It's no wonder kids are becoming overweight and obese earlier and earlier...in a LOT of cases the parents aren't teaching them proper nutrition, and THIS is what they're getting in school....
This is the school menu for the 2009-2010 school year where I live. Only one week, but the rest is the same...
Everyday Breakfast options – Cinnamon roll; strawberry, blueberry or brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts; oatmeal breakfast cookie; cereal bars; string cheese and crackers; strawberry, chocolate or white milk; apple, orange or grape juice.
Daily options – Monday: sausage roll with mustard; Tuesday: breakfast pizza; Wednesday: sausage biscuit with jelly; Thursday: pancake on a stick with syrup; Friday: French toast stix with syrup.
Lunch - each day milks, fruits, veggies and desserts are served.
Monday – mini tacos or pepperoni hot pocket and cheesy bread stix.
Tuesday – ravioli and cheese stuffed stix or chicken on a bun with chips.
Wednesday – cheeseburger and potato wedges (the wedges are "smiles" on the menu) or burrito and potato wedges.
Thursday – chicken nuggets and a roll or deli-wrap with chips.
Friday – PBJ Uncrustable with chips or cheese pizza with bread stix.
It just KILLS me that the school cafeteria is serving a peanut butter and jelly UNCRUSTABLE (frozen breakfast fast food) as a MEAL at LUNCH. The "healthiest" thing on the entire menu of 20+ items would probably be a turkey deli wrap, which is probably frozen, or the salisbury steak (also probably frozen). Other than that, it's the Thanksgiving meal before kids will have anything even remotely resembling an actual meal...
Wow...
No wonder children are overweight, eh... man, my mother was always so good at making sure my lunches were like... sandwich with whole wheat bread, apple, carrot sticks, and then ONE little debbie cake type thing, and a juice box. I don't think my kids are gonna get lunch money for school......
Wow - I remember thinking it was cool when we got the squares of pepperoni pizza in school once per month or so, and it had the little chopped up pepperoni so maybe two pieces per slice total. Uncrustables? What is up with that?
You are so right Mindi, not a wonder we have such a high rate of childhood obesity if this is what we teach them is a 'good' meal at school.
Wow - I remember thinking it was cool when we got the squares of pepperoni pizza in school once per month or so, and it had the little chopped up pepperoni so maybe two pieces per slice total. Uncrustables? What is up with that?
You are so right Mindi, not a wonder we have such a high rate of childhood obesity if this is what we teach them is a 'good' meal at school.
ME TOO! Those were the BEST days EVER! I loved pizza days...and they were only maybe once a month, like you said. I remember having a tray with a protein, a bread AND veggies (usually green beans or peas with every single meal). We rarely had french fries, and every so often they did mashed potatoes.
And what makes it REALLY sad, is that it is so easy to teach kids good nutrition, and make it a habit.
My 5 year old will automatically choose a balanced meal if I ask what he wants for dinner. Top 4 meals:
Steak and asparagus and wild rice (his favorite)
Special chicken (cordon bleu) and broccoli and noodles
Hot dogs and green beans and mac & cheese
Spaghetti and salad
OK - we're not perfect. Hot dogs and mac & cheese ain't the best nutrition. But at least he eats and LIKES vegetables.
Next year I get to try and convince him that healthy lunches really are better than what's offered above - fun!
What disturbs me even more is something that happens at my own job. I work at a gas station in an extremely bad area, ghetto even, and we have the food stamp system. I watch, time and time again, as parents bring their kids in and buy $20 to $30 worth of candy bars, sodas, chips, ice cream on their government funded food stamp cards. And more times than not, both the parents and the children are overweight.
It makes me wonder why the government doesn't restrict these types of things ..... school lunches, what can be bought with these food stamps (hey, heard of bread, milk, and eggs anyone??), etc. Frankly speaking, it kind of pisses me off that my tax money is going to people who are abusing it knowingly (I REALLY get angry when they pay for their junk food with the stamps card then turn around and drop $40 on lotto scratch off's).... and those who are not doing it knowingly... are being condemned to years and years of health problems and added misery in their lives due to obesity and lack of knowledge. Which, of course.... then the government funded health care they use ALSO comes out of our tax dollars, as well.
To me it just all seems so...... ugh.
I wish I could do something about it.... but what??
Last edited by starfishkitty; 07-23-2009 at 07:54 PM.
Okay, that menu is awful... even as a kid I would have felt ill by the end of the day if I was eating like that everyday. We complain about kids not behaving and being moody and hyperactive in school, but this is what we feed them? If I ate like that everyday I'd be soaring and crashing from quick energy bursts too. You wouldn't want to be around me and you certainly wouldn't want me in your classroom strung out on sugar and simple carbs.
No wonder...
