[TurkeyLurkey]

“Some of her students don’t even recognize fruits and vegetables that don’t come in cans, she says.”

Is this for real? I’m shocked...again.

[ConservaTexan]

Unfortunately, we do force-feed some of it," said Carol Brewer, a school food-service manager...

Shocking

[Red Badger]

"They have no concept of what, say, a squash looks like," Brewer said.

That is sad. Especially since Florida is a veggie state......

[Buckeye McFrog]

The waste is horrific. I have extended family working in the schools, and they all say that what these kids toss away every day would feed a small Third World country.

[DManA]

I read the headline and thought it was a story about food fights in the lunch room. I need another cup-o-coffee.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

This year, prompted by changes in federal school-lunch rules, Central Florida students are not allowed to turn down the healthful produce, much of which can end up in the dumpster.

What a surprise. The government forces kids to put fruit on their trays whether they want it or not so then the kids throw it out. Any bets on what the government's solution to this problem will be? My bet is putting the kids in detention if they don't eat the fruit.

[albie]

Make the fruit and veggies an OPTION! Stop loading thier plates and force feeeding soggy, limp veggies and “fruit” with heavy syrup! Everybody acts like they’re throwing away something useful. This is sh## food they’re serving. The veggies have been cooked for so long there is no vitamin that could survive and sugar is BAD FOR YOU and that’s all the fruit is.

[Sacajaweau]

The government needs to get out of the “feed the children” business. IT’S WHY THE KIDS ARE OBESE!!!

[Da Coyote]

Since schools are overwhemingly liberal, they should use a tried and failed liberal approach.

Tax the students for each veggie that they throw away.

Yeah, that’ll work.

[IMR 4350]

The school lunch program is Government mandated waste.

If kids don’t want it they shouldn’t be forced to put it on their tray then throw it away.

[Texas Eagle]

Mrs. Eagle was a teacher until illness forced her to retire. She was appalled at the food that was thrown away every day.

The kids were not allowed to take anything home even though more than half the kids were from "poor" households. The school was not allowed to donate the food to a local homeless shelter or food bank or any other organization that fed the poor and homeless.

And heaven forbid that the food should be put back into the refrigerator for next day's use.

Be nice to have that government contract.

[mosaicwolf]

I don't know if this has anything to do with the current situation but I remember many times a a young boy sitting at the table for extended periods of time until I ate my vegetables. Yes, I couldn't go out to play. :-( I hated certain veggies then especially onions and asparagus. :-( Now I love all veggies including those I did not like. Ummmm...I guess lessons as a child take different forms to be effective. Oh well, I'm just an old fashioned type of guy.

[pops88]

I keep thinking, “where’s a nutritionists organization, a pediatric nursing organization, or a medical organization, to take a stand on this,” then realize they’re all essentially union and won’t. I thank God I don’t have a child or grand child in public school.

[NonValueAdded]

Just wait until the gubermint applies this logic to healthcare!

[Wallace T.]

School lunches are the forced busing of the 2010s: do-goodism intended to effect a positive change that fails to achieve their goal. School busing had the reverse effect of what had been intended: whites fled central city school districts for those in mostly white suburban districts. A good example is the Dallas Independent School District, where busing started 40 years ago. Currently, only 4% of the students in this district are non-Hispanic white. “Healthy” meals will result in more students bringing in sack lunches and a black market in “unhealthy” foods. If school districts ban sack lunches, parents will pull their children out of public schools. The net result will be fewer students eating school lunches, just as the net result of school busing was to re-segregate school districts.

[Gabz]

Either my school district is flying under the radar or have been complying with all these edicts before they came along, because each time I see one of these articles I either have my 14yo read it or mention it.

She has told me for several years - canned veggies get tossed, but when fresh are served you better be in line early. Living in a rural area may have something to do with that, because most of the kids are used to eating fresh fruits and vegetables. “Canned” to a lot of them is what comes out of the Mason jar on the pantry shelf that they helped pick or put up.

[Iron Munro]

If they don't like Queen Moo's menu they should move to a free country where they can choose what they want to eat.

[P.O.E.]

I keep thinking of this old cartoon where Porky is force-fed all these deserts to cure him of his piggieness.

[Montanabound]

My son was always hungry when he was growing up. He played three sports and was always trying to gain weight. He is still thin at 28. Last night, he called while on his way home from work. He was on his way to Braum’s, where he was going to buy 5 hamburgers for $5.00, and he was planning to eat all of them. It’s a metabolism thing. I can’t imagine the school giving him 2 ounces of protein for lunch when he was in high school.

[KC_Lion]