A heavy storm came through tonight so I didn't get to see the world news but it did come at the end of the local news. I really got annoyed at some of the changes that they were boasting about regarding our kids. Just a stupid thing idea if you want my opinion!
I may have complained about this before but I didn't see it when looking quickly through the list. But I don't think it would count even if I did, the new school year has either started or is about to start (my blog, my rules)! So the federal government has decided that kids these days don't get enough fruits and vegetables. I am not arguing with that at all, I know we have a ton of issued getting my kids to eat them. What I don't agree with is the way in which they are going about it. They are putting more requirements on the schools to serve large fruit and more fresh vegetables. That's a good concept except they are doing that without giving the schools any additional funding to pay for it. The example they used in the story was showing the difference in size of apples that are being required. They were selling apples that come in roughly 125 per case. They are now being required to sell apples that come in roughly 88 per case. What's the big deal you ask? Each case cost the same!
The next issue with it is that the schools are required to sell a certain amount of fruits and vegetables or the will not receive funding. How are the schools going to do this? Pretty simple, they are going to make it so that if a child doesn't get a vegetable it will cost more money. So what's the problem? Those kids, like mine, who won't eat it will get it just to save the money then throw it away. What a huge waste of money! You hear a lot about how much food is wasted in the United States, now they federal government is not only saying they don't care, they are encouraging it. Ridiculous!
My last issue has to do with the only way in which schools can afford to serve kids. Schools are limited in how much they are allowed to charge for a lunch based on the financial state of the people who live in the district. This means that for the most part the meals need to be as cheap as possible. How do they make cheap meals? Government commodities. These commodities are generally very highly processed, loaded with salt, fat, and fillers. Yep, the same stuff the government sponsored studies are stating that we should be avoiding because Americans get too much of it. Start talking about the fruits and vegetables that they are being asked to force on kids and you will see that most of what the school can afford is canned. Fruit is generally packed in heavy syrup as the light syrup or juice isn't available as a commodity. That means it is more then twice the cost (usually more along the lines of three or four). And anyone who has looked at the ingredients of canned vegetables would know that the liquid is a brine, salt and water. Again more things that they are telling us we should avoid as we get too much.
What kind of message are we sending to our kids? I see a mixed message being sent starting from the top (actually, the wife of the top) person in the United States. They are pushing this but have no idea of the financial impact of their decisions. Wake up people, if you want to fix the school lunch program you need to fund it!
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