Let me start by saying that I have no idea what all is going on behind the scenes with this issue but I do have some thoughts and opinions.
Our son brought a bag of food home from school two different times. After the first time, we told him not to bring the bag home again. Turns out, a parent has to sign a waiver saying they don’t need the food rather than just listening to my 8-year old son, who told them he didn’t need it. Why would they force him to bring the food home when they could have called my wife or myself instead?
The second bag went immediately into the trash except for the apple and the orange. The first bag we let him keep a couple of items but threw the rest out. The food in the trays, in both bags, was horrible. Aside from that, as you can see in the picture, nothing else was healthy, in our opinion.
Sammy doesn’t drink milk. All of the other crap was essentially sugar and processed. As a family we aren’t wholly against those things but we do try and limit how much of that garbage we consume because, from our research, it may take the hunger feelings away but it’s not good for you. Unfortunately, there are kids that depend on this food for their next meal. I’ve heard some of the other parents say there’s food in those bags that they wouldn’t even feed to their dogs. That says a lot.
So, my first issue is the waiver that we have to sign. My kid said no, so don’t make him take it. My second issue is the food itself. Although we did not try the food in the tray from the second bag, it looked horrible…just like the first bag, which we did try. The first bag had a chicken taco just like the second bag and the chicken was disgusting. The first bag had a second tray in it with a shaped/ molded piece of mysterious meat which we couldn’t identify.
Sadly, I know everything comes down to money. Even if it means feeding our kids crappy food. This problem is not the fault of one person, it’s the system. If you don’t save money and cut corners, you get fired. It’s all about the money, not the children.
So, what are some possible fixes? I do not claim to have the “correct” answers but I think the problem is big enough that we should do something. What if the school food budget was increased? What if farms donated food to school districts? What if the school food situation went private rather than being run by local or state government? What if the schools let parents step in and help?
Bottom line is our kids need healthier, better tasting, real food that not only fills their bellies, but is actually good for their bodies. We owe it to them.
Here are a couple of links that Annie found in regards to this issue and how it can be made better:
https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/10-best-school-lunches-america-slideshow
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