Posted on 02/14/2012 2:09:37 PM PST by Mountain Bike Vomit Carnage
A North Carolina mom is irate after her four-year-old daughter returned home late last month with an uneaten lunch the mother had packed for the girl earlier that day. But she wasn’t mad because the daughter decided to go on a hunger strike. Instead, the reason the daughter didn‘t eat her lunch is because someone at the school determined the lunch wasn’t healthy enough and sent it back home.
Yes, you read that right.
The incident happened in Raeford, N.C. at West Hoke Elementary School. What was wrong with the lunch? That’s still a head-scratcher because it didn’t contain anything egregious: a turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice. But for the inspector on hand that day, it didn’t meet the healthy requirements.
See, in North Carolina, all pre-Kindergarten programs are required to evaluate the lunches being provided and determine if they meet USDA nutrition guidelines. If not, they must provide an alternative.
But that’s not the worst of it. Instead of being given a salad or something really healthy, the girl was given chicken nuggets instead. On top of it, her mother was then sent a bill for the cafeteria food.
Sara Burrows from the Carolina Journal explains:
The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.
The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.
When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.
The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.
North Carolina Girls Lunch Sent Home for Not Being Healthy Enough“I don’t feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County, reports the Journal.
“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told the Journal. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”
The Journal provides a copy of the state regulation:
“Sites must provide breakfast and/or snacks and lunch meeting USDA requirements during the regular school day. The partial/full cost of meals may be charged when families do not qualify for free/reduced price meals.
“When children bring their own food for meals and snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the specified nutritional requirements, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements.”
But what was so wrong with the lunch the mother provided? Nothing apparently. A spokesowman for the Division of Child Development explained that the mother’s meal should have been okay.
“With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that’s the dairy,” Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division, told the Journal. “It sounds like the lunch itself would’ve met all of the standard.”
It‘s unclear from reports who determined the lunch wasn’t healthy enough. The Carolina Journal refers to the person as a “state agent,” while the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the persona “state inspector” who was checking lunches that day. In an email to The Blaze, Caroline Journal reporter said the inspector was “an employee of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education.”
The school denied knowledge of the incident and said it’s looking into it.
“While I share concerns about childhood obesity, I still remain uncertain of the right role for schools,” writes the Journal-Constitution’s Maureen Downey. “This story clearly exemplifies the wrong role.”
Read the full story at the Carolina Journal.
the link at Drudge has a better, more accurate article
Teach your kid to cry and scream that chicken nuggets aren’t healthy and that she never gets them at home because they are full of grease and will give her a heart attack.
“No, no! Please!! Don’t make me eat those! They aren’t healthy!” OK, sweety, that was pretty good, especially the ‘Please’ but try to get a little more screech on ‘eat’ and ‘healthy.’ Let’s run that through again. And let’s add the part about mommy NEVER lets you eat them.
Chicken McNuggets, a “food” product not found in nature.
Note that the article specifically states that the regulation applies to "in-home day care", as well.
Kathleen Sibelius, the Sec'y at H&HS is a very busy lady. She's not only running Obamacare -- deciding whether grandma lives or dies -- she's running the school lunch program -- deciding whether you're feeding young Julia properly.
With all that responsibility, she deserves a raise, don't you think?
Upon checking out this school’s website, awards given out to “Student of the Month” and “Terrific Kid Award” are Waffle House coupons, ice cream, and **gasp** Domino’s Pizza!
Takes a turkey on wheat away from a girl to give her chicken nuggets? What is wrong here... I am sure Michelle Obama approves
Gee Mom, maybe you should go in to that school and kick the food inspector and the principals' rear end.
Chicken feet are highly prized in China and no rational chicken slaughtering operator would toss them into the chicken nuggets shipment ~ he can get a much better price just cleaning them, freezing them and exporting them! http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1960825,00.html
And do you have any doubt that the regulation being enforced (it's not a law passed by Congress) was driven by Michelle's personal "crusade"?
Like The Won, The First Lady believes that she can rule by decree.
And the libs say there is nothing to cut? There is a big budget item I’d cross off right there - no nazi food czars in schools.
These bureaucrats involved need their full names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. plastered all over the newspapers, blogs, tv and radio, et al. See how they like the way they are treated afterwards.
Much better.
When I was a kid, I was severely underweight. The doctor told my mother to feed me what I liked and put a big piece of cake in my lunch every day, in addition to the usual fruit. She would have freaked if some idiot came in and told me not to eat it.
I share everyone’s disgust at this affront to personal freedom, but one thing most people are missing is that the state of North Carolina is actually paying someone (and I expect providing them with great benefits and a lavish pension) to inspect kids’ lunch boxes.I agree.The lousy state governments are always pissing and moaning about how they need more revenue - well I’m sorry, but any state that has money to spend on a lunch box inspector doesn’t need any more fund no matter how much they’re whining.
Yes the fascist aspects are trouble.
Yes it's disgusting to think that a turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat bread is vetoed over chicken nuggets.
But the number one thing to me is the money.
How many property tax increases go to paying for lunchbox inspectors?
And how much EXACTLY do they get? Their total compensation package. Just what does it add up to?
It's theft. It's grand larceny. In the old west, the inspector and the principal would both be strung by the neck until dead.
Time to gather the pitchforks, rails, tar, and feathers.
All those in North Carolina, get out as soon as possible.
It’s so sad. My sister works in this town. She pays taxes in an adjoining town, but she works here. I wondered why she spent so much on private school for her kids. Not any more.
We are almost a decade past Claire Wolfe’s go-sign.
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