Posted on 05/03/2013 1:56:01 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Michelle Obama: USDA working on 'delicious' school lunches By Justin Sink - 05/03/13 03:35 PM ET
First lady Michelle Obama said Friday that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) was working on making school lunches "delicious" after the implementation of new school meal regulations that have drawn fire from some conservative critics.
"I believe that that legislation is truly one of the greatest legacies that we can leave our children. Because of this act ... 32 million American children are getting more of the nutrition they need to learn and grow and be successful," Obama told workers at the USDA.
"And I do hope that it's delicious," she added, to laughter. "We're working on that, yes indeed."
Last autumn, conservative critics of the new standards — which cap meal calories at 650 for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, at 700 calories for middle school students and 850 calories for high school students — charged that the restrictions made meals unappetizing to children.
Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) introduced legislation to repeal the standards, saying they were motivated by constituent complaints about new menus.
"The goal of the school lunch program is supposed to be feeding children, not filling the trash cans with uneaten food," Huelskamp said in a statement. "The USDA's new school lunch guidelines are a perfect example of what is wrong with government: misguided inputs, tremendous waste, and unaccomplished goals. Thanks to the Nutrition Nannies at the USDA, America's children are going hungry at school."
At the USDA, the first lady said the law helped children better understand where their food came from and that healthier alternatives were available.
"The bottom line is that with the work that you do at USDA — work that affects the vitality of our communities, the food we feed our children, the air, the land, the water we’re passing on to our children — you all touch just about every single American in this country with the work that you do," Obama said.
The first lady's visit Friday was the latest in a series of visits to federal agencies to thank workers who are facing furloughs and budget cuts in the aftermath of the sequester, $85 billion in across-the-board cuts implemented earlier this year. Late last month, the first lady visited the Department of the Interior.
On Friday, Obama told USDA employees that she hoped they "retain that passion" in the face of tough work conditions.
"I’m here today because I want to tell you how much Barack and I really, truly appreciate what you do. We know that you are sacrificing as much as us. And oftentimes, we get the attention," Obama said. "We get the limelight. But the truth is we couldn’t do what we do without you sacrificing, you and your families."
Baby back ribs????
McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s have made billions of dollars because cheeseburgers are delicious.
“Tofurkey and bean sprouts......mmmmmmmmmm!......”
I eat a lot of deep-fried tofu (left in the fridge overnight) and sometimes my wife makes pickled Mung bean sprouts with a good dose of hot pepper in it. Chewy, hot and sour - quite good. We just got a big batch of bamboo shoots from someone nearby who was dumb enough to let it take over their place. Good eating.
God,if she would just go away !
She’s like an annoying gnat.
.
Fried Chicken is delicious too! Or is that too “Southern” for the Menu-in-Chief?
Soylent Green is people!!!!
You’ve never had mung and grass clippings the way I prepare it...
More “EAT YOUR PEAS!!!”
Hope they didn’t have a dog.........
And each ‘delicious’ lunch will include one flavored condom.
The government wants to protet you from yourself, and to protect itself from you.
Okay, what is the lunch menu at Sidwell next week?
*******
Great post. And I wonder what rich cuisine her own children chow down on when they’re on one of their numerous vacations?
My grandsons (11 and 10) refuse to buy the school lunch. The older one says it’s absolutely awful. I’ve been helping my daughter ,every morning, since she had major knee surgery, so I pack bag lunches. The oldest one likes soup and pasta dishes in a thermos and the younger one ,who is pretty picky, takes peanut butter wraps with lots of fruit.
Absolutely. The various "governmental" bodies have made it so dangerous for parks and reacrations to even offer fun play equipment (for fear of lawsuit) should someone get hurt.
There is no suprise that kids aren't outside, if they are and aren't watched like a hawk, parents will get a ticket. There is no incentive to have the kids out playing again, the fees, fines, and stupidity have bankrupted either the parents or the parks, or sometimes both.
They might enjoy a twinkie or Hostess cupcake every now and then. :)
While it is true that there’s way too much sugar and salt in our daily diets, we don’t need the government dictating to us what to eat. This would be the same government, incidentally, that has no reservations about sending our healthy kids into dubious conflicts to support ill-advised foreign adventures.
There is no suprise that kids aren’t outside
******
In many areas of the country its simply not safe to allow kids to go outside thanks to liberal cottling of criminals.
it’s in the penumbra.
and these lunches will be in the garbage.
But even if they make it to a park, there won't be much play equipment due to the threat of trial lawyers filing lawsuits if a kid gets injured.
We ate huge school lunches prepared by lunch ladies who were country mamas. Those were delicious meals! But we didn’t hide out in our rooms texting and playing video games 24/7. We were outside playing and riding bikes all over the county.
Instead of spending billions of dollars changing the school lunch menu,that no one likes, wouldn’t it be cheaper for the taxpayers and better for all the students to just bring back Physical education classes in all the schools?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.