Thanks Michelle Obama

Much has been made of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, championed by Michelle Obama. Images of paltry meals with hashtags reading #ThanksMichelleObama and comments about prisoners eating better, could this new policy be failing when to comes to feeding our youth? “The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, opportunity to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children” (source).

This year brought about change to schools across the nation requiring all food sold during the school day to “to meet nutrition standards, which you can read in this summary. Some of the highlights include:

• Grain items must include 50% or more whole grains by weight, or have whole grains as the first ingredient.
• Food items must have ≤ 35%calories from total fat as served.
• Food items must have < 10%calories from saturated
  fat as served.
• Food items must have ≤ 35% of weight from total sugar as served.
• Snack items and side dishes sold a la carte: ≤230 mg sodium or sold as entrée ≤480 mg sodium per item as served .
• Snack items and side dishes sold a la carte: ≤200 calories or sold as entrée ≤350 calories per item served.

Regardless of what Michelle Obama has said in the past, politics play a role in how school aged kids will eat. They ALWAYS will! When I was younger, I rarely stood in lunch to receive a school lunch. Thankfully my mom made my lunch all the way through high school. School lunches were NEVER appealing!

Unfortunately nutritional education begins at home with good eating habits, not at school. Poor habits translate into wasted food, “some school officials say kids are throwing away fruits and vegetables that are required.” Schools are also being challenge meeting the limits on sodium and more whole grains.

Taking a look at the December menu from the Oakley Union Elementary School District isn’t very impressive given that elementary lunches cost $2.50, with milk (dairy industry agenda) being sold for $0.50 (8 oz.). A Google image search for ‘U.S. school lunches‘ tells a different  story than does a Twitter search for #ThanksMichelleObama. Could that $2.50 not be better spent on feeding kids? The food our kids are eating at school are terrible! Hot dogs, chicken patties, cheeseburgers, bean burrito and Baja fish wrap are all staples in school lunches, little emphasis in feeding our youth QUALITY foods. Vegetables, fruits continue to play a complementary roll in school lunches, much like it does under My Plate.

A recent story from the Daily Caller compares what Obama’s girls eat at their private institution for lunch along with Twitter images from those in public schools. There is NO comparison! “Kids in America’s public, taxpayer-funded schools are not as lucky as the children of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama” (source)

This is a topic that will continue to feature much debate, considering it was FLOTUS who backed this new school lunch initiative, but it still won’t receive the amount of attention of CCSS. Both of which are failing our kids in public schools.

While I don’t have an answer for school lunches, I know for damn sure I could put together a healthier, more satiating meal plan for school that kids would actually eat. It seems many of these new school meals are good for nothing more than posting on Twitter representing what they are being forced to eat, thanks in part to Mrs. Obama.

Pasta, vegetables, grains and starches would be the staple in my school lunch program, not as if that comes as a surprise to those who follow T6F. Is there really a need to feed kids highly processed crap that represents meat? I don’t think so. Maybe….”in moderation” but not every day, especially when there are healthier choices that are more satiating and probably cheaper ($3.00 a meal) to purchase in bulk for school districts.

Curious to hear what you think on the state of school lunches. I am just thankful my wife and I have time to prepare my son’s lunch so he is not left to eat the slop they call food in elementary school.