Posted on 10/02/2012 7:47:53 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Government-approved school meals as a model for the family dinner table?
Responding to concerns that students are throwing away the healthy food on their cafeteria trays, the U.S. Department of Agriculture acknowledged that adapting to the changes "may be challenging at first, as students are introduced to new flavors and foods in the cafeteria."
But the government also says parents can help school make the taste-transition easier:
"We know that many parents are already making changes at home to help the whole family eat healthier," the USDA blogged on Monday. "We recommend reviewing school menus with kids at home and working to incorporate foods that are being served at school into family meals as much as possible."
A recent video produced by high school students in Kansas mocked the healthy school lunches, showing young athletes fainting from starvation. "We are hungry," they lip-synched, as one by one they topple over.
The USDA blog appears to be a response to that satire:
"We know it is important that students get the calories and nutrition they need to stay alert and energized through the day, and schools are doing a number of things to make sure this happens," wrote Dr. Janey Thornton, USDA's deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. Schools can "allow kids a certain amount of flexibility to choose only the foods they intend to eat," the blog said. "We refer to this as “offer vs. serve” (OVS). OVS allows students to decline one or two of the food items offered in a school lunch. Schools can decide how to implement OVS, including which grades and how many items can be declined."
As CNSNews.com previously reported, the public school system in Fairfax County, Va., requires students to select a serving of fruit or vegetables for the reduced school-lunch price to apply.
The U.S.D.A.'s Thornton noted that "while some of the new school meals are different," most schools still serve "old favorites" -- although the chicken nuggets are now baked instead of fried, and and pizza slices come with lower-fat cheese and more vegetable toppings.
"Still, we don’t want students to make a habit of skipping unfamiliar fruits and veggies and other new healthy items," she said.
In addition to parental involvement, the USDA is encouraging schools to offer taste tests in which students provide "feedback" on meals to food service staff.
Well, maybe the caf at the Senate and House could serve the same food to our legislators in Washington instead of US Senate Navy Bean Soup? And nothing else.
LOL...when parents won’t even make kids do homework, so the schools are dropping it, who but the clueless bureaucrat in the USDA, who wrote this directive, thinks families will be previewing the lunch room menus?
Now I have to go hire a couple of scientists to create some soylent green. Pffft
I just want to tell the Wookie that I will agree to her diet right away.
You know; the lobster drowned in butter, the Kobi beef in a 4 pound serving, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Or rather a revolt is around the corner.
Yes they do!
I was finally able to access the comments from my desktop computer. Thanks for alerting me to them. They were pretty funny, and absolutely right on the money.
Yes, that poster pretty much says it all, 2ndDivisionVet.
Nanny State PING!
The link below is for ONE SCHOOL in Wisconsin where 58% of the kids have subsidized lunches:
http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/on_assignment/school-lunch-waste-costing-taxpayers
Do a search on your state and you will find tons of waste related to these force-fed lunches and what it’s costing the taxpayers of your state.
The program, nation-wide, has cost us $11.1 BILLION FOR ONE YEAR!
Wouldn’t making old people into Soylent Green be more efficient and profitable? *SNORT*
Speaking of which - WHO is getting the ‘kickbacks’ for this forced program? Follow the money, as always!
These people cannot be evicted from the White House soon enough. November seems like a million years away, and then January.......arrrgh.
Thanks for the hotlink.
From that article I pulled this nugget: “ - - - “Education is a key component to getting the kids to realize why they’re eating the fruits and vegetables,” said Baier. - - - “
Does this sound like THE BIG BAD GOVERNMENT trying to regulate and control all of the poor, stupid, helpless zombie-kids?
When do the Zombie-Parents step up and take responsibility for feeding their own zombie-kids?
Schools have been lunch restaurants long enough for this conclusion to be made: Education is the role of schools, NOT being a supplier of food!
End the dual mandate for schools!
Leave the feeding of children to their parents!
BTW, if children grow up and graduate from schools that do not have a “free lunch,” just imagine how that will affect them as adults to not expect “free lunches” from THE BIG BAD GOVERNMENT.
Exactly! Make them dependent upon Mother Government as early as possible, then make it Generational! How the Masses fail to SEE this, is beyond me. Well, not really. 50+ years of ‘Dumbing Down the Electorate’ has brought us to this.
Democrats are evil, self-serving b@stards. There. I said it. Out loud and everything. ;)
Thanks for the ping!
What you said! (Blush!)
It’s hard for the statist to control what adults eat. They have to start by indoctrinating the young children.
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