Call for healthy food in schools

[Demi]

The BBC
London, UK
2 March, 2006



Schools in England should provide healthy foods to help prevent childhood obesity becoming more widespread, the School Food Trust has said.
Trust Chair Dame Suzi Leather said evidence suggested "behaviour improves" when junk food is removed from schools.

She called for fruit and vegetables - including fresh, dried and frozen varieties to be made available.

One in eight UK children is thought to be obese. In September a schools food standards programme will be introduced.

It means foods high in fat, salt or sugar will be banned from meals and vending machines in English schools.

The School Food Trust - an independent body - was set up by the government to give advice.

Health 'responsibility'

A quarter of new school entrants could be obese by 2020 unless preventative action is taken, the body has said.

Dame Suzi went on: "New food standards from September will improve school meals. But they cannot succeed if pupils are surrounded with chocolate, crisps and drinks that fill them up with sugar and fat during the school day.

"The evidence is clear - children are eating too many foods with too much sugar, fat and salt and little or no nutritional value.

"We have a responsibility to protect children's health. Stopping the sale of junk food in schools and providing healthier alternatives is the start that all parents expect for their children."

The Trust advices that new standards should be applied across all school meals and vending machines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4765110.stm

[Demi]

If anyone is interested, this link (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=2290) provides an interesting history of school meals in the UK, and certainly goes a long to explain why they are as bad as they are today.

[kebaldwin]

The problem is that most school "health experts" call this a healthy diet:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/gallery/showimage.php?i=15174&catid=member&imageuser=20510

and this

http://www.wcpss.net/child-nutrition/winners_circle_intro.html

This will NOT improve kids health.

[PlayDoh]

here kebaldwin, i thought you'd like to know the word is out :lol:

http://www.fitcitychallenge.org/Diet/EatRightArticle.aspx?ID=2

you know, i've looked at that menu you've posted over and over, pretty much every time you've posted it, and unless i'm looking at it wrong, most of the stuff in the healthy section is just plain junk. you can make a better case for most of the breakfast foods than the stuff in the winner's circle.

there's no excape! they're infiltrating the whole state! :eek:

http://www.winnerscirclehealthydining.com/

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :D

omg! they've taken over Washington too! :eek:

http://www.winnerscirclehealthydining.com/current_state_programs.htm

[gryfonclaw]

While I agree that many school lunches are atrocious in content, and need to be changed, sometimes I wonder how much blame we should be putting on it- I mean, kids here in America eat, on average, one meal a day while in school. I assume its the same for the English kids (correct me if I'm wrong). Seriously, thats like at least two other meals eaten outside school. How much can the school lunch program be contributing to obesity if the kids eat the majority of their meals at home/with parents?

[PlayDoh]

i don't blame the schools for obesity, nor do i have any expectations from them other than to stay out of my business, but, i do think calling junk health foods is ridiculous, and i'm not talking in relation to any special diet, i pretty much just mean sugar loaded because across the board on any reputable diet plan, too much sugar is not recommended, right down to the food pyramid.

[Mandra]

I mean, kids here in America eat, on average, one meal a day while in school.

I get the impression that, around here at least, lots of kids are also eating breakfast at school.

[gryfonclaw]

I get the impression that, around here at least, lots of kids are also eating breakfast at school.

:-P I've been out of elementary school for a while, so I don't really know much about the eating schedules of children...

I think the schools should only be responsible for one meal, if that.

[PlayDoh]

at the first school i worked at, alot of kids were on free and reduced breakfast and lunch. ultimately it isn't the school's job to choose our children's diet, but it is responsible to educate and not feed them flat out junk. i also find irritating the policy of dictating what you can and cannot put in a kindergartener's lunch. they don't monitor in grades after that so what's the point? besides, it isn't anyone elses job to dictate what i feed my kid.

[Whoa182]

No doubt that a lot of parents will send their kids to school with lots of chocolate bars and crisps once this is enforced.

[kebaldwin]

Look at the breakfast menu above. I have never seen one kid with something healthy.

Everyday I see pancakes (with syrup), waffles (with syrup), cinnamon buns, grits, bread / toast, doughnuts, muffins, biscuits -- and then two cartons of sugar water (chocolate milk and juice).

You should see what kids eat every day. High glycemic breakfast, HG morning snack, HG lunch, HG afternoon snack, usually HG dinner, and then a HG dessert. And the "health experts" at school are telling the kids this is healthy!

No wonder high school kids graduate with a dimploma, ritalin, and type 2 diabetes medicines.

How long before kids start dropping over dead in high school from heart attacks becuase the mean gym teachers made them go exercise? Then they will not make kids take physical education because it is dangerous to their health!

[KarenJ]

School lunches are appalling and deplorable on many different levels. One has already been discussed, the other is that children are being TAUGHT that this is healthy eating! We are now in national nutrition month, and my daughter is coming home with all sorts of APPALLING nutrition myths.
Her menu at school today:

Food long hot dog (free nitrites)(with bun), or French Toast sticks (with syrup)
roll with honey (WTF? -sorry :o )
chilled peaches (from a bucket)
Tater Tots

I'm sorry, but that is absolute GARBAGE! It is all sugar, and it's borderline criminal to be serving children such trash.

"But Mommy, they say it's good for us because its low fat" and "can I take my own lunch today?"

"Or course you can take your own lunch, honey!" Is what I say. And I thank my lucky stars. :)

[Demi]

In the news here in the UK today ...

Schools to ban fizzy drinks and chocolate
By Alexandra Blair and Tony Halpin
The Times, London UK, 3 March, 2005

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,274412,00.jpg


SCHOOLS will be banned from selling junk food and told to give pupils seeds and yoghurt drinks in moves to tackle child obesity.
Parents will also be issued with guidelines on food high in fat and sugar which should not be included in their children’s packed lunches.

Nuts, seeds and yoghurt drinks will replace crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks in tuck shops, after-school clubs and vending machines, say the draft guidelines issued yesterday by the government-appointed School Food Trust (SFT).

The laws to wean children off sweets and chocolate will be among the toughest in the world and will take fizzy sugary drinks off the menu, as well as diet and sport drinks and flavoured waters.They come just days after the Audit Commission attacked the Government for its indecision and lack of leadership over the implementation of measures to curb child obesity.

Children will be allowed to have milk, yoghurt drinks, water and fruit juices as well as tea, coffee and low-calorie hot chocolate. Crisps will be banned at all times, but cakes and biscuits will be allowed at lunch and in after-school clubs.

Dame Suzi Leather, chairman of the SFT, said the rules, to be introduced from September, were necessary because children were eating too much sugar, fat and salt with “little or no nutritional value”.

“They [the new rules] cannot succeed if pupils are surrounded with chocolate, crisps and drinks that fill them up with sugar and fat during the school day,” she said. “Anecdotal evidence suggests that when these products are removed, behaviour improves and this could also have implications for better learning.”

The SFT said that about a quarter of children were obese or overweight and 53 per cent of the 4-18 age group had dental decay.

The food and soft drinks industry is estimated to make £45 million a year from school vending machines. Schools are believed to make £2,500 a year per vending machine.

A spokesman for the Automatic Vending Association, whose machines are only in secondary schools, said: “We think educated choice would have been better than outright prohibition.”

Masterfoods, which supplies Mars and Snickers bars, said it was “disappointed with the SFT’s simplistic approach. Banning certain foodstuffs will not work. Young people need to understand how to enjoy a balanced diet and active lifestyle.”

Dame Suzi said that the SFT would also be strengthening lunchbox guidelines, and would expect schools to advise parents of what should be included in a healthy diet. The SFT guidance is out for consultation until May.

The Education and Inspections Bill, which was published this week, requires governing bodies and local authorities to comply with healthy eating regulations in the provision of “all food and drink provided on the premises” of state schools. It gives ministers power to ban specific types of food and drink from schools and states that the rules will apply “to food or drink provided by contractors under arrangements made with LEAs or governing bodies”.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=5980146






Unfortunately, they seem to be replacing the junk with more junk - a high-carb, low-fat diet :rolleyes:

[Whoa182]

Breakfast of: Baked Beans, Eggs and Toast sounds alright... Beans good source of many nutrients, low gi and good high, eggs are good also (hope they have omega3! prob not though!) Pizza slices? Maybe they have a few hidden vegetables in them? lol yogurts are good... Nuts, seeds good... well its not the best but I think it is better than what is on offer now, good thing they are banning crisps also.

People have to be realistic, you can't just ban everything, the menu is ok and seems better than what I had a few years in school. Which was chips and chocolate cakes and crisps for dinner everyday.

[Whoa182]

Are people getting the message and turning away from junk food? Well this report says that there are declines now in junk food and healthier foods are increasing in sales.

Bubble bursts for sugary fizzy drinks
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/03/nfizzy03.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/03/03/ixportal.html

Tango has lost its fizz, Irn Bru is sluggish and the bubble may have burst for Pepsi.

Bubble bursts for sugary fizzy drinks
(Filed: 03/03/2006)

Tango has lost its fizz, Irn Bru is sluggish and the bubble may have burst for Pepsi.



According to Britain's drinks industry, the demand for traditional cans of sugary pop is being eroded by an interest in healthy food and drink.

It is not just fizzy drinks that are being undermined. Cadbury, Nestlé and Thorntons complain of sluggish chocolate sales, and sales of crisps and snacks are down while McDonald's is losing out to trendy sandwich shops.

Is Britain - the home of sweet-chomping, crisp-munching, cola-swigging fatties - really ending its long affair with junk food?

Could the healthy eating message finally be getting through?

Britvic, the manufacturers of Tango, Pepsi and Robinsons in this country, appears to think so. Yesterday, the Chelmsford-based company issued a profit warning after experiencing a "weakening in the total soft drinks market in the UK".

A spokesman said: "The consumer trend towards 'better for you' is accelerating and as a consequence, sales in the carbonates category, except those with no added sugar, have slowed.''

If consumers are switching to healthier food, it will be seen as a victory for the Government, which has put the battle against obesity at the heart of its public health policy.

The number of overweight children has grown from 9.6 per cent in 1995 to 13.7 per cent in 2003.

In Britain, 40 per cent of men and a third of women are overweight, at a cost to the National Health Service of £1 billion a year.

In November 2004 a Government White Paper laid much of the blame on the food industry. It demanded restrictions on the marketing of high fat, high sugar food at children and called for clearer labels on packaging. It also demanded for a public education campaign to encourage exercise and improve diets.

New research by the Food Standards Agency suggests that awareness is growing. The number of people who claim to read nutrition labels, choose fresh vegetables and fruit and avoid processed food is on the rise.

The changes appear to be reflected in sales figures. Last year, sales of all savoury snacks were "flat", while crisp sales fell. Figures from the research company TNS show that chocolate sales were up just 2.5 per cent.

Last year, Mintel reported that sales of fizzy drinks were down more than five per cent in 2004 as shoppers opted for water and fruit juices. Within the fizzy drink sector, Britain is one of the few countries in the world where diet drinks outsell the sugary versions.

In this climate of changing demand and Government pressure, the food industry has attempted to persuade its customers that it too is shifting.

McDonald's has introduced salads, fresh fruit and bottled water. Saturated fat levels in Walkers Crisps, Birdseye fish fingers and United Biscuits' Hula Hoops and Skips have been cut. Salt has been reduced in Kelloggs cornflakes, and most soups, breads and pasta sauces.

Many of the big manufacturers have withdrawn advertisements for junk food from children's television and are introducing new front-of-pack labels revealing how much their food contributes to the recommended guideline daily amount of fat, sugar, salt and calories.

Food campaigners have welcomed many of the changes. However, they are concerned that many of the healthier options remain unhealthy.

A McDonald's chicken caesar salad, for instance, has 323 calories - more than the 300 calories in its cheeseburger. The new reduced sugar Frosties cereal is still 25 per cent sugar. And many of the new "healthier" flavoured waters are sugary fizzy drinks in a new guise.

Richard Watts of the food campaigning group Sustain, said: "There is some evidence that sales of junk food are going down and that has to be welcomed," he said. "McDonald's recently announced that they were closing 25 restaurants and it is no coincidence that a lot of companies are trying to market their products as healthy. But we are seeing some pretty cynical marketing attempts to get people to buy food that isn't as healthy as the manufacturers would like us to believe."

Chocolate manufacturers, for instance, pledged to get rid of king size bars more than a year ago after concerns about oversized portions. Yet within months, the same bars reappeared with new labels describing them as "for sharing".

The food industry insists it has made genuine efforts to give consumers more choice. But it believes that it has been made the scapegoat for a national problem that owes as much to the couch potato lifestyle of children and adults as it does to a high-fat, high-sugar diet.

"The calorie intake of Britain has been falling over the last few decades, according to the Government's own figures," said Martin Glenn, head of Pepsico. "There's a massive demand for a stage villain and the food industry has stumbled into the role."


The more the message gets out on popular morning tv shows and the news then the better things may become. I don't think there will be a quick fix and the change will be very slow probably but atleast some peoples attitudes are changing to what they eat.

[PlayDoh]

yogurt may be good for you, but eating a gogurt is like sucking on a sugar stick :)

[foxgluvs]

With all respect to other posters - it's criminal what they are feeding kids in UK schools. There was recently a campaign by Jamie Oliver (celeb chef) where he went into a school to see if he could cook HEALTHY food for the same money as they were alocating the food they were serving. It turns out that they were spending only 40p (which is 70 cents) on each meal (that's for the meal and a desert!!) so no wonder when you have that kind of budget to work to, you have no choice but to serve up things like turkey twizzlers....which when analyzed contained something like less than 5% turkey meat???!!

http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/J/jamies_school_dinners/index.html

Jamie Oliver bright it to the attention of the government that more needed to be done. I believe that as a result of his campaign some schools and areas are hoping to improve their menus....

BUT, onto a point made by someone else. YES sometimes one meal IS the only meal kids are having at school, but if it is a processed junk kind of meal, with more sugar and salt content than is healthy for an adult to eat....then it doesn't matter if they are eating it just once per day - it's enough to make a difference long term. And also, you forget, schools often have tuck shops (stalls that sell sweets and chips - crisps) at break times, so you don't often control these things either.

Unless you send your kids into school with no money, and a packed lunch with healthy snacks, there is no other way of getting away from the fact that they will eat garbage at school unless the government ploughs more money into healthy eating.

It's a subject that I feel VERY strongly about.

[TheCaveman]

Trust Chair Dame Suzi Leather

Wow, good title and name, eh?

[TheCaveman]

i also find irritating the policy of dictating what you can and cannot put in a kindergartener's lunch. they don't monitor in grades after that so what's the point? besides, it isn't anyone elses job to dictate what i feed my kid.

This is interesting. Did they say that they were considering policy to dictate what parents put in their kids' lunches from home? Point me?

[Dodger]

they were spending only 40p (which is 70 cents) on each meal (that's for the meal and a desert!!) Why does a school meal need a desert? Very few deserts are ever healthy.

[kebaldwin]

Why does a school meal need a desert?

Kids today will turn you in for child abuse if they don't get at least five desserts a day. They're worse than dogs begging for dog treats.

[Mandra]

Crisps will be banned at all times, but cakes and biscuits will be allowed at lunch and in after-school clubs.



And crisps (potato chips) are worse than cake and biscuits (cookies) because........?

[PlayDoh]

hi caveman :wave:

i wouldn't know exactly where to point you. this was the scene at two of the schools i worked at in southern california in the cajon valley school district before we moved to northern california. in the 3 years i did the kidnergarten program for after school care, it never went beyond kindergarten. it has been several years now since we movewd so the policy may have changed. it made me mad even then though because it seemed stupid and pointless to freak out on a little kidnergartener for what they had in their lunch or embarrassing them in front of their friends (saw that happen a few times) by telling them they couldn't eat something that was in their lunch (which i think they have no business doing) especially when the monitoring was only occuring in kidnergarten, not first, second, etc. what's the point? that isn't educating the children on food choices, only dictating to the parents what was and was not allowed. i think mostly it was dessert type items, how some kids get a twinkie or whatever, but you still see some kids with a lunchbox full of processed high sugar high fat crap, so how was that any better? and it wouldn't have mattered if it was a low carb zuchinni cake with sugar free cream cheese frosting, if it looked like a cupcake, you can bet they wern't going to get to eat it because that wouldn't be fair to the other little kids. i sincerely hope it was not a fairness issue in it's entirety, that would be ridiculous. i never did get the entire reason, only that it was kidnergarten policy. it wasn't so much so at the second school. that group was much more well off and most of the kids came with beautiful lunches, and if not that, at least typical. it was the school lunches that stunk. the kids in the poorer area got fed better. i'm not sure how that happens in the same district? subsidies? at the other school though, it was a very poor area and the best food alot of those kids got is what they got at school or in our program, and the typical lunchbox looked full of prepackaged stuff, little debbies, cheese crackers, or jelly sandwich, cheese sandwich etc. alot of the parents in my program were single parents and worked at least two jobs. i imagine it was tough pulling it all together.

anyway, who knows if they still do it, i don't, but the thought still irritates the hell out of me because my son starts kindergarten this year, and i still think the policy is pointless lol, but even so, bottom line, i don't need anyone to tell me what to put into my son's lunchbox. my mother says, don't make waves and embarrass him at school, or make it to where a teacher micht take it out on him, and that is a very valid point, and i wouldn't run off hal cocked either, i do have my limits too. so we'll see how it goes lol.

if i were working on the school lunches, i'd go with concentrating on what is accepted as needs to be limited pretty much across the board in the reputable diets, sugar and transfats. i wouldn't refuse bread or potatos, or push super high fats, just go moderate except with the sugar and transfat. have bread, potatos, etc. but don't make it a daily dietary staple, meats, and not of the mysterious turkey twizzle variety, 1% 2% and whole milk, much much less sugar, and zippo transfats including any purchasable entree type snacks, vending snacks, etc. can't be that difficult on the transfat thing because i'm pretty sure the box of twinkies i looked at last year had transfats, and now they don't. i wish i had kept a list because when i first read about it on here, i started checking everything for transfats, and now alot of the stuff i look at doesn't have any, and i know some of it did. i also recall a member here mentioning cool whip being loaded with transfats, but when i bought it for the holidays a couple of months later, it didn't have any. a friend just clued me in that there is now sugar free cool whip too. anyway, sorry that was so long :D

i'm sure there could be plenty of argument for what i said about the stupid policy, but i am pretty firm in believing that what i put in my son's lunch is my business and not the schools. their job is to educate. if they want to educate on what they feel is good food choices, that's their business, i'll sort out the fact and fiction at home lol.

ya'll have a fab and fit day! :hyper: :yay: :wiggle: :D :wave:

[Brennabug]

i am SO glad i homeschool. i was horrified with what the kids were getting as meals in school. It didnt matter that i packed my daughters lunch to take with her, the kids all get together and trade lunch anyway and there is nothing you can do about it unless the schools come to the realization that their food is mostly junkand totally revamp their ideas. That isnt going to happen. (no i am not optimistic) I am thankful my daughter is slim and well adjusted to LCing and that I am the one who gets to set her standard of what is healthy and tastes good.

[Demi]

This interesting article was in the Daily Telegraph (UK) this morning:

Hunch is now served
(Filed: 04/03/2006)

How to get children to eat school meals? Have mothers sort out the cooking, says Alexandra Buxton

The words "school dinner" make me feel slightly queasy. My memories are of grey mince and mashed swede, sploshed out lukewarm and watery. That was a long time ago. But until this term the food was only slightly better at our local primary school in Cambridge, where the number of pupils taking school lunches had dwindled to just 70 out of 460.

"When you went into the dining room, there was a horrible smell of yesterday's food," says nine-year-old Chloe. "The trays were greasy underneath and when you saw how badly the washing-up was done it made you feel sick."

Today, 300 children at Milton Road Primary School regularly eat school dinners. There's a waiting list of others who want to sign up but can't because there aren't yet enough pots and pans, knives and forks, to go round.

"At lunch, we run to queue up in the dining room, and lots of people want second helpings," says Chloe's friend Katherine, 10.

So what's changed? The answer: a lot of things. Where there were once Formica table tops, there are brightly coloured tablecloths; where the food was once served on green plastic trays, it is now on white china plates. Most importantly, the food, which was previously "cook-chill", is made on the spot from fresh, healthy ingredients.

The company that has achieved this turnaround was set up by two parents - with no experience or training in catering but a passion for good food and a determination to make a difference. Amanda Harris and Melissa Plowden Roberts met when their children were small, ran a playground together and, once their offspring had started school, became active members of the PTA.

It was a chance remark that led to the setting up of their company, Zest Catering. Sue Romero, the headteacher, explains: "Amanda and Melissa raised thousands of pounds for the school by baking muffins that they sold after school. One day, they were talking about what to do next and I said: 'What we need is for you to cook the school lunches.'" In the wake of the Jamie Oliver campaign, the Government promised £28million to raise standards and urged schools to serve healthy, freshly prepared food. But, despite the backing of the head and governors, Melissa and Amanda found themselves up against endless red tape.

It took them more than a year and a dozen meetings to agree a 60-page contract with the local authority. With input from parents and pupils, they devised a six-weekly rotation of menus, and held assemblies to talk to the children. The response was overwhelming.

"We aimed to double the numbers of children having school lunches in our first term," says Amanda. "We exceeded that in our first week."

When I join the Milton Road children for lunch, they are tucking into pasta and sauce with green salad followed by treacle tart and fruit. While the youngest pupils return to the serving hatch for pudding, the older ones line up for their first course. I find myself dishing out dessert to a sea of eager faces, explaining that there's not enough for second helpings "but help yourselves to oranges".

Owen, five, says school food is "just as good as home food". His friend Eden says it's "even better". They both love raw carrots and cucumber. Katherine, who has swapped from packed to cooked lunches, says: "Hot food fills you up and makes you feel happy."

A term ago, when Melissa came to observe them, many children were eating only half their food. "They were served their main course and their pudding on the same plastic plate. They ate the pudding first and the rest got cold. Every day, the waste filled a large bin. By studying what they eat and what they reject, we've reduced that to a pedal-binful."

Local knowledge has helped them. Amanda says: "We know almost all the children by name. Many of them sat on our knees at playgroup. Others we got to know when we sold them muffins. So we are real people to them, just as they are to us."

Mrs Romero is thrilled. "Lunchtime has become something to look forward to," she says. "We've had special menus for Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day. The children are encouraged to try something new - a tiny piece of rocket or a sliver of cucumber. And, it might be coincidence, but since the healthier meals we've had no behaviour issues in the playground."

Already other schools are phoning to ask how Zest has won children back to healthy, cooked meals. Amanda and Melissa are happy to act as advisers. "What we are doing is not difficult, but it is extremely hard work. If you love food and children - and are willing to put in the hours - you, too, can do it," says Amanda.

The budget for providing wholesome, healthy school lunches is pitiful. At Milton Road, parents pay £1.65 per day, which has to cover ingredients, wages for Zest's four part-timers and insurance. It's a small price for a freshly prepared meal. But Melissa and Amanda are worried that some parents might be deterred if they increase their prices to cover VAT.

"We are only just breaking even, and if we worked out an hourly rate for ourselves it would be a joke," says Amanda. "We start our days soon after 7am, go home around 4pm, and often work in the evening. But we absolutely love what we're doing. And the reward is seeing the children's enjoyment of real food and having them coming up to say thanks for a yummy lunch."

And then there's having 300 empty plates to wash up…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml;jsessionid=GGQH3NCNJXRRJQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/education/2006/03/04/edfeat040306.xml

[PlayDoh]

i'm not sure what the standard is now, but in our district, food was center prepared and transported. when i was a child, lunch was prepared on site. i am curious now, does anyone know how it is done in their child's district?

what was paticularly lovely to watch a child try to eat was the prepackaged corndogs. here they are prepackaged, heated, transported, you wouldn't believe how much those things would swell and how soggy they'd get with all that trapped steam in there. most of the kids would pick off the cornbread and just eat the dog. for something like a burrito or taco snack, that kind of wrapping worked fine, but not for corndogs lol.

[PlayDoh]

good for those ladies for getting it done! i'm not surprised it to hear it took a long time to accomplish though. it sems like everything used to be so much simpler.

"Hot food fills you up and makes you feel happy."

i got to admit, i always ate hot luch as a kid and it spoiled me for packing. i hate soggy 4-5 hour old sandwiches.

"We know almost all the children by name."

we always knew our lunch ladies too and they knew many of us. they were there every day cooking and serving, and often they would be a schoolmate's mother.

[PlayDoh]

here is a link for the nutrition program in the district i mentioned. looks like they are getting on top of it

http://www.nutritionnetworknews.org/grade.htm


and i do hope so but there is a big difference between talking the talk and walking the walk. i can't help but remember the raw broccoli that had been on the salad bar all week and was finally into bits smaller than a pencil eraser for the most part being served as side dish. didn't see any kids eating that, ever, and i'm sure it was perfectly acceptable for the nutrition guidelines.

we taught the five a day program for the last several years i was down there. the kids really loved it.

at the first school, we made a game of bringing in new stuff to try for the kids. not for lunch or snack, just for fun. those kids were pretty open to trying new stuff. that was a blast! i was always surprised by some of the stuff the kids liked lol. one of my favorite snacks to eat was sardines, saltines, and mustard. it's one of the first things we tried and i couldn't believe how many kids liked it. a parent brought in pita and lebne and that went over very well too.