Federal Lunchbox Inspectors Throw Out Preschoolers

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

...lunch.

Who knew we had a Federal Preschool Lunch Box Screeners Corps of America? This would be funnier if it weren't true.

www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/homemade-lunch-replaced-with-cafeteria-nuggets.html

RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

At some point, we're going to have to tell even the low level people who are "just doing their jobs" to please f*** off and get the f*** out.

We simply have to reach a point where we no longer cooperate with, or obey these people. The strategy has to be to so overwhelm the system that there are just too many people to put into non-nutritious pre-school lunch packer jail.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

And I would put money on the fact that all this school lunch hullabaloo is about eventually BANNING ALL FOOD FROM HOME so that we are FORCED to purchase food from state-approved cafeterias that have to be registered, licensed, certified, and of course staffed with union employees. And before you say I'm crazy or start arguing with me-- just remember I'm right in almost every case on stuff like this.

[reasonfreedom]

I would tell them to go to heck, telling me to eat grains. Grains are bad for you, see what happens when you get the idiotic government involved. If they kicked my kid out for not having a grain, i would be awful close to be using my second amendment.

[weltschmerz]

just remember I'm right in almost every case on stuff like this.
---------------------
Of course you are.
:::pats PBP on the head and gives him a cookie:::

[billisonboard]

Some one checks lunches sent and provides items to fill nutritional needs left unfilled by the home packed lunch. Communists.

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 17:34:39 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

This is a bizzaro story anyway. What do you do about religious restrictions? Allergies, Metabolic disease, the obese child, the underweight child, the child who is a sloth, the other one who is an athlete. How is it possible to micromanage every bite they eat? They can be different sizes, genders, etc.

In an individual preschool setting, the individuals involved get to know the individuals involved and do. That is how.

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 17:39:58 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

How does that work if they are supposed to use a checklist and go down each item? Obviously the mom knows her child better than any school worker would even under ideal circumstances.

Individuals always make individual decisions. Cooperation between home and school is critical. The program is fine. Execution obviously needs to be worked on.

[reasonfreedom]

The schools need to worry about what the schools serve not what comes out of home. If the government wants the children to have healthy meals, then they need to stop the food inflation. 80% of the stuff you get from the normal grocery store is bad for you anyways. The government shouldn't have programs for nutrition, the parents should be smart enough to know better. If the parents are to stupid to know better it isn't going to help because you put the candy in the mob's hand if you take it away you better be weary.

[Mkitty is pro kitty]

From the article:

"Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria “Nuggets”"

Note "replaced."

"When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones."

Note the word "supplement," you know, add with?

You can't "replace" and "supplement" at the same time. Stories that aren't even internally consistent get a from me. Cue the sad trombone sadtrombone.com/ , hand out a consolation prize, and get on with our lives.

The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation

Ah, some anonymous person, and except for chain e-mails, it's the bestest source there is, especially since the story started with the pre-schooler; I can't imagine mom being there and did the Lunchbox inspector go blab?

At some point, we're going to have to tell even the low level people who are "just doing their jobs" to please f*** off and get the f*** out.

At some point, we're going to have to not f***ing believe everything we f***ing read, just because it fits our f***ing worldview.

Today's lunch tip: pack your child's food in plastic, not tin foil.

This would be funnier if it weren't true.

Are you prepared to laugh more then? And it'd be funnier if this weren't the nth hokey story out there to keep the manufactured outrage quota up. Someone should open up a chapter of outrageaholics anonymous somewhere.

[Abby Normal]

This has been the rule for some time. I'm not sure what the big deal is. My kids both managed to survive. Though the staff shouldn't toss the entire lunch, just provide what is missing. In the case listed, the lunch should have been fine, even with the inclusion of potatoe chips. It doesn't have to be milk, it has to be a dairy. It doesn't have to be meat, but protein.

My kids still pack their lunch using the formula- protein, grain, dairy, fruit and a vegetable. Because I'm a horrible mother and will not let them take two fruits.

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 17:45:19 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

No. I'm afraid I have to agree with Paul on this. Either there are guidelines to be rigidly followed or individual discretion is allowed. If individual discretion is allowed, it should be that of the parent, not the school.

Baring legitimate concerns such as contaminated foodstuffs, allergies when food is shared, or the possibility of tampering by a nut, the parent should be the authority.

Some stoned slut too lazy to climb over last night's last call "boy friend" yelling "Grab a Twinkie and a Coke" shouldn't be the authority. We have a legitimate right to help meet the nutritional needs of those too young to be able to look out for themselves. A government program that does so is good.

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 18:01:08 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

This has been the rule for some time. I'm not sure what the big deal is. My kids both managed to survive. Though the staff shouldn't toss the entire lunch, just provide what is missing. In the case listed, the lunch should have been fine, even with the inclusion of potatoe chips. It doesn't have to be milk, it has to be a dairy. It doesn't have to be meat, but protein.

My kids still pack their lunch using the formula- protein, grain, dairy, fruit and a vegetable. Because I'm a horrible mother and will not let them take two fruits.

From the link in the OP:

While the mother and grandmother thought the potato chips and lack of vegetable were what disqualified the lunch, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child Development said that should not have been a problem.

“With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that’s the dairy,” said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. “It sounds like the lunch itself would’ve met all of the standard.” The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said.
...
The state regulation reads:

“Sites must provide breakfast and/or snacks and lunch meeting USDA requirements during the regular school day. The partial/full cost of meals may be charged when families do not qualify for free/reduced price meals.

“When children bring their own food for meals and snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the specified nutritional requirements, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements.”

Still, Kozlowski said, the parents shouldn’t have been charged.

“The school may have interpreted [the rule] to mean they felt like the lunch wasn’t meeting the nutritional requirements and so they wanted the child to have the school lunch and then charged the parent,” she said. “It sounds like maybe a technical assistance need for that school.”

[reasonfreedom]

Feb 14, 2012 18:01:08 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

This has been the rule for some time. I'm not sure what the big deal is. My kids both managed to survive. Though the staff shouldn't toss the entire lunch, just provide what is missing. In the case listed, the lunch should have been fine, even with the inclusion of potatoe chips. It doesn't have to be milk, it has to be a dairy. It doesn't have to be meat, but protein.

My kids still pack their lunch using the formula- protein, grain, dairy, fruit and a vegetable. Because I'm a horrible mother and will not let them take two fruits.

There is know way I would let my kid eat that make-up of a lunch.

A descent proportion of society is lactose intolerant, let alone the milk served probably has rbgh and other hormones\antibiotics in it. I would maybe give them raw milk(raw goats milk is better for human enzymes).

Grains are by far one of the worst things you can eat. 3 words Lectins, glutens, and phytates. If you want a better explanation here is a link.

www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/#axzz1mOtpyBsI

Fruits which are healthy only help lead to the epidemic of obesity. Berries in moderation is the best, since they have low fructose levels(not all berries mind you).

Eating by their guidelines is only damaging to your child's immune system.

[decoy409]

PalmBeachPaul,

I thank you for this more than hilarious laugh!

Quote:RAEFORD — A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.



At some point, we're going to have to tell even the low level people who are "just doing their jobs" to please f*** off and get the f*** out.

We simply have to reach a point where we no longer cooperate with, or obey these people. The strategy has to be to so overwhelm the system that there are just too many people to put into non-nutritious pre-school lunch packer jail.'
(end)

You know it is very hard to believe that . But I most certainly do. Go GMO's go!

[fairlycrazy23]

Feb 14, 2012 18:29:44 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

Well, sad to say the lunatic fringe will always run wild. One would think that a well-intentioned rule to make sure parents at least feed their kids, would cause no problems, but when one is a jumped up egomaniac, even a harmless homemade lunch is a cause for war.

I'm not sure it has to be an egomaniac, it could just be an over zealous employee who absolutely thinks they are doing the right thing.

I also wonder how much of the nutritious lunch goes straight into the bin?

[zibazinski]

How funny, I made my kids lunches and packed them bag chips and even included fruit roll ups. They aren't fat, lazy, or stupid.

[Phoenix84]

If that were my kid, I'd go to school and tell that lunch box inspector to go to hell, and guard my kid from harrasment while they eat the lunch I prepared. I'd dare them to stop me.

[beenherebefore]

This is sooooo wrong on many, many levels. People need to pay attention to what's going on in their local governments and State governments.

According to this link, 74% of students at this school are eligible for free lunch, if this is correct, why did they allocate someone to look in lunch boxes? Is the objective to have 100% of their students eligible for free lunch? Do they have nothing else to do?

Pathetic.....

www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/59698

[mmhmm]

Where in the article does it say the child was "thrown out"? There's no evidence of that, paul. No evidence, at all.

[whoisjohngalt]

I must be the only one who is very troubled by two things here:

1. That anyone from the govt/school, etc has any right to give/supplement/add/subtract my child food without my permission (It's not like they confiscated Absolute from a preschooler's lunch box)
2. That govt spends so much time and resources on things that have nothing to do with education in a place that sole purpose is to educate.

That would be reason alone for me to advocate homeschooling.

Lena

[zipity]

Federal Lunchbox Inspectors Throw Out Preschoo
Who knew we had a Federal Preschool Lunch Box Screeners Corps of America? This would be funnier if it weren't true.

This does seem like a serious issue, my only question is why PBP misrepresented the story in the title of this thread. This story is about a North Carolina state law and someone believed to be a state inspector, why would federal 'lunchbox' inspectors be summoned to enforce a state law. Maybe PBP didn't read the article.

It‘s unclear from reports who determined the lunch wasn’t healthy enough. The Carolina Journal refers to the person as a “state agent,” while the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the persona “state inspector” who was checking lunches that day. In an email to The Blaze, Caroline Journal reporter said the inspector was “an employee of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education.”
www.theblaze.com/stories/n-c-food-inspector-sends-girls-lunch-home-after-determining-its-not-healthy-enough/

The sad reality here is that even the best intentions can be corrupted by one inept employee.

[handyman2]

I wonder if the food police ever bothered with how and what with chicken nuggets are prepared.
I know children need balanced diets but I also know there are children with situations they don't have the required food stuffs to meet the food police guidelines. I can see no candy or cokes but there must be reason that prevails.
I would like to know by what athority they are working under?

[Deleted]

The law is, if that preschooler brings in one more non-nutritious lunch she gets turned into soylent green and fed, in nugget form, to the other children.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 20:01:26 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

...
2. That govt spends so much time and resources on things that have nothing to do with education in a place that sole purpose is to educate.

...
Lena

Lena, in case you had a nutritionally well balanced dinner tonight I thought I would offer this information:

A healthy, well-prepared brain is one of the first essentials for learning anything. Like any other complex machinery, your brain needs energy. Basically it gets it from the food you eat.
.
Feed it a low-energy diet, and it won't perform well. Feed is a high-energy det, and your personal computer will work smoothly, efficiently.
.
For energy it needs plenty of glucose. That's why fresh fruit and vegetables are so essential: they are rich in glucose.
.
To learn effectively – and for your mind and body to work effectively – your brain sends millions of messages around the body every second: sometimes billions. These messages travel along "axons", the major pathways that link each of your 100 billion active brain cells to each others and to all parts of your body.
.
Each axon is insulated by a myelin sheath, which acts as an insulator. The better the insulation, the more efficient the message is transmitted. And that transmission system is vitally affected by good diet.
.
Your brain also needs the right type of energy to produce chemical-flows which impact on the electrical messages being transmitted around the brain and the body. Scientists call those chemical effects "neurotransmitters" (neuro meaning mind and transmit meaning to send). And these neurotransmitters in turn depend on a balanced diet, one that includes plenty of protein. www.thelearningweb.net/diet-nutrition-education.html

[formerexpat]

Of course you are.
:::pats PBP on the head and gives him a cookie:::

Anything constructive to add, sweetheart?

:::pats Weltz on the ass and tells her to get in the kitchen:::

[whoisjohngalt]

Bills
My dinner must have been not too balanced or too nutritious bc I have no idea what was the point of your post. If you are trying to tell me that it's important to eat healthy - I agree with you. If you are trying to tell me that it is govt's job to ensure that "my" child is eating healthy - well, I am not sure how to respond to that.

Lena

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 23:10:15 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Bills
My dinner must have been not too balanced or too nutritious bc I have no idea what was the point of your post. If you are trying to tell me that it's important to eat healthy - I agree with you. If you are trying to tell me that it is govt's job to ensure that "my" child is eating healthy - well, I am not sure how to respond to that.

Lena

You indicated that schools needed to be concerned with educating students. A balanced diet assists in that endeavor as much as doing another drill and kill worksheet. Working to make sure that students have a balanced food intake is a part of a well rounded educational effort.

[wvugurl26]

You must be crazy if you think a school can do this better than a parent. Some inspector has no idea what foods the kid will actually eat or what they are allergic to. Having people inspect lunches is a colossal waste of resources. Those lunches the schools get paid to provide for students from low income families are horrible for you. Processed crap and everything else in them.

[billisonboard]

Feb 14, 2012 23:19:43 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

You must be crazy ...

Actually I am quite sane. How about your sanity?