And you thought problem Jamie Oliver had exposed in the UK was bad?

[Simon F]

And you thought the problem Jamie Oliver had exposed in the UK was bad?

This report on the state of school food in the US is more insidious...

I particularly "liked"..

It is thought that the move could cost school districts hundreds of thousands of dollar in lost income, as they receive money from companies in return for allowing them to sell their products in schools.

 

[epicstruggle]

This report on the state of school food in the US is more insidious...

I particularly "liked"..

What foods are served at schools in your neck of the woods?

Im glad that the california is making healthier choices for what is being served to their students. Hope other states follow suit within the next year.

epic

 

[Simon F]

What foods are served at schools in your neck of the woods?

Well, according to the Jamie Oliver program "School Dinners", the school subsidised food was sometimes appalling. Anyone who saw it will cringe when I mention "Turkey Twizzlers".

The point of the show was to demonstrate that healthy food could be served on the same tight budget as the rubbish stuff... of course, getting kids who only ate junk (including at home) to eat it was a challenge. He did demonstrate to some of the students just what went in to making "Chicken Nuggets" and that certainly scared a few of them.

 

[Xenus]

Hey at least that food is ediable. You should see some of the cafeteria food. Grey and possibly moldy waffles covered in maple syrup so you can get them down.

That said they should of worked it out of the Elementary systemand slowly worked their way up. There are going to be a lot of unhapy high schoolers is Cali this year.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

I still don't see what is wrong with offering the kids choices.

It's not the state's job to make sure the kid eats "the healthy food of the month." It's the parents job to oversee diet.

 

[Simon F]

I still don't see what is wrong with offering the kids choices.

Are kids smart enough to make the right choice?

It's not the state's job to make sure the kid eats "the healthy food of the month." It's the parents job to oversee diet.

Maybe... but you don't need qualifications to become a parent.

It was shown that rubbish food led to poor concentration and performance in classes - the teachers were amazed hows things improved with an improved diet.


FWIW: This is a link to the web page for the "Jamie's School Dinners". (ARGHHHH they have flash adds for Bloody CocaCola - thank God for Addblock in Firefox)

 

[rashly]

While I can definitely see this helping, I think the money (that they lose with this method) would be better spent on educating the kids about eating healthy. Instead of forcing them to make healthy choices, educate them so that they will be better to make healthy choices after high school. The current "health education" in high schools sucks, and it is getting even worse with more emphasis on standardized tests and less on things like health class.

PS. Making the normal cafeteria food too disgusting to eat will stear kids away from that healthy food and towards junk food. I know at my high school there were many days when almost no one bought lunch because what was offered was not fit for a human being to eat. Making things even more disgusting will make kids eat twinkees instead.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

Are kids smart enough to make the right choice?

If not, I'm smart enough to choose for them. You can implement a program that has two or three choices for lunch, and you pre-pay / buy the meals in advance for example.

(Edit: this is exactly what is done for my son at kindergarten after-care, in fact. Every day, there are 3 choices for lunch...one is a "hot" lunch that is hit and miss as far as being "uber healthy" is concerned, but its always balanced, and you can always either buy a "yogurt" lunch (which also includes fruit/veggies) or a "salad" lunch. One month in advance, we choose which meals on which days we want the kids to have, or we can of course bring in a bag lunch from home.)

I'm more concerned about the gov't making the "right choice", than I am for myself and my kids.

 

[Simon F]

PS. Making the normal cafeteria food too disgusting to eat will stear kids away from that healthy food and towards junk food. I know at my high school there were many days when almost no one bought lunch because what was offered was not fit for a human being to eat. Making things even more disgusting will make kids eat twinkees instead.

I don't understand what you are saying. The idea (in the UK program) was not to replace the junk (i.e burgers, reconstituted meat products and chips (==fries for those in the States)) with something more disgusting (although how you can have something more disgusting than "Turkey Twizzlers" is beyond me), but with food that was a healthy balance and was no more expensive. The sample menus looked pretty good to me. FWIW the meals had to be done, IIRC, for a budget of about 35p per head.

 

[Simon F]

If not, I'm smart enough to choose for them. You can implement a program that has two or three choices for lunch, and you pre-pay / buy the meals in advance for example..

That's not how it works in the UK (apparently). It seems that the usual practice is to offer a selection of items and the kids choose what they want. Suffice to say, a plate of greasy muck tends to be chosen instead of a plate of salad.

 

[schmuck]

I wouldnt want my kids to be advertised/sold shitfood/candy at their school. I dont think kids should have any choices in this matter. They should learn to eat healthy and good food. But i guess this is up to the parants and the diffrent schooldistricts in the usa.

In uk and alot of eu its not(i think). Because they often have free lunch wich becomes somewhat mandatory.

And the shit they served to the kids on this show was discusting. I wouldnt even serve it to my cat. Prefabricated shitburgers cooked in their own fat and fries all day every day.

Mcdonalds looked like an health diet in comparison.

Discusting.

 

[Monty]

i'll have to agree that its up to the parents,

ive always ate vegies and stuff like that with my dinners when growing up, though may have not like it back then and subsequently forced to eat them, i now like eating that sort of stuff. instead now, parents feed their kids with junk food, so there most likey to grow up eating that sort of stuff. ive got a few big friends what eat this sort of crap everyday dont know how they do it as the last time i had something like mcdonalds it made me feel ill, whether that was subconsious or that fact that stuff is made out of crap (probably a mix of the both) just totally put me of eating that sort of stuff again.

best bet for now is for parents to give the children packed lunches with sandwitches and stuff (and no pocket money ), school dinners are a disgrace to food, we live in a modern world with vast amounts of food and thats the best we can feed the next generation, rarther pathetic if you ask me.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

That's not how it works in the UK (apparently).

Well, what I described is not "how it works" in the U.S. either.

Every school district can do it pretty much any way they want. This is what our school district is doing at the moment.

I would much rather these kinds of issues be kept at a local level, rather than state or federal.

 

[Guden Oden]

I still don't see what is wrong with offering the kids choices.

Yeah Joe, you got it man. In fact while we're at it, let's give smokes, dope and booze to kids too, let 'em use it if they choose it and don't if they won't. How could it be wrong to offer choices?

What about steroids, knives, guns and grenades too? Hydrochloric acid? Let's let kids of all ages drive too. Heck, let 'em fly airplanes if they want to too. Choices, choices! The more the merrier!

 

[aaronspink]

I still don't see what is wrong with offering the kids choices.

It's not the state's job to make sure the kid eats "the healthy food of the month." It's the parents job to oversee diet.

Then the parents can make pack lunches for thier kids. There is no point in the state selling unhealthy food that stunts learning in a school enviroment.

 

[Hellbinder]

Don be touchin ma chilli mac

and lay yo handz off my mystra meat sucka!!!!

 

[PenguinJim]

Yeah Joe, you got it man. In fact while we're at it, let's give smokes, dope and booze to kids too, let 'em use it if they choose it and don't if they won't. How could it be wrong to offer choices?

What about steroids, knives, guns and grenades too? Hydrochloric acid? Let's let kids of all ages drive too. Heck, let 'em fly airplanes if they want to too. Choices, choices! The more the merrier!

Obviously you missed the studies which offered children choices over time, and they eventually chose the healthier alternative.

I dunno... I grew up in the UK school system (both Prep and State schools), but my family always either provided me with great food I'd cook myself that evening, or great food that they'd cook that evening. At the time, I was a ridiculously spoiled fussy eater - no fish, no couscous, no sprouts, few carrots, little broccoli, no cauliflower, NO mushrooms, and I resented celery. Just four/five weeks ago, I introduced all kinds of mushroom into my diet at ridiculous levels, just to develop an acceptance to it (indeed, today, it's yet another of my 'likes'). Only celery remains upon my list of dislikes - every time I go to a restaurant, I try to find something I've never had before, just to try it. I've cooked my own snails in garlic butter, and tried them in restaurants. I've had horse steaks plenty of times in France and Switzerland, and in the past couple of years, exploited the chance to cook them myself here in the UK.

When I was growing up, I did eat a lot of unhealthy foods, and my parents did not entirely stop me - they gave me enough free will to ensure I have plenty of fillings (and a gold tooth). They did also cook for me a wide variety of foods on a weekly basis - I blame my teeth on myself and my lack of childhood brushing/oral care, and my love of all different foods upon my parents.

To suggest a uniform solution would be silly/naive at best. However, I do feel that to have parents cook properly for their children at home will go some way to relieving the problem into adulthood. I do my best to cook for all of my friends (aged 18-24, generally), and hope that they see the significance that cooking with basic ingredients make. Indeed, I generally make them help with carving/gravy-stirring/etc.

 

[idiom]

The Jamie Oliver program showed many of the parents were almost as bad as the kids. I guess that kind of food has been institutionalised into many not-so-well-off families. If you're barely able to survive on the money you've got as it is you're gonna go for the cheapest foods you can most of the time and "As long as their stomachs are being filled" thoughts spring to mind.

 

[Simon F]

The Jamie Oliver program showed many of the parents were almost as bad as the kids. I guess that kind of food has been institutionalised into many not-so-well-off families. If you're barely able to survive on the money you've got as it is you're gonna go for the cheapest foods you can most of the time and "As long as their stomachs are being filled" thoughts spring to mind.

But the sad thing is that rubbish stuff is no cheaper.

 

[Sonic]

Guden, I have no idea why you always go to such extremes when interpreting other people's posts. It is quite annoying and you often seem to miss the point.

I am in agreement with those who think that it would be good to get the garbage out of school cafeterias. Sure the parents should educate their children on how to properly eat and what is good and not so good, but not all parents can afford to pack their children lunch either. Nor do all parents have the time, many work more than one job and what is a single mother to do that has to go to work way early in the morning? When a situation like that occurs, which is all too often, a child will bring lunch money to school and be fed whatever is being served at that time. Not too much he/she can do about it except to starve.

I don't see why education has to stop in the classroom. There is a cafeteria and there are usually signs in these cafeterias. It amazes me that an easy to read and understand sign is not posted all throughout a cafeteria that teaches good eating habits. Not all children will pay attention, but it is a step in the right direction. There is/are (correct english here?) food staff present when serving, they can offer helpful tips throughout serving that little kids would listen to.

And of course, if it is just as cheap to provide healthy lunches then schools should be forced to do so. Introduce variety in lunches gradually throughout the grades or levels. By the time a kid reaches high school they could haveb 3 - 4 healthy entrees to pick from per day. Healthy snacks can be introduced also.

Of course it takes time to introduce a system like this and there may me many things going against it. That doesn't mean it shouldn't happen. I would like to see my children have a healthy lunch when it comes to school, or at least their friends. My children will probably end up bringing just because of the current state of the systems around here.