There is a major change at our house tomorrow.
On what will be his 15th birthday,our son starts high school. He attends a small, rural school in North Dakota with 19 kids total in his class. There will be one new teacher for him to meet, maybe a few new students and he will move down the hall to the high school wing of the one school building where all kids Pre-K through Grade 12 attend in our small town. But that is not the major change for Hunter, our son.
Instead for the first time since kindergarten, Hunter will be bringing his lunch from home to school and not eating hot lunch, served by the school cook who has cooked at the school since my husband attended there.
Hunter packing sandwiches for the freezer to grab for a lunch.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which administers the federal school lunch program has changed the nutritional guidelines of what all children in public school and a part of the federal school lunch program can have. You can read the USDA School Lunch Guidelines for yourself. You also can read the before and after menu suggestions from these guidelines.
The biggest change and impact for our son is the reduced protein. For grades 9-12, the total protein for the 5 day school week allowed is 10-12 oz. and less for younger students. Hunter’s reaction when I told him this change was “Mom! That is like two bites for me. I am going to starve.”
I understand this is an attempt to address childhood obesity. I understand this is an attempt to bring more fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains into children’s diets. I understand our son is not your average sized kid. He’s big for his age and the size of an above average sized man at 6’5″ and 205 lbs. He cannot get enough calories for his size and activity level from the new USDA guidelines.
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| Fresh picked from our family garden |
At home, my children receive a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, lentils, dairy and meats. I hold myself accountable as the primary food purchaser at our home and primary cook that feeds our family to make sure our kids are given food choices and a balanced diet. We have the income to do this for our family. However, many do not. Many children receive the most calories and healthy food in their day at school from the USDA school lunch program. Children need all food groups daily to have enough energy to focus, learn and be active.
My kids don’t always appreciate food variety. I still ask them to try it. For example, the grilled eggplant I tried last week was a total flop with my kids and husband. But everyone tried it. On the other hand, my family has learned to tolerate and maybe even appreciate that I sneak extra vegetables into almost every recipe, bake with ground flax seed and whole wheat flour and add pinto or black beans to numerous dishes.
We eat yogurt and cheese for snacks alongside berries and bananas. We drink skim milk at evening family meals. We eat a wide array of lean meats. A majority of the time, we eat together, as a family with home cooked meals.
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| I asked Hunter to bring cherry tomatoes in his lunch. He tried one and this was his reaction. |
At home, if my kids try the eggplant and don’t like it, they have a choice to eat something else. At school, under the new USDA guidelines, its eat it or waste it and be hungry, unless they pay more for additional bread or a second meal.
My children are also active. We exercise as a family as much as possible. Our son participates in four sports, one for each season of the year. Screen time from television to the iPad is limited to 30 minutes on school nights and often even that is not utilized. I think thousands of children across America do not have activity in their life. They do not have limits on technology time.
Why does our family’s diet and activity matter to our son’s school lunch?
Individuals have to be accountable for their behavior. In this instance, it’s eating and activity. Childhood obesity is not the fault of our school lunches. It’s an entire culture that needs to change.
If our school tries to change our school lunch program on our own, in the manner we think is best for our small, rural school and we do not follow the USDA regulations, we will lose our federal school lunch funding. That would hurt the nearly 40% of the our student body that qualifies for free and reduced school lunch. We need solutions. This is not a one size fits all issue.
I am not a dietician. I don’t have a single solution. But I would like to see:
1. A variety of foods be given to all school children from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats. Let the kids have the choice. Have everyone try jicama as the USDA menu suggests but then also have lean meat in the bean and cheese burritos on Monday so the kids have the energy to focus, learn and be active. Lean sandwich meat on whole grain bread for sandwiches should be an option daily.
My son eats during the noon hour and after school has a two-hour minimum practice. He needs options, variety and balance in his diet. I am not suggesting everyone gets to drink Kool-Aid and eat Pringles at lunch. But we need variety that does not discriminate against a child’s size or income. Because if you have more money, you can buy a second lunch. But if you don’t, you cannot as my friend Val pointed out in School Lunch: NOT the key to obesity.
2. Give schools more local control of their school lunch dollars and budget. I think our school cook of 30 years with proper training from possibly our state program knows how best to feed our school children in North Dakota then somebody sitting behind a desk in Washington D.C. I might be wrong but I don’t think everyone is created equal in what we eat yet we need a system that accommodates all children’s dietary needs. There is variety in the caloric needs for different people every day. There are different socio-economic factors in different geographic areas across our country impact what we eat already. This fall in Tennessee they might be eating okra from their school garden for lunch and we might be eating frozen green beans raised in our school garden earlier this summer in North Dakota.
I don’t know how the federal dollars work exactly. But I know school districts should be able to decide what to do their with meat, like keep it as whole chicken breasts and not have it made into chicken nuggets. And I know our school doesn’t have that control. Can that be changed? Only if we speak out and keep asking for it from our elected officials.
Hunter’s first day of school lunch. I added strawberries since he refused cherry tomatoes.
I still remember the “Just Say No” drug-free campaign of the 1980’s in my school days. I can detail to you the coloring books and even the commercials. It is a different set of issues and topic today but outreach in elementary school worked for me. It resonated. I don’t think this education effort has to be a multi-media, expensive campaign. I think nutrition outreach and education has to be local, grassroots and through mentorship. 3. Increase nutrition outreach, education and accountability at a local level. There has to be a way we can teach kids to make healthy choices without forcing it upon them and not giving them options they will eat. Eventually I think my kids will eat eggplant and cherry tomatoes. I am not quitting but it takes time.
For now, we have sandwiches in the freezer for Hunter to pull out and quickly pack a lunch daily along with a variety of fruit, granola bars and yogurt. He will buy milk at school. We will keep working on the eggplant and tomato options. He also has his grandparents who live across the street from his school. Hunter has plans for big lunches made by Nana. He might be the only child in America that has a grandma across the street from the school ready and willing to have a home cooked meal waiting at 12:10PM daily. I wish more kids had a kind-hearted grandma to make them lunch across the street from school. It would be a slice of school lunch utopia.
What are your ideas to bring balance and healthy variety to school lunches?
This has been a topic of discussion at our house, too, as our oldest starts kindergarten this week!
Good luck. I’ve seen where some kids have had their home lunches (Turkey sandwiches, raisins, and I forget what else) taken away.
Hopefully the people at your son’s school are more open minded and understand that you and he both know how to pack a sensible lunch!
I often make the face that Hunter made when I eat cherry tomatoes. And I like them!
It’s hard to find good sweet ones, though.
Have a blessed week!
Good luck Hunter! Great post, I’ll try to link up something this week. My boys are starting 2nd grade on Thursday and have packed their lunch most of the time. We started packing simply because I grew up hating school lunch and I wanted them to have the choice, hopefully making a healthier one over highly processed foods.
Our high school is making lunch changes too with a new salad bar. Here’s the thing I heard from h.s. kids last year (i sub occasionally and am don’t know a lot of what goes on); that it was okay for them to take a packed lunch but not okay to bring a sandwich from the Subway down the street? How is that okay?
Great post! I didn’t realize all the changes that were being made. Definitely not a one size fits all solution. I agree, changes in school meals should start at a local level. Thanks for informing us all.
Very interesting article. Parents should be the ones monitoring their children’s food etc. I understand the need for schools to be involved, but they need to leave room for parents to add to the conversation. My nephew two years ago had a BIG problem at lunchtime. He is very small and very thin and they had very strict rules about lunches. He had a sandwich (turkey), an apple, a yogurt and some veggies. The teacher took his yogurt each day that week. He was too shy to tell his mom, but he was hungry each day when he got home. She found out that since it wasn’t “nonfat” the teacher didn’t want him to have it. UGH. Sister had to take off work(also a teacher) to go and complain. He is not fat,can’t get enough calories and is extremely active. Taking food off him was plain wrong. Thanks for sharing this info with us.
I agree with you the school lunch program at it’s current state will not change the obesity problem and will not teach our youth to eat a more balanced diet. Just last night I was visiting with my Brother-In-Law about this. He ate lunch with his son this spring, the veg was a “mixed veg” (carrots, broccoli, green beans) he said after 1 bite he almost “lost his lunch”. Giving kids a food that taste terrible, that they throw out is not getting nutrients in them, nor is it teaching them that if cooked properly those vegitables in the mixture can taste good. I think most of the food served is “heat and serve” very little prep or cooking needed. Cooks have all morning to make something that taste good and is nutritious if they were given raw ingredients instead of bags, boxes, and cans of pre-cooked food. Cooking from scratch is always cheaper than cooking from “pre-made” things.
We don’t have kids, but I’m still feeling a mixture of emotions over this. First, glad that I’m not in the thick of it right now (but under no illusions that it won’t affect me in the future). Second, a bit appalled at the control the USDA is trying to take. Third, imagining where these type of restrictions/changes will go next… And fourth, wondering what is the best way to try to get this changed.
I think the thing that surprises me the most is that the USDA is limiting protein servings to less than their own recommended serving amounts.
It’s wonderful that some families are able to pack nutritious, filling lunches for their kids. And if we were in this boat this year, that is what we would be doing.
But I’m left wondering, the same as many of you, what this means for the kids whose families can’t afford this. If I remember right, somewhere around 40% of kids in Indianapolis public schools are considered “food insecure” – which means they are counting on school lunches to get them through the day.
How is this “anti-obesity” program helping these kids? That’s where the USDA needs to focus their efforts.
My DNP project is on childhood obesity. Ive been researching it nearly 3 years now. While school lunches are obviously not the only fix, I think this initiative is excellent and demonstrates the collaboration of many experts on the topic. I know it’s not do much an issue in small towns, with ample opportunity to participate in sports, etc…but on a level much bigger than small town America, this is a huge problem. I’ve always believed school lunches were an unhealthy offering and am so glad to see the new guidelines.
@Amber, thank you. I think what you share is valid. If it is different than for small towns or rural areas then shouldn’t we have more state and local control of the school lunch program so we can adapt the guidelines?
Let’s take this convo to the folks who can make a change!
If anyone would like to send a letter to the people in charge here they are:
Undersecretary of Food & Nutrition Services
Kevin Concannon
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack
1400 Independence Ave, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
In a perfect world each school would employ a dietitian to customize caloric intake based on metabolism like often is used in hospital settings. HA – dream on, right? 😉 As you said, this isn’t a one size fits all issue. That being said, with the vast majority of obesity statistics skyrocketed by children receiving free or reduced lunches, on welfare or living in poverty, or accepting state assistance in one form or another — the problem, as a whole, is no longer able to be controlled by family. I wish it were that simple though! 🙂 I think that the lunch changes, focusing first on fruits and vegetables is a move in the right direction. Portion control has been largely skewed in America and having the schools getting back to the basics is a great starting point. As far as local control – how would you decide who is “more important” (for lack of better verbiage)? I see McIntosh county has 38.5% of children on free/reduced lunches. Generalizing here, but lower income statistically equates to less healthy food choices. (Again – only statistically speaking). So does the local decision be made to assist the 38.5% who most likely are not getting adequate fruit/veggie/healthy grains/etc choices at home, or do they forgo the more expensive foods and allow seconds, thirds, differing meal options, less healthy choices to accommodate preferences of the remaining 61.5%? Just a few questions that came to my mind. It’s such a crummy situation and unfortunate that it even has to be an issue 🙁
My intervention is focusing on physicians and providers addressing BMI and healthy guidelines. Sadly, it’s often not addressed for fear of offending children and/or their family. That needs to change. A huge collaborative effort is needed, and the school lunch programs are a great way to target one small aspect of an enormous problem. I’m hoping that with joint efforts of schools, PE programs, daycares, healthcare providers, and families/guardians that this problem can be wiped out. Dream on again– right? 😉 Ahhh, I wish. On a lighter note, our school lunches, in hindsight were so gross. I would die if my kids were fed that at school in the future. Gross and unhealthy….but, we had one option and one option only. No seconds. You learned to love the crap. Haha 😉
Great post and I love hearing the differing opinions offered 🙂
If the children from lower income families and those who are on food assistance programs are the children that are showing higher cases of obesity why don’t we engage in an eduction program for those families to take as part of recieving the assistance? Give a man a fish and you feed him for 1 day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!! Train the population hit hardest by the problem on eating correct portions of a healthy balanced meal, how to calculate food cost and how to buy and prepair lower cost healthy food, and how to include phyisical activity into their life style seems to me a much better LONG term solution than just cutting back on the calories consumed at school. Parents will continue to feed their kids unhealthy food outside the school unless they are taught something different. By providing the education and tools through the food assistance programs these people will not feel “picked” on because they are choosing to accept the help provided by the program. By teaching ALL kids about food nutrition and safety nobody will feel picked on and the kids that do eat “healthier” will gain by learning something too…
A great measured look at this! I’m lucky enough to teach at a (private) school with excellent, healthy lunches – a blessing!
I popped over from a link on BlogHer, and I think this post is really interesting.
If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend the book “Lunch Wars”–it talks a lot about how the current policies came into place, as well as what can be done to influence change.