In the news: Junk food in school

By Amy H.

What did your child eat at school today?

My mom packed my lunch in elementary school, so I fared pretty well then with heart shaped PB&J sandwiches, carrot sticks and pudding cups. However, when I got to middle school and began to have choices my lunches often consisted of pizza and ice cream bars. By the time I reached high school, I recall that a Snickers bar (for protein), a bag of Doritos (for carbs) and a Diet Coke (for dessert) was jokingly referred to by me and my friends as our "balanced diet."

Would you choose for your children to eat a junk food lunch every day? Your answer is probably no, but faced with that option at school, what will your children choose for themselves?

A recent news story described how a new federal mandate (P.L. 108-265, requiring that all school districts participating in federal meal programs adopt school wellness policies by 2006-7) prompted one nutritionist in Idaho to start a campaign to get rid of junk food in her school system. An assessment of food options in her local high school revealed that 88 percent of the district's a la carte offerings could be considered junk food (e.g., nachos, corn dogs and cookies).

According to the story, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows "competitive" foods like candy and cookies to be sold alongside the regular school lunches. The nutritionist in the story has met with resistance from those who say banning junk food will result in a loss of money that pays for equipment and programs, including money that is made by school groups who sell these foods to support their organizations.

According to the CDC, "The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980" (approximately 16 percent of 6-19-year-olds) and "being overweight or obese increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions." While the reasons for the increase in overweight kids is not fully understood yet, and is likely to be more complex than simply eating too much junk food at school, studies have shown that eating healthy foods is important to school learning and behavior.

Recent news stories highlight individual school programs that are finding creative ways to address the poor eating habits of their students. One such story focused on a Harlem charter school that not only replaced sugary snacks with nutritious, low-fat foods but also offers healthy cooking classes for parents and a monthly farmer’s market with fresh vegetable vouchers. Although the program sounds ideal, it is not without problems, including getting the children to eat (parents reportedly complained that their children were starving) and the cost of quality food (reported to be twice what many public schools spend per child).

So here is your task: tell us how you would propose getting healthier food into your child's school cafeteria without having to sell their computers and cancel their Spanish classes. Is it better to ban junk food or just teach children to make better choices? What are your tried and true methods for getting your children to eat good food when they are out of your sight?

What did your child eat at school today? Ask and get back to us.

Amy H. is a thirty-something SAHM and part-time psychology professor living in the deep South with her husband and two children.

Comments

[Robin P]

Lillianna only buys lunch on Fridays (pizza day) and any day they serve breakfast for lunch:Belgian Waffles,French Toast or cereal.
All the other days she eats a Peanut butter and fluff sandwich, Doritos or chips, a couple of cookies and a bottle of flavored water.
I try to feed her healthier foods when she is in my care. She asks for fruits,vegetables and yogurt when she is in the mood for them.
All in all,for an 8 year old,she does ok! I'm not worried.

[The Beast Mom]

Have you seen "Supersize Me"? There is a segment on school cafeterias in it. Some good ex's are given of schools who have decided to stand up for nutritious food and they don't feel it's any more expensive than the crap most other schools serve. This documentary is worth watching in general. You'll never eat at McD's again.
-bm

[Susan]

Quite frankly, I dont care how much money schools lose from the selling of junk food and soda in the cafeteria. Its like the argument that if we banned selling cigarettes (something we know is a deadly product) than millions would lose their jobs and our economy would crash. Its putting a price on our health and the health of our children. Maybe what the government and health care system start saving by kids getting more healthy could go toward the school systems. I know that we pour billions down the drain on treating juviniele diabetes, heart disease and other obesity related issues in children. There's money to be had there if our children were healthy. Bottom line is, school is no place for vending machines full of unhealthy foods no matter what the cost.

[lisa]

Ah, a topic I'm actually trained to comment on. When I read the menu at my children's school I feel angry. Is that really the best we can do for our kids? Corn dogs and nachos and french fries for a vegetable? I do not believe carrots,green beans apples and oranges would plunge my school system into debt. My kids take their lunch, even though I know they are sometimes teased about it. Today they had lean ham rolled around a cheese stick, whole grain crackers, grapes and home made heart cookies (full of butter, but it's a once in awhile treat) and water to drink. For the record, the other parents assume I'm a nut. The kids are patterning what their parents are teaching them. McDonalds 4x week sends a message.

[andrea from the fishbowl]

When the girls were in daycare they ate better than they did at home. The weekly menu was reviewed by a nutritionist. It was excellent! Even the teachers ate the food there. It was totally balanced, varied, and the kids loved it too.

Interestingly enough it the menu was reviewed a second time and the recommendation was to drop juice from the pm snack. It was replaced by milk. So other than their 8:30 a.m. snack, milk (and water from the fountain) was all they drank. HUGE thumbs-up from me!

Now that the kids are older we are packing lunches because there are no cafeterias at their school. I feel confident they're eating well. For now anyway! :)

[Karin]

Something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I'll do what I can when they're in the home, tell them why, give them healthy choices, then hope to heck the boys take SOME of what I've taught them when the walk out of our home. Give them the best building blocks I can. Can't control them forever, eh?

[amy]

A great piece on a subject close to my heart. Up to this point, I've done a pretty good job of controlling what my three-year-old eats. I know her lunch today will be a half-cheese sandwich, a few Goldfish crackers and a 10-calorie Kool Aid drink. But the twice-a-day snacks at her preschool are loaded with sugar. (Despite the monthly newsletters from the school to the parents that include asking parents to limit sugar in the children's diets. Annoying.)

I have no idea how my daughter will choose to eat when it's no longer in my control. I hope that she'll have a taste for healthy foods, but I expect she'll eat a lot more junk.