Posted on 02/08/2010 3:39:11 AM PST by UAConservative
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who get fat during their school years.
In legislation, soon to be introduced, candy and sugary beverages would be banned and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare.
To that end, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will deliver a speech Monday at the National Press Club in which he will insist, according to excerpts provided to The Times, that any vending machines that remain in schools be “filled with nutritious offerings to make the healthy choice the easy choice for our nation’s children.”
The first lady, Michelle Obama, said last month that she would lead an initiative to reduce childhood obesity, and her involvement “shows the importance all of us place on this issue,” Mr. Vilsack said.
The administration’s willingness to put Mrs. Obama’s popularity on the line is a calculated bet that concerns about childhood obesity have become so universal that the once-partisan fight over who should control school food offerings — the federal government or school boards — has subsided.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Junk food. You mean like mystery meat and sloppy Joes?
Nah. They mean french fries which are clearly worse for children than grilled american cheese sandwiches on white bread fried in artificial lard.
I was in grade school back in the early ‘60s. The idea of soda machines or candy dispensers would have been outrageous. Not that the kids didn’t dream about it, but it was the kind of thing relegated to make believe. No self respecting adult in charge was going to allow children to slurp soda pop daily. We had 30 cent hot meals that included, at each meal, bread and butter (half white-half whole wheat) and a dessert. We drank milk always. If you wanted a change, then your mother gave you those straws with the powdered chocolate or strawberry in them. Until the third grade, we had snack in class (brought from home) supplemented with 3 cent half pints of milk, delivered to your class room every day. Why don’t they start doing this again? Children today are overweight for one reason alone, they get very little spontaneous exercise. Every physical thing a child does today is a planned activity. Most of the time, he or she is driven to the exercise which is timed. Years ago, kids just came home from school, changed into play clothes, and went outside till dinner time. It is not too late to do this again.
I grew up in Southern California at the same time and our meal program was exactly the same as yours.
Where, may I ask, did you go to grade school?
My grand daughter carries her lunch from home, once in a great while she will eat in the school cafeteria. I found out why on "grand parents day" at the school when I ate with her in the cafeteria. School food is very low quality.
I packed her a Little Debbie snack cake among her other lunch items this morning.
That said, what on earth are these school boards thinking when they put soda machines, candy bars, etc., in the schools? I ate in the school cafeteria for 12 years and the only "junk food" was probably the jello for dessert. If you didn't like the food, you had the option of bringing your lunch from home.
Milk was subsidized from the government, which kept the price of lunch down somewhat, but we had relatively nourishing fare and everyone ate it.
+1.
When I was in school during the 70s there was no vending machines nor was there junky food. Pizza day was Friday but for the most part, even it was just cheese.
We had 1, yes 1 fat kid in my class. It had to be glandular or something. His mom did work for Frito Lay and he always brought a box of chips for the entire class for celebrations so perhaps it was the food. At any rate, we really have no business giving our kids fatty junk food. If we must feed them and the fact is, they get one meal a day from the gov't, at least it can be something healthy.
I’m probably a lot older than you but when I was in school, I walked home for lunch every school day for 12 years, rain or shine, not one single time eating in the school cafeteria.
No, it was not uphill both ways but it was about 12 blocks. I don’t believe kids get that much time for lunch any more.
“I grew up in Southern California at the same time and our meal program was exactly the same as yours.”
How funny! I grew up on Long Island, NY a long way from So.California! Can you imagine all that food cost just 30 cents? My favorite lunch was the broiled filet of flounder on fridays. I can remember it clearly. Broiled flounder (in butter!), parslied potatoes and tartar sauce. Bread and butter and I think applesauce for dessert. Or a dixie cup ice cream. It was really good, not processed at all. THe fish was fresh and not “fishy.” We also had offerings like Chicken chow mein, American hero (bologna, lettuce, american cheese on a hero roll (for some reason spread with butter not mustard); pizza on wednesdays ( thick slices with meat sauce and sprinkled with shredded cheddar cheese); hamburgers on rolls that were grilled! Do you remember any lunches?
Yes, but I think ours were more modest than yours. We had some sort of fried fish on Fridays. We always told each other it was for the Catholics. (I was raised Lutheran.)
We always had hamburgers with a pickle spear on thursdays and little english muffin pizzas on wednesdays. Other days were whatever they dreamed up. Every once in a great while we had fried chicken but not very often.
We almost always little salads or peaches/fruit and always vegetables (LOTS of green beans) along with everything else and I believe we paid 25 cents for lunch. That would account for the "modesty" factor I guess. Oh. And 5 cents for milk. Always milk. Nothing else.
Milk and lunch money was collected right after the morning bell and attendance and one lucky kid got to take the yellow envelope down to the office. They got a hall pass and everything. :0)
Isn't it ironic that the government that "cares so much" for its people unleashes the least inspected food on our children?
Why do you call it a nanny state policy?
Where in the Constitution does it say schools should even offer food?
Let the kids make their own sandwiches and brown bag it.
Up until Jr. High, we had set lunches that rarely varied. Fish on Friday (usually fish sticks), pizzas were Thursday (no meat sauce, just processed shredded cheese). I usually brought a bag lunch, as did most kids, but I always got the school lunch when it was grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yum!
There were vending machines when we got to High School, stocked with candy (lifesavers, chocolate bars) and bagged chips, & then soda-pop machines in my senior year.
Don't forget to select one of the HD settings for best quality.
“Milk and lunch money was collected right after the morning bell and attendance and one lucky kid got to take the yellow envelope down to the office. They got a hall pass and everything. :0)”
Oh how you are bringing back memories! Yes, I remember the daily collection and the yellow envelope!! If you brought your lunch, then you could purchase milk in the cafeteria for 3 cents. I remember having pennies rolled up in aluminum foil for this purpose. What happened in the intervening years? Why did the food get more processed? When my children went to school, they did not have anything like I had 30 odd years before, and I am sure the school taxes are now quadruple the amount. You know, all this talk today about obesity in children gets me to thinking. I have friends in the Old Order Mennonite community in PA. Several times I have visited the one room schoolhouses they still use. All the children bring lunch from home daily which consists of a sandwich, fruit and maybe pretzels. The kids usually drink water. After morning lessons, they go outside for 15 minutes of play time. After lunch, they go outside for 30 minutes of play/exercise which usually consists of a softball game that the teacher participates in as well. After some afternoon lessons, the kids go out for another 10-15 minute recess before finishing lessons for the day. Then these children go home to farms or rural homes at least, where they do chores. They are always in motion, and are usually never obese. This is so simple; if the schools are so worried about the children, why not implement some of these old fashioned things??
I also walked to school every day in grammar school. It was about 10 blocks in a suburban neighborhood. Sometimes, my mother took the walk with us. I also ,at times, walked home for lunch where my mother made me tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich or english muffin pizzas! We must have gotten more than 30 minutes for lunch in those days because I had to walk the ten blocks back and forth and still have time to eat. Of course, times were different then, particularly because our mothers were home to feed us.
Where did you go to school? You must be much younger than me because when I went to H.S. (class of ‘70), the lunches were still pretty much the same as usual but if I remember correctly were 55 cents instead of 30cents. My high school did not get vending machines until the ‘80s I believe. I guess the schools thought they could make a commission from the vending machine sales.
“In relation to the political decontamination of our public life,the government will embark upon a systematic campaign
to restore the nation’s moral and material health.
The whole educational system, theater, film,
literature, the press and broadcasting —
all these will be used as a means to this end.”
They will. The entire country is sick and tired of the social experimenting that's been going on since the late 60s and now has been proven beyond doubt to simply be the failed socialism of the early 1900s wrapped up and sold as "science." But it wasn't science. It was a costly fraud that hurt millions of people.
All marxism (on which socialism/communism is based and which started in the mid 1800s) ends up in fine-sounding poison for any society that adopts it.
Get Constitutional Conservatism back and common-sense solutions (good food, competition and exercise, anyone?) will find their way back into the curriculum again.
I went back to my high school school a few years ago when I had to take my (homeschooled) daughter in for a PSAT test. The cafeteria was set up like a food court at the mall, Pizza Hut, a mini-Burger King, a couple other franchise-type places. There was also a very nice salad bar, but that was rather deserted.
I think we had an hour for lunch - including lunch recess. The kids that lived within a block or so could go home; most of us stayed. In junior high and high school everyone had to stay for lunch.
This was during the 50's and the only heavy child we had in our class was one who did go home for lunch.
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