, I stumbled across a site called The Slow Cook, by writer Ed Bruske. He has 3 series of stories (Boulder, CO, Berkeley, CA and Washington, DC) covering school lunch programs in those cities.

http://www.theslowcook.com/school-food-reports/


Also, Ann Cooper, the "renegade lunch lady"
http://www.chefann.com/

[hobbit709]

6. My wife spent 33 years working as a cook, first at an emergency shelter for kids

and then at a charter school. She spent more time complying with all the USDA regs and paperwork on the Breakfast and Lunch program than anything else. She used the same ingredients that the regular schools used and all the kids ate everything she cooked. But she was a damn fine cook. The ones that spent the day at the schools they went to would skip lunch at school and eat when they got back to the shelter because the cold leftovers tasted better.

The average school district hires people that can crank out high volume batches of cafeteria style food for minimum pay and they get waht they're paying for.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. There is also the issue of processed food rebates. . .

. . .that food service companies like Chartwells, Sodexo, and Aramark peddle to the school districts:

http://www.theslowcook.com/blog/2011/10/18/processed-food-rebates-dominate-school-cafeterias/

http://www.theslowcook.com/blog/2010/07/21/breaking-news-sodexo-to-pay-new-york-20-million-for-school-rebate-fraud/

http://www.theslowcook.com/blog/2011/04/19/d-c-schools-food-director-calls-chartwells-contract-crap/

[closeupready]

11. That's exactly it. In looking at "healthy school lunches" from Google images,

I see: raw carrots; grapes; raw broccoli; cherry tomatoes; sliced cucumbers; blackberries, etc.

I like all of these items when they are cooked or otherwise prepared for a meal, but just dumping them on a plastic tray and expecting kids to eat these things like that? No, I don't think so.

It didn't work back when I was a teen. It won't work now. It won't EVER work.

What is so hard about steaming the veggies, seasoning to taste, and topping with some butter? How about adding leafy greens and tossing a salad? What about serving yogurt topped with those fruits (a dessert I enjoy on occasion)?

It also aids digestion to balance foods together with the enzymes in dairy and fats, and also to pre-cook veggies.

But of course, this would likely cost a bit more, and we have to be as cheap as possible when it comes to the welfare of our children.

[closeupready]

13. And frankly, people talk bad about McDonald's, but

if you look at their grilled chicken premium McWrap, it is really good and healthy - a flour tortilla with grilled chicken, some shredded cheese, sliced cucumbers, romaine lettuce, tomato slices, with a bit of ranch dressing, and for about $4.00.

If McDonald's can do this with what are likely to be the same raw ingredients which the schools have, why can't the SCHOOLS do it?

[KittyWampus]

17. Your wife sounds like she has a lot of knowledge. Has she ever written about her work w/ school food

???

[hobbit709]

19. I wish she had.

[closeupready]

12. Also, I see green beans from a can (apparently),

sliced beets, and green unripe bananas. The peaches are probably hard as rocks.

Yuck. Now THESE things, I would also throw away, and I can't imagine they are the most popular items amongst children either.

[Adrahil]

7. OMG!!

SKIM MILK!?

WHEAT BREAD!!!???

VEGGIES!!!!!??????

Those MONSTERS!

[wild bird]

9. You were a kid once, would you eat that food also?

I sure as hell wouldn't when I was a kid.

The School Lunch Program may have noble intentions, but you can't force kids to eat what they don't like.

[woodsprite]

10. After reading this, I thought I'd check out what my son had today

I hadn't checked the menu and today was his first day of school. Today was Cheesesteak, California Mix Veggies, Cucumber Slices w/Lite Dip Cinnamon Applesauce and Milk. If kids bought breakfast today, they would have had Breakfast Pizza, Fresh Fruit, Fruit Juice, Milk.

Thursday sounds filling, totally filled with starch that is, unless those are the toppings on the nachos -- Beef & Cheese Nachos, Savory Steamed Brown Rice, Seasoned Corn, Refried Beans, Lettuce/Tomato/Salsa, Chilled Pears, Milk. I imagine that Thursday afternoon will be a major carb crash for most of the student body.

Luckily there are other daily options: Seasonal Fresh Fruit, Veggie Burger, Chef Salad, Tuna Salad Sandwich, Yogurt & Cheese Platter, plus weekly sandwich options.

I also found out that meals were continued for families through the summer, Mondays through Thursdays. It looks like inner city schools provided both breakfast and lunch, where the more suburban schools provided lunches. One school in each area also had several "Family Dinner" nights on Wednesdays throughout the summer. There was a $20 weekly fee if you signed your kids up for meals along with a half day summer camp (5-12yo). This program looks like it was offered at 14 public schools in our district. Their flyer reads "Who is Eligible? All children 18 years of age and under are eligible to receive FREE meals. No need to apply for the program - just bring yourself and enjoy tasty & nutritious meals".

Last night at the meet/greet w/ homeroom teachers, I heard that a lot of kids were coming in from Philadelphia-area schools. One 8th grade boy was walking to all his classrooms alone and introducing himself to all his teachers - no mom/gmom or dad/gdad with him.

[whoiswithme]

14. why are we doing this at all?

Can't kids pack a lunch? Mine do.

[lunatica]

15. Do you know how many millions of kids go to school hungry?

If you go without a meal do you get cranky and find your concentration on reading or math start to lag because you're thinking about food? Does your stomach ache after a few hours of missing a meal?

Imagine how little kids feel whose parents don't have enough money to send lunches to school. That's why schools feed children.

[LittleBlue]

16. It's not right to blame the students

My high school wasn't restricted, and there were some questionable meals being served in the lunch line. We had open campus so I left for lunch every day.

God only knows what they'd cook up if deprived of fats.

[quinnox]

18. Can't say this is surprising

Trying to force feed kids "rabbit food", well, that isn't going to work. At least give them a choice of the healthy style food, and the standard "bad" for you, but good tasting food.