School lunch tastes like vomit

[973beachbum]

Students in a rural Kentucky county — and their parents — are the latest to join a growing national chorus of scorn for the healthy school lunches touted by first lady Michelle Obama.

“They say it tastes like vomit,” said Harlan County Public Schools board member Myra Mosley at a contentious board meeting last week, reports The Harlan Daily Enterprise.

The growing body of USDA meal regulations implemented by the Department of Agriculture under the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010″ has long been a signature issue for the first lady.

Denizens of Harlan County don’t much care, though. Their primary concern at the board meeting was a bevy of complaints that local children are starving at lunch — and for the remainder of the school day — because the food on offer in the cafeteria is crappy and there isn’t nearly enough of it.

news.yahoo.com/kentucky-students-first-lady-michelle-obama-food-tastes-131827085.html

It went on to say that the calorie caps are way to low and skim milk and whole wheat bread are too disgusting to eat.  So what say you all YM?

[Deleted]

Chicken nuggets every day!

[gs11rmb]

I say that my perception of rural Kentucky does not involve cuisine.  Whole wheat bread too disgusting to eat - really?  What is the obestity rate for that community?

[973beachbum]

Aug 27, 2013 12:29:37 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Chicken nuggets every day!

Chicken nuggets are only one variety of chicken crap served at the schools.  there are also chicken patties, chicken fries n fries, chicken fingers plus a whole bunch more I have banished from my momory.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Considering what our school lunches used to be I'm not surprised the kids are whining.  Whole wheat bread or slab of greasy fatty pizza/macho nachos.  Hmm . .which would you choose as a kid?

[movingforward]

I read this earlier today and LOL!  I guess people would rather have happy kids eating junk than to actually have them eating healthy meals.  Oh, and I thought lunch room food sucked back when I was a kid too... if your kid doesn't like the lunch room food then pack them a lunch.  If they need to be on free lunch then be happy they are getting free food...

And yeah, what drama said...

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2013 12:32:55 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Aug 27, 2013 12:29:37 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Chicken nuggets every day!

Chicken nuggets are only one variety of chicken crap served at the schools.  there are also chicken patties, chicken fries n fries, chicken fingers plus a whole bunch more I have banished from my momory.

They server chicken nuggets and the kids don;t eat it?

[Angel!]

People shouldn't be surprised when kids complain about healthy food after being fed a diet of junk food at home.  I was happy to learn that DS' school only offers flavored milk one day/wk.  He doesn't get that junk at home, I don't need it available to him everyday at school. 

Of course it turns out he prefers to bring his lunch everyday.  So I guess I didn't need to worry about what they served anyway.

[Phoenix84]

I'm not familar with the new guidelines.  But back when I was in school, the lunches tasted like vomit.  And there wasn't enough food to go around either.  I recall that in high school no one wanted the "D lunch period" (meaning the latest one) because not only would you be eating at like 1:30, but there was hardly anything left.

I remember even the pizza at school was crappy.  Just a slab of fatty bread with a tiny bit of cheese and sauce on top.

I guess if I ever have kids, I'll be packing their lunch.

[midjd]

Harlan Co. is a pretty geographically/socioeconomically-isolated part of Appalachia.

I forget who has stated in several food stamp threads that many low-income people grow up without ever learning how to prepare certain foods - but it's true. If this food isn't shipped to the schools pre-prepared, I'm not surprised it tastes like crap. Cafeteria workers aren't paid much, and I doubt you can find many in the area who have much experience preparing vegetables (that aren't boiled to death/fried) or whole wheat pasta, etc. Maybe someone should come teach them a few healthy cooking methods?

[Deleted]

if they have a problem with the lunches, there's this thing called packing your own damn lunch.  They're welcome to try it.

[973beachbum]

Aug 27, 2013 12:43:48 GMT -5 midjd said:

Harlan Co. is a pretty geographically/socioeconomically-isolated part of Appalachia.

I forget who has stated in several food stamp threads that many low-income people grow up without ever learning how to prepare certain foods - but it's true. If this food isn't shipped to the schools pre-prepared, I'm not surprised it tastes like crap. Cafeteria workers aren't paid much, and I doubt you can find many in the area who have much experience preparing vegetables (that aren't boiled to death/fried) or whole wheat pasta, etc. Maybe someone should come teach them a few healthy cooking methods?

You're not supposed to cook your vegetables till March?   That is what my mother always did.

[shanendoah]

At DD's school last year, they sent home a calendar every month that listed what what meals would be offered each day. DD would look over it and decided in advance what she wanted, if anything. On days she didn't like what was being offered, we packed a lunch for her.


On a side note, there's a reason the Elmore Leonard set some of his short stories (the ones that have turned into Justified) in Harlan County....

[midjd]

You're not supposed to cook your vegetables till March? That is what my mother always did.

LOL! MIL does that too (FIL grew up in Hazard, KY, and that's how he wants em. ) 

In the last year or so, DH has found that he likes (or at least tolerates) a whole laundry list of vegetables when they haven't been boiled into mush. And he is just as much of a meat-and-potatoes guy as FIL, so I'm guessing there's hope for these kids yet.

[whoisjohngalt]

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

[kittensaver]

Aug 27, 2013 12:54:43 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

Yeah, but you're NOT forced to eat it/drink it every day. There's this little thing called "pack your own from home." Just sayin' . . .

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yeah, I was talking about this last year when I went on a field trip with DD's then K4/pre kindy class.  DD refused the hot lunch option.  And I guess about 1/2 of the class (of 24) brought lunches in.  Ours were pretty basic - sandwich, fruit or cheese stick, fruit snack with yogurt sometimes.  If DD wanted milk, we'd get that though the lunch program.  If she wanted water or OJ, we used her princess water bottle.  But one parent did fairly elaborate ones. 

But the adults who regularly volunteer at the school said that it used to be pretty decent and now it's not but there's a couple of meals that were ok.  And this is a fairly large city. 

[973beachbum]

Aug 27, 2013 12:54:43 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

I don't particularly like whole wheat bread myself but i don't think I could actually say I was "starving" while refusing to eat it.  At least not with a straight face.

One of my Mom's favorite saying was no one ever starved to death five feet from food when we were young and complained were were starving.  I did read that they can have chocolate or strawberry milk though.  It is skim and probably not as much sugar as they are used to in it, but it isn't just blue watery milk either.  Then again I have been known to drink water with lunch.

Am I the only person who if I ate 850 calories for lunch everday, and didn't basically not eat the rest of the day, would be 400 lbs pretty quick?

[Deleted]

I'm with them that skim milk is gross, but what about 1%? And wheat bread is great - you all are just weird.

[movingforward]

Aug 27, 2013 13:01:16 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Aug 27, 2013 12:54:43 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

I don't particularly like whole wheat bread myself but i don't think I could actually say I was "starving" while refusing to eat it.  At least not with a straight face.

One of my Mom's favorite saying was no one ever starved to death five feet from food when we were young and complained were were starving.  I did read that they can have chocolate or strawberry milk though.  It is skim and probably not as much sugar as they are used to in it, but it isn't just blue watery milk either.  Then again I have been known to drink water with lunch.

Am I the only person who if I ate 850 calories for lunch everday, and didn't basically not eat the rest of the day, would be 400 lbs pretty quick?

I eat around 800 calories for lunch everyday but I probably burn at least 400 - 500 calories working out in the afternoons.  I tried eating lighter lunches but then I didn't have the energy to exercise.  My routine is around 200 calories for breakfast, 800 for lunch and around 400 for dinner, total 1400 calories per day.  It works well for me but everyone is different. 

[Deleted]

Aug 27, 2013 12:58:21 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Aug 27, 2013 12:54:43 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

Yeah, but you're NOT forced to eat it/drink it every day. There's this little thing called "pack your own from home." Just sayin' . . .

Our charter school has amazing lunches catered with lots of fresh locally grown produce and real meat, not processed crap.  But, older son is so picky that he still packs his own lunch everyday, and everyday it's the same thing.  PB&J, yogurt and trail mix.  He buys a 1% milk.

[whoisjohngalt]

Aug 27, 2013 13:01:16 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Aug 27, 2013 12:54:43 GMT -5 whoisjohngalt said:

Two thoughts came to mind

1 - Once again govt is getting involved where it has no business being involved
2 - fat free milk might not taste like vomit, but so some it tastes like badly colored water, so if "I" was forced drinking it every day - I would complain too.   I also feel the same way about wheat bread

I don't particularly like whole wheat bread myself but i don't think I could actually say I was "starving" while refusing to eat it.  At least not with a straight face.

One of my Mom's favorite saying was no one ever starved to death five feet from food when we were young and complained were were starving.  I did read that they can have chocolate or strawberry milk though.  It is skim and probably not as much sugar as they are used to in it, but it isn't just blue watery milk either.  Then again I have been known to drink water with lunch.

Am I the only person who if I ate 850 calories for lunch everday, and didn't basically not eat the rest of the day, would be 400 lbs pretty quick?

When I was a kid, I went to "daycare" for 3 yrs.  They fed us breakfast.  I puked every single day for those three years bc I didn't like the food.   To this day I can't eat food I don't like no matter how hungry I am.  Of course, I was never anywhere close to starving to death, but in a regular course of the day, I will wait and wait and wait just so I don't have to eat something I don't like.  I would hate for my kids to experience something like that.

For the record -  I am not saying that my story has anything to do with OP - just a story

[whoisjohngalt]

Aug 27, 2013 13:04:13 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

I'm with them that skim milk is gross, but what about 1%? And wheat bread is great - you all are just weird.

I've been called worse

[Deleted]

I grew up in a "there are starving kids in Africa" kind of household.  I eat what is on my plate and I ask for seconds.

[giramomma]

I've read where athletes (particularly male) at the HS level are upset with the calorie limits because for them, it's not enough.  I can't imagine being a 16 year old boy and practicing football for 3 hours on a 500 calorie lunch, either.

Packing a lunch is a great option if there's food at home. If you've got no food to eat, well then, that takes the packing the lunch option off the table.

Our school (private) is moving more towards fresh food/better options. Last year, they featured food from a specific farm in the fall and spring during for lunches. I don't know that the kids "got" the connection between the farm and them eating the fresh food.

We traveled through some small town places in the south this summer. I was shocked at what some folks said/did..They were either 1) trying to start a fight or 2) so unworldly that that they looked stupid. Either way, it made me uncomfortable witnessing one exchange in particular. And, I'm only one generation away from that type of thinking/lifestyle.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

A couple years ago, I had lunch at a rural county elementary school in KY.  It wasn't bad, but not what I would choose to eat.  Unfortunately, he closest place to eat lunch while I was in the dental van was about 15 miles down the road and we didn't have the time to pull up stakes.

Lunch was a grilled chicken patty on a wheat bun.  Canned peas and Mac and cheese accompanied it.  I could choose iced tea or milk and the choices for dessert were canned pears or apples.  I grabbed an apple.  Worst part of the meal was that was not a shred of seasoning in it.  Some salt would have gone a long way to helping it out.

[sheilaincali]

Wait until I tell the boy about the child abuse he suffers from!  Since he was a toddler he has never had anything higher than skim milk at our house.  We don't ever buy anything but wheat bread. 

Same as Shanen- they used to send home a school lunch menu with the newsletter every month. DS would put an "X" on through the days that he wanted to bring lunch from home.  The school knew we were vegetarians so every day they'd make him a boca burger if the meal that day wasn't vegetarian friendly. 

Did anyone else watch that Jamie Oliver show from a year or so ago?  The first season was in a mining area in I think West Virginia.  He tried to change the school lunches and he got tons of flak for it.  Complaints from the schools, lunch ladies, etc.  IIRC I think after he left they may have reverted back to the old way with flavored milk at every meal and the same old frozen and re-heated foods.  The lunch ladies knew how to heat up the frozen pizzas in the oven but didn't know how to actually "cook" anything else.  They weren't familiar with basic food prep or anything like that.  The lunch ladies fought him harder than most in the community did. 

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Sheila, you beat me to it regarding Jamie Oliver's efforts to teach Huntington, West Virginia how to eat better.  IIRC, the city has the highest rate of obesity in the nation, and the highest rate of tooth decay (due to their unwavering love for Mountain Dew).

He taught everyone from the Mayor to the school lunch ladies to families how to buy and prepare fresh, whole, foods.  He opened a restaurant downtown that served healthy meals.

And, you're right, he caught a ton of flak.  I recall one popular local radio DJ really campaigned in favor of driving Jamie out of town.  

So, at the risk of relying on stereotypes, I am going to bet that a rural Kentucky county is going to react the same way Huntington did to a change to "real" food.  When one becomes accustomed/addicted to food coloring, artificial flavors, obscenely high salt/sugar/fat contents in food, then real food will taste disgusting because the food manufacturers have trained you to eat crap.

Oh, and we, too, are a skim milk family, but our bread preferences range from dark whole wheat to white Italian scali bread -- depending upon whether we're eating sandwiches, toast, etc.

And both DSs bring their own lunches because of food allergies.  The size of their lunches put construction workers to shame.  Their lunches are the envy of their classmates who buy the now smaller school lunches.  

[Spellbound454]

Did anyone else watch that Jamie Oliver show from a year or so ago? The first season was in a mining area in I think West Virginia. He tried to change the school lunches and he got tons of flak for it. Complaints from the schools, lunch ladies, etc. IIRC I think after he left they may have reverted back to the old way with flavored milk at every meal and the same old frozen and re-heated foods. The lunch ladies knew how to heat up the frozen pizzas in the oven but didn't know how to actually "cook" anything else. They weren't familiar with basic food prep or anything like that. The lunch ladies fought him harder than most in the community did.

Jamie Oliver revolutionised School meals in Britain. He said we were feeding our kids a load of junk....and it was true.
For some kids it is a free meal and perhaps their best meal of the day....The least they could expect is that its nutritional and what their body needs to grow.

Of course kids prefer the high processed junk, full of monosodium glutamate e numbers and pink slime.
but it isn't good for them.

You are what you eat....and giving our children good food is a reasonable thing to do.

Jamie Oliver didn't succeed in the US....but people are starting to ask questions and that's not a bad thing....

We teach the kids how to make the Jamie Oliver meals so that they can feed them to their families when they get older.....

[973beachbum]

Aug 27, 2013 14:17:10 GMT -5 sheilaincali said:

Wait until I tell the boy about the child abuse he suffers from!  Since he was a toddler he has never had anything higher than skim milk at our house.  We don't ever buy anything but wheat bread. 

Same as Shanen- they used to send home a school lunch menu with the newsletter every month. DS would put an "X" on through the days that he wanted to bring lunch from home.  The school knew we were vegetarians so every day they'd make him a boca burger if the meal that day wasn't vegetarian friendly. 

Did anyone else watch that Jamie Oliver show from a year or so ago?  The first season was in a mining area in I think West Virginia.  He tried to change the school lunches and he got tons of flak for it.  Complaints from the schools, lunch ladies, etc.  IIRC I think after he left they may have reverted back to the old way with flavored milk at every meal and the same old frozen and re-heated foods.  The lunch ladies knew how to heat up the frozen pizzas in the oven but didn't know how to actually "cook" anything else.  They weren't familiar with basic food prep or anything like that.  The lunch ladies fought him harder than most in the community did. 

I thought the reason they stopped was that they couldn't do it for the amount of money they needed to.  I read somewhere that the hunington WV district went from the cafe making a little money to losing big time after they started cooking fresh foods from scratch.

I can, and do, make healthy bagged lunches for my kids but I can't do it for $1.12.