What's in that lunch? Students in Huntsville, Madison still leery of healthier school meals

AL.com ^ | October 19, 2014 | By Crystal Bonvillian

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Four years into the new, healthier federal guidelines for school lunches, there are mixed feelings about the program.

With mandates that they use no salt, butter or margarine, and that they offer the children no fried foods, that task can be difficult. Even the students' milk has limits: 1 percent milk if plain; flavored milk must be fat-free.

"We can offer dessert, but you end up where you can't offer it because then you can't meet the calorie limit," Vaughn said.

"Basically, school food is now hospital food," Vaughn said.

Vaughn said he would like to see flexibility in the national guidelines, but that he doesn't "see it happening any time soon."

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[exDemMom]

Making food taste bland is always the goal of “health food” fanatics. The worse food tastes, the more healthy it is!

I am not certain that there is solid scientific data supporting low-fat, low-salt food. I believe a major study recently found that the overall death rate is higher in a group eating a low-salt diet, as compared with the normal-salt group. There is a strong physiological need for salt, and people all over the world eat about the same amount of salt. There is absolutely no reason to think that there would be a health benefit to limiting salt consumption below the amount that people spontaneously eat. We have a need for fat, too. I wonder if eating low-fat causes people to overeat to try to get the fat they need.

I wonder how much rebound obesity there is, resulting from kids absolutely porking out when they get home from school, still hungry after refusing to eat the bland options provided at school.

The article noted that many kids are now bringing lunches. That is good.

[MamaB]

The menu is listed on a local cable station. I was amazed that real food is still offered here.

[Timber Rattler]

School districts across the country, including those in Madison County, have had to increase the price of unsubsidized meals to make up for the added cost of serving healthier foods. Some districts, the National School Boards Association reports, have had to dip into reserves and other school district funds, delay purchasing new equipment and even reduce staff and their hours working.

[Flag_This]

Meanwhile, at Sidwell Friends, where the offspring of our "leaders" attend school:

Tomato Soup
Italian Pasta Salad
Classic Spinach Salad
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
White Bean & Rosemary Bake
Sauteed Fresh Green Beans
Sweet Potato Fries
Grapes

[W.]

To paraphrase the Gunny:

"You might as well eat it, they're payin' for it!

[PrairieLady2]

It looks and sounds like a diet for post heart attack geriatrics rather than a diet for growing children.

The menu from the better schools sounds good though! I wonder if any dressing is allowed on those salads?

[papageo]

Now give Moochele a break. This is her way to contribute to the war effort. She has gotten the Taliban transfered from Afghanistan to your local school cafeterias.

[W.]

I'm sure the little darlings have but to ring the little bell and their waiter will instantly oblige their every culinary desire. Snark!

The food in our county hospital has been muchly improved, though it's been several years since I last sampled it. I'd spend a few days there and GAIN weight if that says anything... They brought cherry cheesecake on the birthday I spent there, nice touch!

[TomGuy]

In one of the previous threads about the school lunches this week, someone said that they were paying $3.00 per school lunch.

There is no way that the lunch in that picture (or the pictures of the crackers, slice of lunch meat, and cauliflour) should cost $3.00.

Maybe, districts should be investigated to determine where the money for lunches is actually going. Based on the various pictures of various school lunches, someone is benefitting.

==

Bun 30¢, meat patty 50¢, half fruit 30¢, condiment packet 20¢ = $1.30.

There is no way it would cost $2.70 to prepare, fill, and wash the tray.

[Rodamala]

With mandates that they use no salt, butter or margarine, and that they offer the children no fried foods, that task can be difficult. Even the students' milk has limits: 1 percent milk if plain; flavored milk must be fat-free.

The only redeeming banned substance that is on the list is no margarine... but I am certain that they make up for that by adding soybean oil wherever they can.

The simple fact that whole milk is unavailable is outrageous.

[Rodamala]

I wonder if any dressing is allowed on those salads?

How else would Monsanto hit their soybean squeezins allowance that they worked out with the Feds in developing this guideline?

[Rodamala]

The local market just had good German Bologna on sale for 99 cents per pound. I grabbed a couple pounds, some on sale cheese, 2 heads of iceberg lettuce for 99 cents and a loaf of day old whole wheat bread. I worked out all the math and found that two decent “man-sized” sandwiches (not one slice of meat and one slice of cheese... no. A STACKED SAMMICH!) cost me about $1.25, total.

The money I save can go right into buying barbed wire for the low pasture so I can run beef steers there next year.