Pardon my Absence..UPDATE coming soon!!

          Let me start by apologizing for my absence on the blog, Senior year is much busier than I originally imagined it would ever be! Between scholarships, work, homework, and everything else in between, I have neglected my blog.  BUT, the subject of school lunch is still important, so I have finally decided to do a School Lunches Suck! Blog UPDATE!!

         

          Many of you know that there have been some changes to the rules and guidelines governing school lunch, and I will make sure to post about that in the near future!!

          Also over the next few posts I will get updates from our guest posters, so watch for those too!!

Again I am very sorry for my abrupt absence, but please WATCH OUT for the update from the School Lunches Suck! Blog!!!!

Tuesday, September 25th, & LUNCH PRICE POLL RESULTS!

     What's for lunch Tuesday, September the 25th? Salami hoagie with broccoli salad.

     Here is a breakdown of what I ate for lunch on Tuesday the 25th.

• 1 salami hoagie with cheese
• 1/2 cup cut watermelon
• 1/2 cup apricots
• 1 can tomato juice-----------30 calories
• 1/2 cup broccoli salad
• 1/2 pint 1% low-fat milk-----100 calories
• Miracle Whip----------------15 calories

     On any day that I don't want or like what is served for the hot entree at school, I can get a sandwich.  I probably eat a sandwich two or three times a week, just because I know what I am getting and know what to expect with it.  In the last couple of weeks, there have been many cucumber, broccoli, and cauliflower salads, all of which are very good.  They almost taste like my grandma made them!  This particular salad had cut broccoli, diced onions, crumbled bacon, white raisins and some sort of mayo based sauce.  I will probably be getting this quite often, when it is available.

     The results from the poll, Lunch Price, which asked the question, "How much does a lunch in your or your child's school cost?" are in!!  With a total of 68 votes over 7 days, here are the results.  

$ 3.25 and above	5 (7%)
$ 2.75 - $ 3.25	9 (13%)
$ 2.25 - $ 2.75	39 (57%)
$ 1.75 - $ 2.25	10 (14%)
Free - $ 1.75	5 (7%)

     The price with the biggest number of respondents was $2.25 - $2.75, with 39 votes.  Free to $1.75 and $3.25 and above have the same number of votes, 5.  Do you have a suggestion for the next poll on The School Lunches Suck! Blog? If so, email me or comment below with your idea!! 
     If you are aware of what the High Plains Journal is, Trent Loos wrote an article in his column, The fight against the path to starvation, and he mentioned the blog in it!! How cool!!

-----Thanks to the many readers, The School Lunches Suck! Blog now has over 12,500 page views!! Thanks to you for your support!!  Don't forget to check back often for more posts from The School Lunches Suck! Blog, and to 'share' the blog on Facebook with friends and family!!!

2nd Guest post from LUKAS!!!

Lukas sent me over another guest post this week, I hope you enjoy reading it!

Hello again,
In the past few weeks I have noticed an increased popularity on the subject of which we are fighting for, school lunches. Many of those fighting are farmers, they understand the importance of a healthy meal, not to mention the fact that what they raise is being used to feed our youth.  Do you think that Mr. Obama is eating 800 calories per meal? My guess is definitely not. One carton of 2% white milk is equal to 100 calories and has 8 fluid ounces of content. A handful of the students at my high school are just getting out of Physical Fitness and are not only hungry, but also thirsty. If you drink 16 ounces of milk you already have 200 calories of your lunch which is equivalent to ¼ of your meal. One baby carrot supplies you with just 5 calories.

On this lunch plate there are 7 carrots shown, with 35 calories for the total. The average sized muffin resting there on my plate has 180 calories, I honestly think my mouth is big enough that I ate it in one bite. The cup of pineapple on my plate has nearly 50 calories, but there interesting part is the potatoes. Now as I’ve said before I have been on a farm all of my life, and I’ll tell you this; we LOVE our mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, buttered bread, and roast lunch! After we eat, we head out the door to continue working in the 100⁰ heat, or the freezing cold snow, and I am yet to gain a pound. But isn’t the main point of being a student, to get an education? How are we supposed to focus with the bare minimum amount of fuel sitting in our tanks? None the less, this portion of mashed potatoes and gravy is packed with 400 calories. Let’s add all this up.



Milk:100
Pineapple:50
Carrots:35
Muffin:180
Main Course:400









That equals up to a grand total of, 765 calories! I know that on an average practice of 45 minutes I burn 700 calories. That doesn’t include the calories I burn trying to recover, which continues to add up all day long. An teenage boy, who DOES NOT play sports is supposed to attain 3,000 calories per day. If practice is at 6:30 a.m. I burn over 1,500 by 9 o’clock! These meals are outrageous! In the next few days I will be contacting a Senate Representative and a man who writes articles in the High Plains Journal, to speak of this issue and way they could possibly help us win the battle. Until then, find a vending machine.

-Lukas

-----Be sure to give your answer in this weeks poll: Lunch Price, which ends Sunday. After that, I'll make sure to post the results!! Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the food service director at my school, so we can talk about the blog. Be on the look out for a post about that, and soon an interview with some of the people involved in the YouTube video We Are Hungry!!!-----

Garden City guest poster...Legit Lindy!

I am very excited to announce that The School Lunches Suck! Blog is going to start featuring another guest poster, Lindy! Like me, Lindy is a senior in high school who is not very happy with the new federal guidelines regarding school lunch. Be on the lookout for more posts from Lindy, and later this week another post from Lukas!
Enjoy!

My name is Lindy and I am an unhappy and underfed senior at Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas.  This year, I will be a member of the first graduating class out of our district’s brand new, $97 million high school.  I will also be a member of probably the most underfed senior class that’s ever had the privilege of being a Garden City Buffalo.  Seriously.

Until this year, Garden City’s juniors and seniors had the 
privilege of leaving campus for lunch.  For most, that meant a quick run home for a bite to eat, a walk across the street to Subway, or a mad dash to one of the many nearby fast food restaurants.  But, our new school came with new rules—one of those being that we are now all stuck on campus for lunch.

Honestly, the majority of my school’s 2000+ students weren't really very worried about it.  Although we were being stripped of one of the few privileges of being upperclassmen, we were promised that we would have more lunch options and a higher quality of food coming out of our brand spankin’ new kitchen.  Boy, were we in for a surprise the first day when we walked in the cafeteria and saw what they had to offer!
Everyday, we pretty much have three options: hamburgers, pizza, or some type of Mexican food, and don’t forget a handful of soggy, half-baked French fries.  The quality of the food isn't exactly the greatest, but the portions are even worse.  I don’t participate in sports, but I do lead an active lifestyle.  By the time I get home from work, I’m STARVING.  I can’t even imagine how hungry the football players, volleyball girls, or cheerleaders are after they get done with practice.  When high school students are being fed the same portions as grade school students, you know that you have a problem.

The majority of our school’s athletes survive by eating multiple meals.  It’s not uncommon to see a football player eat three school lunches in one sitting.  With our school lunches ringing in at $2.30, that means that the football players are paying $6.90 every day just so they aren't hungry.  Wouldn't it be more reasonable to feed us one meal that actually fills us up?

What’s on the menu today? 9/18/12
-One Beef Enchilada
-Handful of Tortilla Chips
-Salsa
-Packaged Fruit
-Milk



My fellow students, it’s time to speak up.  If we don’t tell them that we’re unhappy, nothing will ever change.  We’re the ones eating the meals, we should have a say.  Let’s do something about it!

Until Next Time,
Lindy

Thanks, Lindy!!!

-----Make sure to share The School Lunches Suck! Blog on Facebook, and to 'Follow' on the right side of the page to receive the blog in your email inbox!!-----

Keep sending in your pictures of your or your childrens lunch, for the post Lunch from Alabama to Wyoming!! Pictures can be sent to teubks@gmail.com

Until next time, stay full!!

Monday, September 17th, & OBP UPDATE!!

     What's for lunch Monday, September 17th?  Pepperoni hoagie with green beans.  

     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-----

'Share' the School Lunches Suck! Blog on Facebook with your friends and family, and thank-you for your continued support!!

Until next time, stay full!

     

Poll: Lunch Price

     For this week's poll on The School Lunches Suck! Blog, we asked the question, "How much does a lunch in your or your child's school cost?"  Answer below!!!

-----The School Lunches Suck! Blog has over 9,000 views, thanks for your support, and keep it up!! Help spread awareness by sharing the blog with your friends and family, and by following the blog with the tool on the right side of the page!-----

     Send in your pictures for our post, Lunch from Alabama to Wyoming, so we can get a picture of lunch from every state in the USA!!! Pictures can be sent to teubks@gmail.com  



How much does a lunch cost in your or your child's school

OPB: Operation Paper Bag.

To everyone who reads The School Lunches Suck! Blog, I have big news.  

We are joining forces with another movement against school lunches in New Jersey, called Operation Paper Bag. 

     Operation Paper Bag started out in Allentown High School, largely by a student named Jack Streppone.  Through a friend of a friend of a friend, I was put into contact with Jack.  Pretty quickly, he and I both realized that we didn't like the new changes to school lunch, and we also decided to do something about it.  

     In Jack's high school of about 1,300 students, there is something going on.  Students aren't buying lunch anymore.  They're bringing it.  Operation Paper Bag (OPB) was started by Jack and a few of his friends, and at the forefront of their movement is a petition, with nearly 900 signatures.  Everyday, Jack brings this petition to school, encouraging students to sign it, and lets them know about OPB.  The petition reads, "School lunch portions have decreased, while the prices, have increased! This is ridiculous! We, as students, need to stand up, be heard and do something about this!"  Jack said the reason for the petition and attention being brought to school lunches has a purpose,  "Ultimately our goal is to boycott meals at school, and hit the company that supplies our cafeteria with food and emyployees, Chartwells, where it hurts--financially."  

     Pretty quickly, the Allentown High School administration realized something was up, so the district superintendent set up a meeting between Jack and Chartwells before the full-fledged boycott was on.  Tomorrow, Thursday September 13th, Jack and the other students that started Operation Paper Bag are meeting with Chartwells representatives, employees, and a couple of school officials to talk about the school lunches.  There, Jack is going to present what he has found this year.  "Our lunch is $2.40," Jack went on,"and it's like finger food, but for raised prices!" 

     So over the coming weeks and months, I will be posting updates about Operation Paper Bag, and how things are going for Jack and his cause.  If you would like to follow OPB on twitter, their page is here, and their Facebook page is here.  This is really exciting news for The School Lunches Suck! Blog, so be sure keep posted for what's coming next!!

-----Don't forget to share The School Lunches Suck! Blog with your friends and family on Facebook with the 'share' button on the right.  Also, send in your pictures of school lunch for our challenge: Lunch from Alabama to Wyoming.  Pictures can be sent to teubks@gmail.com -----

Until next time, stay full!

2nd Guest post...LUKAS! Friday, September 7th.

     Here is the first guest post from our second guest poster, Lukas!!  Lukas also attends school in a small rural Kansas community, and is quite the achieved distance runner!  He will probably be posting every two weeks or so, so be on the lookout for more!

     Hello Everyone! My name is Lukas; I attend a school much similar to Shane’s in aspect of size, and community. I live on a farm and understand the importance of healthy diets, which goes for animals and humans. But what is most special about me is my ability to run. I have loved running since grade school, and it has become a key part of my life. In the course of my high school career, I have brought home many titles and awards to my community. So from a true athlete’s perspective, we NEED more food! Like most pre-collegiate students I weigh under 200 lbs. Skin and bones, is probably the most accurate way to describe us. Now I am not saying that the food is gross, because I am by no means a picky eater, but the quantity is not rational at all. The statistics may say that the U.S. is overweight but where I come from we aren’t much more than bean stalks. This is a picture of the lunch that was served on Friday the 7th; I took every possible item of food that was possible.

• 1-Sloppy Joe
• 1-Bean Salsa with tortilla chips
• 1-leaf of Romaine 
• 2-1/2 slices of tomato
• 1 pear
• 1-cup of milk

     As you can see there is not a whole lot on my plate, the sloppy Joe was delicious, but that was the only meaty and filling part of the whole meal. Bean salsa? Come on, that is an appetizer. This lunch, however, was on Friday, and my cross country meet was on Thursday. The day after a race is known as a 'Recovery Day', which means you have to re-nourish all the vital elements your body lost during your race. The average runner (typical high school runner) needs more protein per pound of body weight than a professional body builder. There isn’t enough protein on this plate to recharge a 5^th grader after PE and recess. 

     We pay for these lunches, and I don’t believe that gives the government the right to restrict them. If the overweight people want to chow down on Honey Buns and Soda, who are we to judge them, Let alone stop them? It is their body and they can do to it as they please! We are adolescents, our metabolism is peaking. It’s possible to eat a little grub and still keep our low body fat. School lunches aren't the problem, and making them smaller will only encourage indulging in fatty foods after the bell rings. I hope to post again soon, but until then God Bless.

-Lukas

Thanks, Lukas!! 

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Thursday, September 6th, & POLL RESULTS!

     What's for lunch Thursday, September 6th?  Hot dog on a bun with french fries and baked beans.  Again, I opted for a different vegetable than french fries.

    Here is a breakdown of what I ate for lunch on Thursday, September 6.

• 1 hot dog on a white bun
• 1/2 cup grapes
• 1 grape juice box..............100 calories
• 1/2 pint 1% low-fat milk...100 calories
• 1/2 cup dark green salad
• 1/2 cup mixed veggies
• 1 packet ranch dressing/ketchup.....120 calories

     On Thursday the 6th, a hot dog on a bun with baked beans and french fries was served for lunch.  I love french fries more than you can know, but I like them fried to a golden crisp and am quite fond of the ones served at Runza.  The french fries at school, however, are a different story.  I'm not sure how these french fries are cooked, but I can tell you they are not fried to a golden crisp.  They are thick crinkle cut fries, but not like ones I enjoy at Runza.  When I asked three different students the first word they thought of when I told them to describe school french fries, their response was the same--soggy.  Personally, I would rather get a different vegetable and eat it than let the french fries go to waste.  Otherwise, this lunch wasn't too bad.  

     The results from The School Lunches Suck! Blog poll: How much control? are in!!  This week we asked the question, How much control should the Government have over school lunch?  With a total of  78 votes, we had two responses that both received about 33% of the vote.  The winner was 'None at all' with 30 votes, and 2nd place was 'Half as much' with 26.  

Keep it the same.	7 (8%)
Half as much.	26 (33%)
1/3 as much.	15 (19%)
None at all.	30 (38%)

     The School Lunches Suck! Blog has been receiving a lot of attention recently, as the story in the Beatrice Daily Sun that mentioned the blog was picked up by The Associated Press this Saturday!  Also, watch out tomorrow (Monday) for a quick update about where you can see the blog mentioned on TV!!

-----Don't forget to share The School Lunches Suck! Blog with your friends on Facebook, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or question below!  If you have a suggestion for a blog post idea, or any question at all, you can email me at teubks@gmail.com -----

Until next time, stay full!!

Poll: How much control?

     Every two weeks, The School Lunches Suck! Blog will have a poll for the readers to participate in.  The poll for this week is about Government control over school lunch.
----Have a suggestion for a poll I should put on The School Lunches Suck! Blog? Leave a comment below!-----

How much control should the Government have over school lunch?

Thursday, August 30th.

     What's for lunch Thursday, August 30th? Tacos with tater tots.

Here is a breakdown of what I ate for lunch on Thursday the 30th.  

• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup grapes
• 1/2 pint 1% low-fat milk......100 calories
• 1 cup assorted veggies
• 1 taco bowl
• 1/2 cup taco meat
• 1 ounce cheese
• 1 packet sour cream.........25 calories

     Tacos are one meal that not very many students complain about, I mean, who doesn't like tacos?  We have the choice of 2 soft shells, 2 hard shells, or one bowl.  Tacos are usually served with tater tots, but instead I opted for green peppers and sliced tomatoes.  Last year, I distinctly remember being pretty full on taco day, but this year, after my lunch I wondered why I didn't seem as full. 

     In years past, we were allowed to help ourselves to the cheese, sour cream, and other delicious toppings one puts on a taco.  This year, the cheese was portioned out, and sour cream handed to you when you paid for your meal.  You could still put your choice of vegetables on top, but it just wasn't the same.  It took me only about 10 minutes to eat, leaving me quite a bit of time to talk to my friends at my lunch table.  

     By the time I was leaving school to go to work, at 3:00, I really wondered if I had eaten lunch at all.  I got to work, and thankfully someone brought muffins to share that day.  I disappeared to the break room to eat one, and when I got off work at 6:15, I still wondered if I had eaten lunch.  To me, the portion sizes are just ridiculous.  Oh, and I almost forgot to remind you.  Lunch prices at BHS have increased $.10 from last year, making a 'USDA approved lunch' now $2.50.  And, in order for students receiving free and reduced lunch to get the discounted price, they must follow the new standards. 

     

     Below, I have links to a couple of interesting reads from the Beatrice Daily Sun regarding the new school lunches.

School lunch gets a makeover

http://beatricedailysun.com/news/local/education/school-lunch-gets-a-makeover/article_57cdb241-729a-5c92-8c3e-af91a1129b1b.html

BPS fees, lunch prices to increase

http://beatricedailysun.com/news/local/bps-fees-lunch-prices-to-increase/article_da90287b-e7e1-5b95-85da-8cc8013dc82e.html

-----Recently, one of my readers suggested that I call someone from the University of Nebraska in the football program, and ask them what kind of diet the football players for the Huskers are on.  It will be quite interesting to compare their diet to that of a high school football player, so watch out in the coming weeks for a post!!!  As always, don't forget to share The School Lunches Suck! Blog with your friends on Facebook, and check back often for updates!!-----

It's not their fault!

     Before I really get into writing about the lunch schools now serve, I want to make one thing absolutely clear to everyone who reads the blog.

The lunches schools now offer are not the fault of those who serve and prepare the meals.  

     Cafeteria workers are very hard working people; many who truly love their job.  I have the utmost respect for the people who make and serve my meal at school, as my own grandma is a 'lunch lady'.  It was not their decision to change the food they provide, it was the government's.  The people who prepare the food I eat at school day in and day out are only doing what they are told to do.  They did not decide that as a Senior in high school I can have only 10-12 ounces of meat a week.  They did not decide that I am allowed to eat only 10-12 ounces of grain products a week during lunch.  It was the government's.  It simply is not their fault.  

     The several women who work in my school's cafeteria are some of the most caring, friendly people I know.  Everyday, I say 'hi' to them as I fill up my tray, always receiving a reply back, along with a 'how is your day going?'  Many know me by name, and one in particular even remembers my birthday.  With this blog, I only seek to show people exactly what is served for lunch in America's schools, not to put-down and complain to the food service workers in my school, all of whom I greatly appreciate.  

     Make sure to watch this week for posts on what I ate for lunch, and sometime soon a spotlight from another student at Beatrice High School - their thought on lunch!