[Vision2020] Hot Dogs, Pizza, and Nachos, MSDs Meal Plans

[Saundra Lund]

While I'm definitely not particularly impressed with the school lunch menus
-- which I've watched closely for years because I've ***so*** wanted to be
able to nominate our district for a Golden Carrot Award:
http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/ -- our school menus are superior to
many districts, and they are certainly far more healthful than the school
lunches I grew up with even with what was known about nutrition back in the
Dark Ages!

I also have to add a plug for the cafeteria workers!  My dd has opted to be
a vegetarian, and for special lunch events at school, I know the cook has
personally made healthy vegetarian choices available, which we greatly
appreciate!  Sure, I wish it could be done every day, but I'm pleased that
*fresh* fruits & veggies are available virtually every single day, something
not all kids get access to at home and something not all school districts
provide.

I also have to add that just because more healthy options are available to
kids doesn't mean kids will choose them at school.  I say that as a parent
who has spent time in MSD's lunch rooms.  Unless you want our lunch rooms
staffed with Food Nazis ("You WILL take this food" and "You WILL eat
everything on your plate before leaving the table," both of which can cause
major food aversions), you can offer all the healthy choices you want, but
the some/many/most of the kids *will* refuse, particularly if the choices
offered are drastically different than home fare.  When my dd was younger, I
was pretty rigid and thus not pleased with some of the school lunch
offerings because my dd would, of course, choose things I wouldn't offer at
home even though healthier choices *were* -- and remain -- available.

However, it was the job of our family to teach her good nutritional habits
-- and healthy living choices -- that reflect the values of our family.
And, the reality is that school lunches played a limited role in my dd's
nutritional status -- breakfast & dinner were done at home, as were snacks,
as were lunches on the many days of summer, weekends, holidays, and "no
school" days.

Besides, all bets are off once kids become teens  :-)  All of my nutritional
and healthy lifestyle programming <g> seem to have taken a hiatus during
these teen years . . . but I've been assured that the foundations she
learned *at home* will reemerge at some point  ;-)

I personally would be strongly in favor of restructuring school lunches
nationwide, and towards that end, I've contacted my legislators to let them
know that I strongly support revisions to the Farm Bill to help ensure that
more healthy foods are available at reasonable costs.  Bet that's not going
to earn me any Brownie points here, but I see addressing the gross
inequities in food subsidies vital to making more healthy foods affordable
and available to all of us, including our food assistance programs, which
includes our school lunch programs.

What have you done, Donovan?  Anyone can complain, but it's *action* that
can make a difference.


JMHO,
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
- Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2006 through life plus
70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside
the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the
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-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:44 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Hot Dogs, Pizza, and Nachos, MSDs Meal Plans

The Moscow School District says it cares about its children. Yet looking at
the school lunch program it looks a lot closer to child abuse with hot dogs,
pizza, hamburgers, and nachos as common staples for children as young as
five or six under the care of MSD. Teaching kids to eat greasy foods high in
empty calories; fast food that is loaded with sodium and other preservatives
is not taking care of children and providing them with a good education on
how to eat correctly. Poor diets early in life leads to increased risk of
diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and shorter life
spans plagued with health problems and huge medical bills. Yet this is the
avenue that our Moscow School District chooses to take.
 
Why does MSD believe that these greasy foods should be consumed by children?
What steps has it taken to correct the problem? 
 
Best,
 
Donovan