It always stuns me how much control people think they have over other peoples lives. It is even worse because they are making them BUY lunch from the school, I'd be against it even if it was free but forcing them to buy lunch is ridiculous. I also doubt the school actually serves a nutritious lunch. I know that both my junior high and high school claimed to serve nutritious food, but both served food that was on par with fast food. And I live near Chicago.
Its outrageous that a school would ban homemade lunches. As Moe was basically saying, schools often do not have that healthy of choices, whereas parents could send healthy food with their child. I'm thinking that perhaps it is a way to gain money in the troubled times. I know my state is struggling with funding and are considering cuts to educational funding. I could imagine Illinois or maybe just Chicago having the same sort of financial woes.
I think this is ridiculous. My school personally, serves garbage compared to what I could bring. I buy lunch there because it's convienent, but I could easily make a healthier meal at home in 5 minutes and spend 1/2 as much if I wanted to. The real problem isn't unhealthy food either, it's too much food. I could eat 1 cookie a day and be skinny as a twig because i'm not getting enough. Does it matter that the cookie is bad for you? Nope. This is also what I was referring to in my "Should we protect the idiots of the world?" thread. Let people bring their own lunch, if they get fat that's their problem. Why do we need to punish everyone else, and regulate everything, because a minority of people cannot make good decisions?
Um...wtf. Banning homemade lunches and then charging students for some halfassed attempt to feed them, and if they don't pay, well "NO FOOD FOR YOU!" (sienfeld moment). This is ridiculous. I mean most parents have the common sense to give their kids something nutritional. Also, this fear over white flour and sugars and what not is also mind numbingly idiotic. You want to help the kids? Especially at an an elementary school, at least that's wher I think this story is about, give them phys ed equipment. Extend phys ed periods, let the kids exercise more and have some FUN, don't friggen starve the kid.
No, and none of the many outcomes of the regulation are acceptable either. It's just like the McDonald's toy ban, which I think Nemo also posted. To give any form of government, local, state, or federal, authority on what we eat is just plain terrible. Their aims are meritable--they want fit, healthy children, I get that. However, let their guardians, or themselves, handle it. If they do not wish to limit the kind of food that they eat, then let them. Another thing. By making the regulation on school food, they are being forced to either pay for the food at the school or go hungry. Aside from the food that they buy at home, they also have to buy food at the school, or else they don't eat. Now I'm not sure what else they have in store if the children get rebellious, but if I want to eat what I bring from home, I will, dangit!
I also looked at the article particularly on what certain areas banned: Chocolate milk, any drink from home because they provided water, and celebratory desserts.
as a kid I was a veritable bottomless pit when it came to eating... and I never got fat. I played sports and ran around. you can eat whatever crap you want to and as much of it as you want if you even exercise a little... if you got a problem (genetic disposition or whatever) then you'll have that problem regardless of whether or not you eat healthy...
my old high school used to serve nachos every now and then for a meal... how the f is that healthy? crackers... meat... and fake cheese... and that was pretty much it b/c the sides were laughably small. What if the person doesn't like what they've cooked or can't eat what they've cooked for some reason? are they SOL? or are they going to cater to them specially? ...its stupid
as a kid I was a veritable bottomless pit when it came to eating.
I'm still a veritable bottomless pit and hardly ever gain a pound. So healthy for me would turn most people into fat tubs of lard.
Given the trash (often rotten food) they would serve in the cafeteria when I went to school there is no way I could have gotten through without bringing lunch. I also vaguely remember a report about a year or two ago on school cafeteria meat that when tested only met the standards of pet food. From speaking with a teacher only a few months back who teaches at my old school the menu hasn't improved any in all this time.
What's the problem? I see the reasoning, but it seems wrong. Plus, there are many counties that give half off or discounted lunches depending on your parents' salaries.
I get free lunch, even though it isn't the best.
What I would really like, is a decent education rather than excellent food.
I don't agree with banning homemade lunches. My school serves; fried chicken, pizza, nachos, hamburgers, chips, candy, soda. The only thing that I can find healthy at my school is the vitamin water, apples, bananas and oranges. If I were to eat school lunch for a week then I'd probably gain five pounds. It's that fattening.
I don't see a problem with students bringing homemade lunches to school. It's the parents decision to what they want to feed their child and it's also the child's decision on what he/she wants to consume. If the kid wants to eat school lunches or what he packs then let them I know that if I had a kid I would pack him/her healthy food every day for school, if the school were to ban homemade lunches then I would transfer him/her to a new school or homeschool them.
I wonder what would happen if the students were to protest by not eating the schools lunch and bring homemade lunches.
They're not. In the place where you grab your food all the food is displayed in the little sections. People usually touch the food when grabbing something next to it. Especially the pizza, when you go to reach for pizza your arm or hand usually touches another pizza and I'm sure that most people at school don't wash their hands after using the rest-room.
Even if It's only $2.25 for a school lunch (my average lunch is 5-7$ a day) If a parent wants to send a child lunch they should be allowed too. If it's not "nutritious" enough, the solution shouldn't be to force them to eat school lunches in middle school(from my experiences in 2 schools) are usually pretty bad. If you want the kids to lose weight, instead of taking away from them you can give them more recess or gym which I'm sure none of them will complain about.
