The Kids vs. Michelle
The first round went to the First Lady:
Following new federal guidelines, school districts nationwide have retooled their menus to meet new requirements to serve more whole grains, only low-fat or nonfat milk, daily helpings of both fruits and vegetables, and fewer sugary and salty items. And for the first time, federal funds for school lunches mandate age-aligned calorie maximums. The adjustments are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 touted by Michelle Obama and use the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
However, the latest round goes to the kids:
Though broader calorie limits are still in place, the [new] rules tweak will allow school lunch planners to use as many grains and as much meat as they want. In comments to USDA, many had said grains shouldn’t be limited because they are a part of so many meals, and that it was difficult to always find the right size of meat.
does that also mean that federal funds are going to be used to purchase more than required grains and meat?
“federal funds for school lunches mandate age-aligned calorie maximums”
-This sounds like a slight reach. I dont have a problem with the government serving healthy food if a child decides to eat food offered by the school. The problem I have is when the fed tries to tell mcdonalds they cant have toys in their kids meals.If a parent doesnt want the kid to “want” the toy, dont take them to Mcdonalds!
I’m cheering for the kids.
Gah, Michelle. Apparently we all have the same dietary needs. Good thing this isn’t happening during their formative years or anything. Look at her, taking a page from the Bloomberg playbook.
It’s like how Shrek was on all of those “Eat Right and Exercise” commercials, and on a Snickers bar at the same time.
In some cases kids know better. And this is CLEARLY one of them.
“This flexibility is being provided to allow more time for the development of products that fit within the new standards”
Don’t expect it to last long. I like the idea of healthier lunches, but is this the way to do it?
I’d feel much better about this if parents had been the ones to demand healthier school lunches for their kids. Unfortunately, the Nanny State is trying to tell schools what they should feed the kids they teach. On the other hand, I’m not sure it’s the federal government’s place to provide food for school kids. Feeding their children should be a responsibility parents should take seriously. Maybe the best outcome will be that kids hate their subsidized school lunches and bug their parents to the extent the parents start packing their lunches.
So not much is done. Also, lunches are still overpriced.