~ HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD...? New madness ?? ~

[vfem]

Ok... straight to pointing the finger! I blame it on the federal government and their constant need and desire to make EVERYTHING cheap so everyone can afford something. But of course that prices people out of the 'good for you food'.

Here, I like this article:

http://www.grist.org/article/philpott7/

 

[curly_kate]

This is an interesting graphic on US food subsidies: http://www.good.is/post/why-does-a-salad-cost-more-than-a-big-mac/?

 

[journey11]

This is an interesting graphic on US food subsidies: http://www.good.is/post/why-does-a-salad-cost-more-than-a-big-mac/?

A very revealing illustration, for sure! It's all about priorities and right now, good nutrition is not the priority it should be.

The article on the teacher wasn't very in depth. I would like to know more what it was that they found so objectionable that she was doing and who exactly did the complaining.... I wonder if it had to do with the exchange of money for the food her cart provided, being not authorized or run by school bureaucracy? Not like she was making a profit though! But the darn government has to have its hands in every little thing....

 

[seedcorn]

The problem obviously is the parents don't want to take responsiblity, and the school doesn't want to have upset parents... and the cycle continues.

Herein lies the problem/solution. You can't legislate good eating habits. School cafeterias will serve what the kids will consume and try their best within the constraints they are given.

 

[wifezilla]

Partially. There are also a lot of gvnmt mandates about how things are served, what they can serve, etc...

I honestly don't think you can make good tasty food that fits in the gvmnt guidelines.

 

[seedcorn]

Neighbor is cook at local school. They do make healthy food, kids won't buy it........so goes in trash. Line for processed food is always long. Pop and high sugar drinks have been banned from school here. If you want it, you have to bring it in.

 

[hikerchick]

For a while I worked a side job demonstrating products in the supermarket. ( I know, I felt like I was part of the problem but I needed the money.)

What always amazed me is looking at what people had in their carts. I would see families with overflowing carts that had no food in them at all. Do people really live on that stuff? The carts would be filled with soda, chips, cookies, cakes, hot dogs, etc. Not a container of yogurt nor anything green in sight.

And clerks would always comment to me when ringing up my order - wow, you sure eat healthy. I mean, I have a large amount of processed food in my order, I admit it- cheese, cereal, Kashi frozen meals, etc. I am not nearly as pure in my food consumption as I would like; and people still think my purchases are "so healthy". I always want to ask - what the heck do you eat?

I took a group of my daughter's friends with us on a weekend trip once .I brought snacks- cut up fruit, veggies with dip, hummus and pita, etc. One of the friend's mothers wanted to contribute and she sent a bag of cheese balls and little debbie cakes. I ended up bringing it back to her- the kids preferred the stuff I brought. I just think a lot of kids are not exposed to real food.

 

[vfem]

My sister has NEVER made my nephews a sandwich or let them chose something fresh. They get a oscar meyer little lunchable EVERYDAY to bring to school. They are NOT allowed to have water bottles at school (who knows why that is?!) but can have juice packs?! Really?!?!

My nephew brought bananas one week and my sister got a letter not to send fresh fruits, unless its in plastic because they squish and spoil in the kids lunch boxes. She's supposed to send fruit in disposable containers!

I wanted to flip my lid on that one.

 

[wifezilla]

Unfortunately kids raised on instant breakfast cereals don't kno what real food is. I used to be one.

Anyone else know about the undercover teacher eating school lunches and reporting on them?
http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/

 

[curly_kate]

My sister has NEVER made my nephews a sandwich or let them chose something fresh. They get a oscar meyer little lunchable EVERYDAY to bring to school. They are NOT allowed to have water bottles at school (who knows why that is?!) but can have juice packs?! Really?!?!

My nephew brought bananas one week and my sister got a letter not to send fresh fruits, unless its in plastic because they squish and spoil in the kids lunch boxes. She's supposed to send fruit in disposable containers!

I wanted to flip my lid on that one.

That is so frustrating! Not only can they not bring real food, they have to create extra trash, too. I was in school when lunchables came out, and remember asking my mom for them. Of course, I never got them because they were so much more expensive than the lunch that she would make for me. Now I realize I was incredibly lucky.

In my good ol' Catholic school days, we really didn't have any choices when it came to lunch. We ate what they served. I think we could choose choc vs. regular milk and maybe what vegetable we wanted. Admittedly, I ate garbage for lunch in high school (Coke, cheetos, and nutty bars being one of my faves at the time), but I didn't leave home without breakfast (usually Cheerios or something), and my mom always made a scratch dinner that included a fruit & a veggie. I realize now I was very, very spoiled.