5 Comments

Sorry, the commnet got subitted before I finished. Here’s the continued version:

I am totally against removing vending machines from schools. Kids do get hungry in-between meals and vending options are great tot fill them up. But, it’s always good to stuff them with healthy options rather than junk food.

I work for a company that offers healthy vending machines. Check here for more information: http://www.freshvending.com

[Reply]

@Sylvia

First of all good to know that your school is meeting the nutrition guidelines. I know tehre are many schools in US that do not even come close to these nutrition guidelines.

Secondly, I agree taht schools do not need any additional funds to set their nutrition standard. They can very well do it within their budget. All they have to do is provide with healthy and nutritious food in lunch rather than junk food options. Now why do they need more money for that? Do fruits and vegetables cost more than Pizza, burgers? I don’t think so.

Plus, they can easily replace the vending machines with the ones that provide healthy vending food options. Since they’ll be replacing these machines, the money can be used to get healthy vending machines.

[Reply]

Emily,
I am sorry that your school is not meeting good nutritional guidelines.

I am a school nutrition employee in the Fulton Cty schools in Atlanta. Fortunately, I can tell you that our lunches do not mirror yours. Fruits and vegetables are offered every day. Fresh salads as well. Our school nutrition program is able to run at this level on the current funding it receives from the government, along with the money that students pay for their lunches. Bottom line, schools CAN produce healthy lunches with the govt reimbursements they currently receive.

Sarah,
Based on these facts of what I am personally seeing as an school nutriion employee, I disagree with the need for additional funding for school lunches.

What needs to be done, is to examine BEST PRACTICES, of the school nutrition programs that ARE able to provide healthy options for lunches at the current funding rate, and figure out what is wrong in the school lunch programs that are not meeting students needs and bringing them up to standard. SIMPLY THROWING MORE MONEY AT SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS IS IRRESPONSIBLE (the additional 300.0 m you mentioned in your article). If they are mis-managing the lunch program now, additional monies WILL NOT HELP!

Additionally, increasing the number of families enrolled in the free lunch program is also not wise. I see many kids who are enrolled in the free lunch program, but easily spend cash on snacks and a la carte food that is more expensive. In seeing that, one has to surmise their NEED is truly not a NEED. Monitor and check up on who is receiving the free lunch program now. Eliminate those families who truly are not in need, and spread those dollars to families who are in need.

Simply increasing the amount of money spent on this does not equal meeting the goal of healthy kids. This is a goal that goes way beyond the food served at school. It is something a family must strive for as well.

[Reply]

@Emily thanks for share your story! Unfortunately, you are not alone most school lunches are unhealthy (do to a whole host of reasons from tight budgets, to old equipment, to out-dated standards). The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act is a pretty good first step towards changing the ways we feed kids in our schools. We’ve got to make this Act (and the $ needed to fund it) a priority for Congress.

[Reply]

I work for Albuquerque Public Schools as an EA. Because of the low wage I receive, my daughter is eligible for free school meals. The problem, however, is nothing healthy is served at schools!

In all seriousness, this is a typical lunch served at the school where I work: a dinner roll, breaded mozzarella sticks, french fries, and a ketchup packet (the first ingredient being high fructose corn syrup). I’m not kidding, this is their lunch menu, and this very meal is served on average once a week! I’ll give our school this, they do offer salads, but the salads are lettuce going slimy with over a quarter inch of liquid in the bottom of the plate, no other veggies, breaded chicken strips on top, a hunk of cheese, and full fat ranch as the only dressing option. If it was on a store shelf, it’d have to be thrown out. And the vegetarian option? Peanut butter pockets, with the awful stretched bread, fake fruit jelly, and peanut butter that resembles brown Crisco.

How is this healthy? I honestly feel that it is borderline child neglect to subject my child to this type of diet on a daily basis, and yet I cannot afford to send her to school with a lunch every day. There’s a reason she qualifies for free school meals!

What’s a parent to do? This is outrageous!

[Reply]

Leave a Comment