pulmonarymd
Junior Associate
Joined: Feb 12, 2020 17:40:54 GMT -5
Posts: 8,039
|
Post by pulmonarymd on Aug 25, 2021 16:08:42 GMT -5
To add fuel to the fire, reasons children are eating poor nutrition is a multitude. Living in a food desert, lack of transportation to a grocery store, money, lack of utilities to store or prepare food, lack of knowledge of healthy cooking, lack of time on the parent's part, general ignorance. There are so many reasons for children to have poor nutritional habits. But I don't think that's a good reason to withhold food for a meal or two per day. 'Bad' food is still better than no food. I've raised children who have gone hungry (as in, in the bottom of the 1% of the growth chart due to lack of food and we know what that does to their development) and my DH went without food as a child many times as well. They all will have lifelong problems due to this. Poor nutrition choices are better than literally eating garbage. There are more of these kids than you realize. But that is a different argument. If children are truly hungry and food insecure, yes, any food is better than what they hav, Extending this to all students is where I think this becomes an issue, especially if it is funded at a national level. The current republican party, if they agree, will try to do this on the cheap. That will then devolve into the worst dietary choices, since they are invariably less expensive, and the involvement of big food, which will not be favorable.
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,688
|
Post by swamp on Aug 25, 2021 16:42:45 GMT -5
Some kids don't get any meals at all when home. School breakfast and lunch is all they get. I suppose we could change the phrase to "let them eat seaweed". And that's why I said that my observations applied only to those kids whose parents are willing and able to provide adequate meals. By the way, my 3 grandchildren (ages 7, 4 and 2) LOVE seaweed salad! The 4-year old is crazy about raw broccoli. They also like cake pops and ice cream sandwiches but that's only when Grandma is visiting. Hm, our school district has great lunches. A lot of the foods are purchased straight from local farmers and is fresh. Very little processed foods. And we are a poor district. But with good community support. I'm glad to know there are districts that do this. Yeah, my 15 year old DS ate all the fruits and veggies as a toddler to about 5. Now he could subsist on chicken nuggets, pizza, Mac and cheese, blueberries, and bananas.
|
|
azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
Posts: 5,939
|
Post by azucena on Aug 25, 2021 16:49:00 GMT -5
I think we are kidding ourselves if we think the majority of parents packing lunches are doing better than the cafeteria choices - lunchables galore and other crap at our private school.
And I can't count how many notes I've received that say fruit snacks aren't a healthy mid-morning snack for k-3rd.
Feed the school kids and educate them on nutrition at the same time.
|
|
raeoflyte
Senior Associate
Joined: Feb 3, 2011 15:43:53 GMT -5
Posts: 15,235
Member is Online
|
Post by raeoflyte on Aug 25, 2021 17:02:22 GMT -5
We review the nutritional information on the school breakfast everyday, and last year the lunch too (to get carb counts and dose ds insulin). There's quite a bit of over sight with the school provided meals. I used to work out for a nutritionist who worked at the school district as well.
I think the people complaining are going off of old info. If youre worried, maybe volunteer for lunch room duty at a local school (I know our elementary school needs more volunteers). I think you'll be surprised.
|
|
azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
Posts: 5,939
|
Post by azucena on Aug 25, 2021 17:08:04 GMT -5
Yes, wasn't there a first lady somewhat recently who made healthier school lunches her platform and actually enacted changes?
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 31,572
Member is Online
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 25, 2021 17:44:14 GMT -5
But I say just feed all kids and be done with it. These kids are our future labor force. The group where our future doctors, scientists, nurses, care takers, etc. come from. We know that hungry kids don't learn as well. We also know that even people who supposedly have "enough resources" to feed their own kids don't necessarily spend their money that way. So what is the big deal. Feed all kids and we will all be better off for it OK, let's expand this. If it's good to feed taxpayer-supported meals to ALL school-age kids, why don't we expand it to the whole population? Not just SNAP, meals-on-wheels and WIC, which are meant to help those in need, but everyone? Even me? They could send us weekly boxes like you get from BlueApron, HelloFresh, etc. No need to plan, shop, etc. It's all done for you. Anyone with me on this? You are not a child and can fend for yourself. Children cannot.
|
|
wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,970
|
Post by wvugurl26 on Aug 25, 2021 18:13:35 GMT -5
Yep my sister in laws kids get a steady diet of crap. Before they moved, their dad was often still working into the evening and through dinner time. It's somewhat better now.. Their mom gets tired of doing the bulk of stuff but then the only ones suffering are the kids and the dogs. The kids will actually eat a wide variety of food if it's given to them.
The oldest is overweight and the youngest is beginning to chunk up. The old pediatrician supposedly said it was fine. The new one said she should lose weight and she was all offended and upset. I'm sure they aren't the only ones.
|
|
TheOtherMe
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 14:40:52 GMT -5
Posts: 28,363
Mini-Profile Name Color: e619e6
|
Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 25, 2021 18:45:44 GMT -5
Technically I live in a food dessert. We have a general store that has 3 aisles of food items. Last time I was there, a lot of the shelves were empty. The only people who do all of their shopping there are the elderly who cannot drive. They do home delivery for them and bill them once a month. It's much more expensive than shopping at a larger store. The meat is outstanding (supposedly, I'm vegetarian and have never had any of it). 0.3
We have a convenience store full of junk food. That's where I see the high school kids during the school day if I drive by there.
And, no, it's ridiculous to think the government should feed the entire population--especially things like BlueApron, HelloFresh, etc If the government is going to feed us, go back to the days of the cheese commodities, spam, evaporated milk and the like. Yes, I do remember getting that food in my house.
|
|
NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 15,021
|
Post by NastyWoman on Aug 25, 2021 19:06:16 GMT -5
If it's good for the kids, why isn't it good for the whole population? Possibly because the whole population is not a bunch of unemployable minors attending a government-funded institution equipped to serve mass quantities of food every day? The only remotely similar scenario I can think of this second is prison and we feed them every day. Children are not just unemployable, there are actually labor laws that forbid them from going out to "earn their keep"
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 31,572
Member is Online
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 25, 2021 20:15:02 GMT -5
I don't like seaweed salad as an adult. I also cannot stand quinoa no matter how many ways I've tried preparing that. Darn you school lunches! Does that fly? Can I use that so people will leave me the F alone when I say I don't like quinoa? Also must try this for kale. Me an Brussel sprouts.
|
|
giramomma
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Feb 3, 2011 11:25:27 GMT -5
Posts: 22,327
|
Post by giramomma on Aug 25, 2021 20:16:48 GMT -5
Yep my sister in laws kids get a steady diet of crap. Before they moved, their dad was often still working into the evening and through dinner time. It's somewhat better now.. Their mom gets tired of doing the bulk of stuff but then the only ones suffering are the kids and the dogs. The kids will actually eat a wide variety of food if it's given to them. The oldest is overweight and the youngest is beginning to chunk up. The old pediatrician supposedly said it was fine. The new one said she should lose weight and she was all offended and upset. I'm sure they aren't the only ones. See, even weight can be a weird thing.
DD1 was definitely a pudge growing as a little kid. 100% for weight. I'm sure on some scale, she was overweight. At almost 14, she's thinned out naturally.
|
|
andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 31,572
Member is Online
|
Post by andi9899 on Aug 25, 2021 20:45:06 GMT -5
Yep my sister in laws kids get a steady diet of crap. Before they moved, their dad was often still working into the evening and through dinner time. It's somewhat better now.. Their mom gets tired of doing the bulk of stuff but then the only ones suffering are the kids and the dogs. The kids will actually eat a wide variety of food if it's given to them. The oldest is overweight and the youngest is beginning to chunk up. The old pediatrician supposedly said it was fine. The new one said she should lose weight and she was all offended and upset. I'm sure they aren't the only ones. My sister's kids are like this. My niece doesn't gain weight no Matthew much crap she eats. My nephew could stand to lose a few pounds but not that much. I think the fact that he only drinks water helps him a lot. My sister is very obese. My parents are pretty overweight as well since they eat nothing but crap as also. Then they tell me that my diet of vegetables and lean protein is gross. Um, y'all have medical problems and I don't. I'm also not obese and can run circles around all of you.
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,688
|
Post by swamp on Aug 25, 2021 20:50:12 GMT -5
Yes, wasn't there a first lady somewhat recently who made healthier school lunches her platform and actually enacted changes? [img src="https://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/ymamsmiles/wink.png" src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png" alt=" " class="smile"] Yeah, but she’s black so she was trying to kidnap our kids. Or something like that.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Nov 22, 2024 21:48:31 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2021 7:21:01 GMT -5
However at this time it's privilege and elitism to argue that kids shouldn't be fed unless it's seaweed salad and quinoa. It allows people to lose themselves in superiority (I'm protecting the kids diet by refusing to pay for this!) and continue to ignore the fact that millions of kids go hungry each day in a freaking first world country. Funny that quinoa is considered some sort of food for the privileged. The guide I had in Bolivia on my trip last year grew up very poor and he said they ate quinoa at practically every meal because it was cheap and filling. They still had an infinite variety of it in the nearby grocery store- even chocolate quinoa and a kind puffed into crispy little balls. And... would it hurt kids to see someone else's lunch with foods they haven't seen before instead of everyone eating the same thing? It might expand their horizons. Disclosure: I was always jealous of my classmates whose lunches included Hostess Twinkies, Snowballs, etc. My mother packed homemade cookies and cake instead. I lived. (And later apologized to her for complaining. Mom was an excellent baker.) And for the third time, my objections to taxpayer-provided school lunches apply only to those whose parents are capable of providing adequate lunches for their kids. Why don't we at least charge them something to offset the costs for the kids whose parents can't pay?
|
|
giramomma
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Feb 3, 2011 11:25:27 GMT -5
Posts: 22,327
|
Post by giramomma on Aug 26, 2021 7:38:38 GMT -5
And for the third time, my objections to taxpayer-provided school lunches apply only to those whose parents are capable of providing adequate lunches for their kids. Why don't we at least charge them something to offset the costs for the kids whose parents can't pay? I wonder if there's just not enough workers to enable such a program. We still haven't gotten our tax refund back, and we filed at the beginning of May. At least in my parts, schools are running thin, in terms of money and workers right now. School starts in a week, and the district just emailed saying that school start/release times are going to be changed due to the bus driver shortage. If a vaccine mandate for school workers is enacted, I think the labor shortage will get worse. Even doing things 100% electronically, programming would still need to be done. Given what's going on in the world between the pandemic, Afganastan, etc. I'm guessing getting a programmer is fairly low on the totem pole. Plus, then you need to argue with folks about the policy. How do you define "who can afford it?" Your son's family does well in his location. But, I believe it's low COL. While technically a family of 5 living in boston, NYC, or any other VHCOLA on what 70K wouldn't be living in poverty...I'm guessing they would love to get some help with food. It's the same reason why the Biden bucks (as DS calls it) cast a wide net.
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 26, 2021 7:44:23 GMT -5
Again with the nitpicking. We were a family of 4 living on an income of < $50k, and didn't even qualify for reduced lunch. I think income limits are much higher now.
|
|
gs11rmb
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 12:43:39 GMT -5
Posts: 3,414
|
Post by gs11rmb on Aug 26, 2021 7:47:02 GMT -5
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,688
|
Post by swamp on Aug 26, 2021 12:26:58 GMT -5
However at this time it's privilege and elitism to argue that kids shouldn't be fed unless it's seaweed salad and quinoa. It allows people to lose themselves in superiority (I'm protecting the kids diet by refusing to pay for this!) and continue to ignore the fact that millions of kids go hungry each day in a freaking first world country. Funny that quinoa is considered some sort of food for the privileged. The guide I had in Bolivia on my trip last year grew up very poor and he said they ate quinoa at practically every meal because it was cheap and filling. They still had an infinite variety of it in the nearby grocery store- even chocolate quinoa and a kind puffed into crispy little balls. And... would it hurt kids to see someone else's lunch with foods they haven't seen before instead of everyone eating the same thing? It might expand their horizons. Disclosure: I was always jealous of my classmates whose lunches included Hostess Twinkies, Snowballs, etc. My mother packed homemade cookies and cake instead. I lived. (And later apologized to her for complaining. Mom was an excellent baker.) And for the third time, my objections to taxpayer-provided school lunches apply only to those whose parents are capable of providing adequate lunches for their kids. Why don't we at least charge them something to offset the costs for the kids whose parents can't pay? Price venison at a restaurant. You know what I ate a ton of in law school because it was free? Venison. Because my brother shot it and cleaned it. Context matters.
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 26, 2021 13:03:58 GMT -5
Funny that quinoa is considered some sort of food for the privileged. The guide I had in Bolivia on my trip last year grew up very poor and he said they ate quinoa at practically every meal because it was cheap and filling. They still had an infinite variety of it in the nearby grocery store- even chocolate quinoa and a kind puffed into crispy little balls. And... would it hurt kids to see someone else's lunch with foods they haven't seen before instead of everyone eating the same thing? It might expand their horizons. Disclosure: I was always jealous of my classmates whose lunches included Hostess Twinkies, Snowballs, etc. My mother packed homemade cookies and cake instead. I lived. (And later apologized to her for complaining. Mom was an excellent baker.) And for the third time, my objections to taxpayer-provided school lunches apply only to those whose parents are capable of providing adequate lunches for their kids. Why don't we at least charge them something to offset the costs for the kids whose parents can't pay? Price venison at a restaurant. You know what I ate a ton of in law school because it was free? Venison. Because my brother shot it and cleaned it. Context matters. I paid $15 for a lobster dinner in Belize that would cost me $70 in the US. The 17 days we were there, I had lobster 4x. There is no way I’d pay market price ($70 was the cost last time I had lobster at home…..right before we left for Belize) that frequently at nearly 5x the cost..
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Nov 22, 2024 21:48:31 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2021 13:07:55 GMT -5
Yeah, that's my nightmare. The Entrees look like the typical high fat, high sodium variety although there are some good choices among the sides. I suspect that what you describe is easier for very large school districts- impractical to source from local farmers and Big Food offers them volume discounts so it looks like they're saving money. The really sad things is that canned vegetables are likely to turn kids off of them. As kids, we hated canned peas. Another friend hated canned asparagus. The real stuff, bought fresh and cooked lightly? No comparison at all. I paid $15 for a lobster dinner in Belize that would cost me $70 in the US. The 17 days we were there, I had lobster 4x. There is no way I’d pay market price ($70 was the cost last time I had lobster at home…..right before we left for Belize) that frequently at nearly 5x the cost.. Yeah, I had crab legs in Alaska. So take away my YM card. I had plenty of good, locally-sourced fish on the cruise and had to laugh when I got an e-mail from my local grocery with a deal on- fish sticks.
|
|
steph08
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 13:06:01 GMT -5
Posts: 5,541
|
Post by steph08 on Aug 26, 2021 13:09:25 GMT -5
Funny that quinoa is considered some sort of food for the privileged. The guide I had in Bolivia on my trip last year grew up very poor and he said they ate quinoa at practically every meal because it was cheap and filling. They still had an infinite variety of it in the nearby grocery store- even chocolate quinoa and a kind puffed into crispy little balls. And... would it hurt kids to see someone else's lunch with foods they haven't seen before instead of everyone eating the same thing? It might expand their horizons. Disclosure: I was always jealous of my classmates whose lunches included Hostess Twinkies, Snowballs, etc. My mother packed homemade cookies and cake instead. I lived. (And later apologized to her for complaining. Mom was an excellent baker.) And for the third time, my objections to taxpayer-provided school lunches apply only to those whose parents are capable of providing adequate lunches for their kids. Why don't we at least charge them something to offset the costs for the kids whose parents can't pay? Price venison at a restaurant. You know what I ate a ton of in law school because it was free? Venison. Because my brother shot it and cleaned it. Context matters. We eat a ton of venison. But it costs me a ton of money. My DH is always buying a new bow or arrows or a target or broadheads or a knife or going on a hunting trip and buying hunting licenses in two different states, etc. etc. etc.
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 26, 2021 14:03:09 GMT -5
We were spoiled rotten by the fishermen in my family. I never realized how expensive salmon was because we never had to buy it
|
|
adela76
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 29, 2011 19:15:12 GMT -5
Posts: 125
|
Post by adela76 on Aug 29, 2021 12:52:50 GMT -5
Hm, our school district has great lunches. A lot of the foods are purchased straight from local farmers and is fresh. Very little processed foods. And we are a poor district. But with good community support. Our public Montessori was good too. Seriously had two grandmotherly old women that showed up at 6am every morning and cooked everything from scratch.
The lunches this year at the private are unbelievable. Yesterday's menu was:
Pork Lo Mein Bok Choy, Carrots and snow peas (Carrot said he skipped that though)
spinach, edamame and strawberry salad
Blueberry peach cobbler Today is: Minnesota wild rice soup Sriracha garlic wings black pepper potato wedges sweet chilli steamed vegetables fresh fruit salad There's also vegan and gluten free entree options or you can just get the salad bar or the specialty sandwich of the week.
Can I go to your son's school? Please?
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Nov 22, 2024 21:48:31 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2021 15:13:15 GMT -5
Our public Montessori was good too. Seriously had two grandmotherly old women that showed up at 6am every morning and cooked everything from scratch.
The lunches this year at the private are unbelievable. Today is: Minnesota wild rice soup Sriracha garlic wings black pepper potato wedges sweet chilli steamed vegetables fresh fruit salad There's also vegan and gluten free entree options or you can just get the salad bar or the specialty sandwich of the week.
Can I go to your son's school? Please? Just curious: did the other public school kids get the same offerings as the Montessori? And how did kids get selected for a pubic Montessori school? I'd think demand would far outstrip the number of available places. I was reminded of one other objection I have to signing up everyone in school: it's tied to so many other benefits that there's a big incentive to sign everyone up even if not everyone needs it. In Kansas, for example, you get more state aid per student if all of them get lunch at no cost to them. A program my former professional society has to provide math tutors to schools is directed only at those with 50% or more on taxpayer-funded or reduced-price lunches. It's tied to so many other things that there's an incentive to just give thenm to everyone even if not everyone needs them.
|
|
dannylion
Junior Associate
Gravity is a harsh mistress
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 12:17:52 GMT -5
Posts: 5,220
Location: Miles over the madness horizon and accelerating
|
Post by dannylion on Aug 29, 2021 17:12:38 GMT -5
I don’t really understand why people get upset about feeding kids, Yeah yeah yeah I know, don’t breed em if you can’t feed em. It’s a nice sentiment but it doesn’t help the hungry kids out there. Jell-O, I think the people in your area are upset about those brown skinned kids getting fed. To people with a functioning moral compass, deliberately denying food to children who are probably not getting adequate nutrition at home is cruel and unacceptable. To a certain ideological/political demographic, the cruelty is not just acceptable, it is the point.
|
|
bookkeeper
Well-Known Member
Joined: Mar 30, 2012 13:40:42 GMT -5
Posts: 1,815
|
Post by bookkeeper on Aug 29, 2021 17:37:19 GMT -5
My mother taught me to feed everyone at mealtime without question. You may be the one who is hungry and needs a meal next! You get like you give!
|
|
Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 22:19:13 GMT -5
Posts: 14,659
|
Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 29, 2021 18:03:57 GMT -5
/photo/1
|
|
|
Post by minnesotapaintlady on Aug 29, 2021 21:02:18 GMT -5
Can I go to your son's school? Please? Just curious: did the other public school kids get the same offerings as the Montessori? And how did kids get selected for a pubic Montessori school? I'd think demand would far outstrip the number of available places. No, they have their own food program separate from the other public schools. It's a charter, so admission is lottery-based.
|
|
gs11rmb
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 12:43:39 GMT -5
Posts: 3,414
|
Post by gs11rmb on Aug 30, 2021 9:07:39 GMT -5
Can I go to your son's school? Please? Just curious: did the other public school kids get the same offerings as the Montessori? And how did kids get selected for a pubic Montessori school? I'd think demand would far outstrip the number of available places. I was reminded of one other objection I have to signing up everyone in school: it's tied to so many other benefits that there's a big incentive to sign everyone up even if not everyone needs it. In Kansas, for example, you get more state aid per student if all of them get lunch at no cost to them. A program my former professional society has to provide math tutors to schools is directed only at those with 50% or more on taxpayer-funded or reduced-price lunches. It's tied to so many other things that there's an incentive to just give thenm to everyone even if not everyone needs them. That's not how it works. A school can't just sign up a kid for the free lunch program. My daughter attends a Title I elementary school where roughly 50% of the kids get free lunch. The parents have to fill out paperwork and provide information on their family income. There's a large Hispanic community in our school and I know they have bilingual teachers there to help parents complete everything. Yes, being Title I does come with additional funding and support for the school but the drive to register all eligible children is to ensure they are fed.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 48,360
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 30, 2021 9:36:26 GMT -5
Our school system provides free lunch for everyone but it is not because they are trying to get free government goodies. The school lunch is part of a pilot program that is run on grants. It is a completely separate program from everything else.
You still have to fill out the additional paperwork regarding family income for the other types of assistance available. Those forms go through DHHS for approval. Either myself or the school are going to get caught in fraud because I have to prove my income. But let's not let facts get in the way.
School lunch comes automatically with registering just like your textbooks do. Our schools are actually slightly ahead/breaking even on the free school lunch because they were able to eliminate entire departments from the school budget. Sucks to have been those people who got laid off but it's hardly breaking the schools' back nor are they rubbing their hands together like Mr. Burns gleefully scamming the government out of money.
|
|