Here is a breakdown of what I ate for lunch on Monday, September 17th.
- 1 pepperoni hoagie with cheese
- 1/2 pint milk.................................100 calories
- 1/2 cup green beans
- 1/2 cup mixed fruit
- 1/2 cup bell peppers
- 1 juice box...................................100 calories
- Miracle Whip ..............................15 calories
Today, a sloppy jo on a bun with french fries was offered for the hot item at lunch. I do not necessarily like sloppy jo's, so I got something from the hoagie line instead. The fresh green beans were actually pretty fresh, and much tastier than green beans out of the can. These are the kind of green beans that I can definitely live with. The pepperoni hoagie, on the other hand, was something quite different. I opened up the bun to put on some Miracle Whip, and was shocked at how few pepperoni there were. I counted six small slices on the sandwich. With a slice of cheese too, there went my 2 daily ounces of protein. It seems a bit ridiculous to me that the USDA decided on 10-12 ounces a week for protein at lunch. What were the deciding factors on the limit anyway? Hopefully I can address that in a future post.
Remember last week, when I wrote about Operation: Paper Bag? Well, Jack and a couple of other students of Allentown High school had a meeting with a few administrators from their school, and representatives of their food service provider, Chartwells. They came to an agreement, which is not yet 100% final, but a decision nonetheless that is a 'win' for the students of Allentown High. A post on the Operation: Paper Bag Facebook page updates followers on how the meeting went.
". . . one of the available and best rounded options at the time would be to release ourselves from the government program. What that would mean is that the portions would increase back to the size of lunches last year. However, to make up for the funding that the government *used* to give, Allentown would have to increase the current prices."Jack, who I talked to last week, was pleased with the results. "I feel like it's a good solution, and everyone is happy with it," he told me. Keep posted on more updates from Jack and OPB!
-----If you are a student in a any school across the country, or a parent of a child in school, take a picture of lunch and send it to me, for our post Lunch from Alabama to Wyoming. Pictures can be sent to teubks@gmail.com-----
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Until next time, stay full!
Is it really a "win" to remove yourself from the government program and then charge students more? I have no idea what percentage of students are on the free and reduced meal program at that school. For many of them they may not be able to afford a meal at school when prices go up. At the very best, they will be using money that could have been spent on other necessities in their life-or they may have to skip eating or have something very minimal. None of these options sound like real solutions to me. Why not participate in the government program and buy an extra if you are the athlete that needs more calories? There has been much discussion on this blog about colleges, universities and training tables. The National School Lunch Program is not designed to feed athletes or function as a training table. Students who require more calories have the option to purchase them. Since childhood obesity has tripled in the last two decades, portion control is not a bad thing to consider. Kevin Concannon, the USDA's undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services issued the following quote in the Wall Street Journal on September 14, 2012. "If you look at colleges in the United States, if you've ever looked at the tables where they're feeding just the football players....If you emulated that, we'd all be wearing size 48 suits by our 20's. You have to use common sense." Well said.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the website www.publicschoolreview.com, Allentown High School has 2% of students eligible for free lunch, and 1% eligible for reduced lunch price. (http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/53221)
DeleteThere will be a poll among the students, asking if they want to discontinue participation in the program. So for these students, they are getting what they want. They way I understand it, the increase in price will help offset the price for the free and reduced students, as well as the increased cost to provide larger portions.
If portion control is a thing to consider, why not let students choose their own portion? If you are a high school student, you have the capacity to decide what you want to eat, and how much. The government does not need to hold our hand, telling us how much we can eat, and of what. If someone wants to overeat, that is their right, we live in America!! If someone doesn't want to eat at all, that's their right too. So for me and many others, the problem lies with the government control.
The very low level of students eligible for free/reduced lunches explains why they are able to leave the government program. And yet they still say they will have to charge more. In Beatrice the percentage of free/reduced students is over 50. Does anyone really think leaving 50% of the student population unable to get a meal at school a win? Keep in mind you are not just talking about high school kids-there are elementary children who would not receive the benefits they get now. Could families with 3 or 4 children come up with the $5 - $10 required a day to feed their kids breakfast and lunch? You say this is America and you should be able to eat what you want. No one stops you from eating what you want at school or away from school. You just have to pay for it. School is a learning laboratory for all aspects of life. Healthy eating is just one part of it. Should we give out high school diplomas to individuals who don't want to learn the subjects required? Government control is a part of life. The government does have a right to have guidelines to follow when they are funding the program.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say that doing something similar to this in Beatrice would work, I was just writing about how one school is solving what the students see as a problem. Yes, school is a learning laboratory, and in school we have been taught to challenge every thing we see and come across. I also didn't know that learning healthy eating habits was a graduation requirement. Yes, the government does have a right to set guidelines when they are paying for it, but maybe there is another solution to this problem? Maybe there is another way to help pay for the over 50% of students on free/reduced lunch? I'm not saying I have all the answers, but I don't necessarily think that there is only one answer. People will always have different opinions on things, and for me, this blog is a way to express those opinions to others.
DeleteA word on the protien requirements: are you even aware of what the reccomendations are for a healthy protien intake? The maximum reccomendation is about 5grams of protien per day. Most Americans vastly overdose on it and are harming their bodies in the process. In fact, too much protien can cause your body to become filled with toxins, causing your kidneys to go into overdrive, contributing to deyhdration, and adding unneccesary stress to your heart.
ReplyDeleteThere really is quite a simple solution here: If you want more, go buy it.