Friday, November 16, 2007

School Lunches

Why do the majority of parents let their kids eat the school lunch no questions asked? Ayla & I went to Micah's school this morning for a "Books & Breakfast" event. We were served little cups of juice & super-processed cinnamon rolls. About an hour after we left it was snack time. They usually have cheez-it type crackers or some other kind of carb & milk. They can have chocolate or regular milk. Guess what most kids (mine included) choose? As we were walking out the door I noticed that only one other kid had brought lunch from home today.
This is what everyone else was served at lunch-time;
French Toast
Strawberry Topping
Low Fat Pork Sausage
Hash Brown Patty
Oranges and Kiwi
Milk Choice
Again a milk choice. Like given a choice most kids will choose regular over chocolate. At the charter school Micah & Ayla's cousins go to they have a policy that no candy is allowed. Joanne brought snacks for their Halloween party & guess what they were? Baby carrots, dip & juice. I was at Micah's school on Halloween & my job for the morning was to help the kids frost & decorate sugar cookies for their morning snack! I was talking to my friend Amy yesterday & she said that at her son's school fruit snacks are a standard morning snack. What are the ingredients in those, Shannon? I'm guessing it's something like food coloring, sugar, high fructose corn syrup & oh yeah 2% juice. It's really not that hard to feed kids healthy food. You just have to think about it a little bit. OK, I'm done with my rant for the day.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mindy, did I forget to tell you that yesterday they served rice krispies with chocolate for their snack. Another day Ethan came home and told me they had brownies with whip cream. Then one day when we were at the store he pointed to Hoho's and said that was the brownies they had! He has now learned some new vocabulary thanks to school, Little Debbie.

Shannon said...

This is exactly the reason I want to send my kids to a charter school, Waldorf or homeschool. I really, really, really do not want my precious children exposed to such crap. It literally makes my heart hurt. I can't think about it too much or it drives me crazy. I would get so much flack from my friends and family for homeschooling. This alone makes me want to do it and be successful. Cheer me on!

Mindy said...

I know what you mean. I was semi-seriously considering homeschooling the other day!

Shannon said...

I'm doing some research and the Hopkins school district instituted a local and organic lunch program last year. Now if only I can afford a house in Hopkins district!

Unknown said...

And now look at the statistics for depression, obesity, ADD/ADHD, and all kinds of other bizarre disorders in this country...

Anonymous said...

Combatting the epidemic of juvenile diabetes has been one of Bill Clinton's projects - he successfully lobbied to get soda and candy vending machines out of schools. Maybe you guys could lobby to get local changes and create an impact that would benefit not just your own kids but all the other kids at the school whose parents might not be as concientious as you all.

Mindy said...

Sigh...you would have to say that, Seth. I had the same thought myself, but it's so much easier to complain than to go out & make a difference.