Included: Don't use food as a reward, carefully cut down on fat and calories in your family's diet.
I need to get this info to my PTO so they will stop basing their fundraising on that gawdawful cookie dough (and rewarding the top selling kids with candy).
Big brother is not only watching - but telling us as parents what our kids can eat.
JHB - you know I respect your opinion, I am just not as trusting as you are on this one. When the guidelines use the words "competetive" over and over and over again under the guise of avoiding childhood obesity - yet the "food services department" is allowed to sell foods that do not comply with the nutrition guidelines set by TDA - and the guidelines give them the food services department several years to get in line with those nutrition guidelines - it is just too transparent.
For instance - when HISD entered into contracts with Coca Cola, all other soda, juice (Minute Made) and bottled water (DaSani) had to be removed from all HISD activities. Concession stands at athletic events couldn't offer Pepsi and our school festivals couldn't sell Ozarka water. But they didn't hide that it was because Coca Cola was making contributions. They place scoreboards at athletic fields and make other donations/contributions. It's out in the open. No one said it was because there was less sugar in Coke than in Pepsi.
In this case - they SAY it's because of childhood obesity, but they allow the food services department years to comply with the nutrtion guidelines. Speaking with forked tongue. If it were truly about childhood obesity - then the FIRST place that would be forced to change would be those who are receiving federal funds to provide meals to the kids - not the LAST ones who are forced to change.
I have this to say about the Body Mass indexes. Arkansas has implemented the policy that all students will have a letter sent to their home with their body mass index and whether they are at risk of obesity.
I don't know where they get their scale, but I got a letter that stated that my son was "at risk". Mind you that this is a child I adopted from India nine months ago, malnurished and nothing but bones. They never took into account his height or his build.
I think this one of those things that people are just jumping on a bandwagon (kind of like the zero tolerance on weapons and throwing a kindergartener out of school because he pointed a chicken finger like a gun). Our society has seemed to lose its perspective on moderation!!
I must have some sympathy for the government officials trying to find a solution to this, but at least they ARE trying. I honestly don't believe there are any giant conspiracies going on.
The cheapest foods tend to be the least healthy. We face this every time we run a concession stand at an event. Chips and pizza and candy are cheap and easy. Alternatives cost more, require additional volunteer effort, are generally more perishable. And that’s on a tiny scale compared to daily lunch menus.
The subject of federal reimbursements within the school lunch program is very complex, but one article I read cited that a school can lose (someting like)up $1.29 for breakfast and $2.19 for lunch in federal money for each meal sold purchased from a source other than the cafeteria.
This is purely my opinion, but I also suspect one way to try to contain price increases in the new plan was to increase the purchase volume - part of which was done by eliminating competitive foods such as vending machines and other sources.
The other reason for this would have been “controlâ€. The officials are essentially trying to control a supply problem – (i.e., unhealthy food). To tackle such a issue, you’d likely want to limit or control the sources of the problem commodity.
Nothing happens in a bubble. Personally, I do believe that health issues were the driving force behind these policies. But they also had to deal with existing contracts, future contracts, parental concerns, equipment already purchased, etc.
On the parental side, we are seeing compromises occur with exemptions for 3 yearly parties, field trips, and now birthday celebrations. Overall, I tend to think it’s a good start. It will be interesting to see it unfold.
For those following several threads on this topic - I am not against the excuse behind the change which is childhood obesity. But when TDA allows the "food services department" to continue to sell items that do not meet the nutrition guidelines, yet prohibit the PTO from selling "competetive" items that DO MEET THE nutritional guidelines - it begs the question as to what is the underlying issue. Is it truly about childhood obesity when in one of the largest districts in the nation the food services department can sell sausage on a stick and ice cream while the PTO cannot sell a chicken sandwich? Or is it about that "food services department" which is a for-profit organization who does not put funds into the kids' education, a private company, whose reason for existence is to turn profits for its shareholders (I am not against big business!) turning larger profits?
If it is about the kids, I'm all for it - but the food police aren't policing the right people.
BTW - the french fry policy is all fried (or baked to resemble fried) potato products. So if your school has a free/reduced breakfast program as well as lunch - they can only sell a fried or baked to resemble fried potato product that number of times per week. If they have hash browns on Tuesday - and the regs say once a week - no french fries at all that week.
The body composition scores are available for every school in at least our state of CA on the website I mentioned above. Of course the children are not mentioned by name, and you might find only one grade level published on the site. No complicated calculations are necessary, just read the % of students not in the HFZ (healthy fitness zone)in body composition for this year, subtract the % for last year, and voila! There you have the percentage growth of kids becoming fat in the most recent past year.
I feel I do have a right to tell the school not to reward children with candy and junk food because this is exactly what leads to eating disorders. School is where thinking and reason should prevail, and promoting, selling or serving fattening food has no place.
I feel that you have the right to eat and serve as much unhealthy food as you want, but not to my kids and not in my school.
