My Children Eat School Lunch
Good news! School lunches are well balanced and part of a healthy diet! Unfortunately, school lunches have inappropriately gotten bad press as one cause of childhood obesity. School lunches must meet the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend no more than 30 percent of calories from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard to provide one-third of the RDA of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. Their menus are reviewed every three years for nutritional content, and changes are made based on nutrient calculations.
All the regulations aside, children’s diets are influenced by their parents and what they eat. If Mom and Dad do not eat fruits and vegetables, their kids are not going to eat them either. If children are offered healthy choices most of the time, then occasional fast food is no big deal. Parents need to look at a child’s intake over a period of a week, not just one meal.
Schools across the nation will be observing National School Lunch Week October 15 through 19, this year. If you haven’t been to your school’s cafeteria lately, this might be a good time to check it out. The School Nutrition Association notes that “School meals served through the National School Lunch Program remain the healthiest lunch option for students across the nation. Schools are offering (even) more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy items and lean meats.” See what’s happening at your school! You may be surprised! I did, and lunch was terrific! My children receive a hot, balanced lunch every day. I couldn’t pack a healthier lunch for what they charged.
I’m a big proponent of school lunches. I ate them when I was a kid, and my kids sometimes eat school lunches.
I have two comments though; a lunch “as offered” may be healthy, but “as consumed” is often a vastly different
story. Our school cooks try to prepare foods that kids will eat, which often means that the healthiest choices
are off the menu.
Secondly, I take issue “I couldn’t pack a healthier lunch for what they charged.” In our school, if you don’t
get “free or reduced” priced lunches, you can most definitely pack a much healther lunch for less that what
it costs to eat at school. My wife does it for three kids nearly every day. I could take the kids to McDonalds
and it costs about the same as a school lunch, AND it is virtually identical, nutritionally, to what they get at school.
By the way, did you know that this comment box does not automatically wrap lines, nor scroll to the right.
It may just be an issue with my browser (Safari).
I don’t know about your schools, but there is NO way a home packed meal can compete with a properly ran school lunch program. The quality that is availble through the USDA commodity program is untouchable by any store in America. If you school meals are less than great….you have a poor child nutrition program. ‘Lunch Lady Slop’ has been out for decades. Is your school district in 2008????