http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/AboutLunch/ProgramHistory.htm
http://federaleducationpolicy.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/1946-national-school-lunch-act/
The majority of the support that is now provided to schools participating in the program comes in the form of a cash reimbursement for each meal served. Schools are also entitled to receive commodity foods and additional commodities as they are available from surplus agricultural stocks. The National School Lunch Program serves 30.5 million children each day at a cost of $8.7 billion for fiscal year 2007. Most participants are also eligible for food during the summer through the Summer Food Service Program.
The current nutrition standards being used by the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast program were established in 2010.
In late 2009, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released School Meals: Building Blocks For Healthy Children. This report reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. School Meals also sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes.
hefoodfarce.com/2010/07/18/the-future-of-america-its-a-fat-outlook/
In November 2011, an agriculture appropriations bill passed by Congress garnered controversy for blocking a proposed change by the Obama administration to school lunch regulations, whereby 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste would no longer have been considered as having the nutritional equivalent of 1/2 a cup of vegetables, but instead only as having the nutritional equivalent of 1/8 of a cup of vegetables (i.e., schools can only credit a volume of vegetables as equivalent to its actual size). Critics of this move by Congress claim that pressure was placed upon officials voting on the bill by lobbyists representing pizza manufacturers and cheese producers, as it was seen to threaten the ability of schools to serve pizza and credit it with the same level of nutritional value as they heretofore had. Many critics have sardonically summarized the situation as "Pizza is now a vegetable" or "Congress decides pizza is a vegetable". However, others have pointed out that 1/8 of a cup of tomato paste stacks up remarkably well against a 1/2 cup of vegetables nutritionally, albeit with an excessive amount of sodium that could be argued to reduce its nutritional value.
Gee Mrs. Obama - can you please stick to your own kids and stay out of our business and our schools? You are wasting our school tax dollars!
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/dietaryspecs.pdf
This is the rule for School Lunches and Breakfast Programs. Breakfast must consist of 1 Fruit Cup and 7-10 oz of grains which is cereal and 1 cup of milk and that is across all age groups. Lunch varies by grade level.
Let me see. Meat alternatives include Black Beans, Black eyes peas, Garbanzo or Chickpeas, Great Northern, Kidney Beans, lima beans, mung beans, navy beans, Pink Beans, Pinto Beans, red beans, soy beans, baked beans with a variety of meats in them, refried beans, lentils, almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pretty much every nut and seeds out there and soup beans.
I have to admit I had no idea what a mung bean was and looked it up. The mung or moong bean is the seed of Vigna radiata, native to the Indian subcontinent, and mainly cultivated in India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Bangladesh, Laos and Cambodia. Amount Per 1 cup (202 g) Calories 213 % Daily Value* Total fat 0.8 g 1% Saturated fat 0.2 g 1% Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 4 mg 0% Potassium 537 mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 39 g 13%
Dietary fiber 15 g 60% Sugar 4 g Protein 14 g 28% Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 3% Calcium 5% Iron 15% Vitamin B-6 5% Vitamin B-12 0% Magnesium 24% *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001W2W2Q The cost of a Mung Bean is not cheap. $14.10 per pound for organic which the first lady wants us all to eat. (Still have no real idea if I would like it or not but hey I will try something once to see if I do, but not at those prices)
Then we get to the MEAT of it. Beef Brisket, Corned Beef Brisket, Beef Cheek Meat, Beef Chuck Roast, Beef Flank Steak, Ground Beef, beef heart, beef kidney, Beef liver, beef loin steak, beef ox tail, beef rib eye, beef skirt steak, beef rib roast, Beef Eye of Round, beef round roast, beef rump roast, Beef Special Trim (practically free of fat), beef steak that is formed like a steak, beef stew meat, beef tongue, canned beef, chicken and ALL its parts and organs, canned chicken, dried eggs, frankfurters, knockwurst, vienna sausage, ground buffalo, goat, lamb, pork, clams, crabs, crawfish, fish steaks, fish portions, fish sticks, mackerel, Oysters, salmon, scallops, sardines, shrimp, quid/calimari, tuna, turkeyand yogurt. Remember we are talking ALL organ meats as well with everything here.
ALL of this HAS to be LEAN MEAT! Have you priced lean meat at the store? It is the most expensive cuts of meat! The good news is that it can be fresh or frozen so maybe the school can catch a sale? Nah. They have to buy from the USDA. It is in their rules. The rest of the food is supposed to be organic. Have you priced organic foods? Look up Whole Foods and Trader Joes online and tell me how much organic and lean meats are.
The problem is that a lot of kids are going hungry because they do not like the food they are being served in our schools. This program was supposed to alleviate the problem of hunger for low income families. Most kids are not buying the food or taking what is served because the portions are either too small or they taste horrible. The schools are losing money to the tune of $100,000 a school year. That might not seem like much but when you figure out that it is your school tax dollars that is being spent on that food, it is horribly wasteful.
Recent local store ads.
Dierbergs Ad that is inclusive of today:
Dierbergs All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast is $3.99 lb.
Fresh Alaskan Sockeye Salmon $11.99 lb.
Fresh Jumbo Catfish Fillets $9.99 lb.
Center Cut, All Natural Bone-In Rib Pork Chops are $2.67
Jumbo or Family Pack Fresh Ground Chuck $2.97 lb.
Schnucks Ad that is inclusive of today
USDA Choice Certified Angus Beef, Fresh Boneless Shoulder Steaks $2.99 lb.
Pride of the Farm Fresh Rib Pork Chops $3.69 lb.
Both stores offer Fresh Local vegetables and fruits all summer long. After the summer is over though, they ship it in just like everyone else. Is it all organic? No clue. The ad does not say.
Not bad prices really. But times that by 5 days a week per student. Not so cheap now is it?
Let us now look at Whole Foods. Their web site says that their Quality Standards are "We’re seriously serious about quality around here. We carry natural and organic products because we believe that food in its purest state — unadulterated by artificial flavors, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives — is the best tasting and most nutritious food available." So you know when you buy from their it is going to be organic.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values
Organitc Hot Dogs $4.99 each 12 oz pkg. About the same as Oscar Meyer equivelent at most stores not on sale.
Wild Caught 16/22 count cooked shrimp 11.99 each
How much does it cost to go organic? Check it out:
http://www.chow.com/food-news/53451/how-much-does-it-cost-to-go-organic/
I am not saying that we cannot go organic in the schools or do lean meats. What I am saying is that the cost needs to go way down, be competitive with the other non-organic foods and the health of the food needs to meet proper guidelines. When a fast food restaurant checks the food for bacteria and pathogens more often than the schools do, there is a huge problem. Of course the restaurants are held to safety codes and health standards. Schools are not held to the same standards. Organic food does not last as long as the normal antibiotic drug ingested foods we are used to eating.
My own organic test came in the form of tomatoes and potatoes. I bought organic tomatoes and potatoes at a farmer's market and I got normal tomatoes and potatoes at the local grocery store. The organic cost more per pound but I felt that I needed to eat a little healthier. Now mind you I purchased from the local store first and still had not eaten very many of either one. I got the organics and used a few that day and then put them in the fridge for the next day. By the time I got to the tomatoes the next morning, they were rotten all the way through. My other tomatoes were fine (the ones from the store). My organic potatoes also started getting moldy that day. So in reality I would have to go to the store more often with the organic fruit and vegetables, which with the cost of gasoline will cost me more than going to my local store. (I am not here to debate organic vs. Monsanto. That is another rant for another day.)
The statistics in this article amaze me
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/shpps/2006/factsheets/pdf/FS_FoodSafety_SHPPS2006.pdf
When I worked in the food industry I had to take classes on those safety codes and health standards. Why is it not REQUIRED in the schools?
Your child gets sick at school and they send them home. Are they really sick or was it tainted food?
http://hernandotoday.com/he/list/news/food-poisoning-cause-of-elementary-school-illness-20130531/
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/23/nyregion/a-second-bout-of-food-poisoning-sickens-22-children-at-a-school-in-trenton.html
This set of articles listed here at the New York Times website scare me.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/food_safety/index.html
Some more things for you to look at.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/2173937670001/several-districts-opt-out-of-federal-school-lunch-program/
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-06-19/catlin-leaving-federal-school-lunch-program.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/niskayuna-school-district_n_2544868.html
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/20/school-trash
http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/school_lunch.htm
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-20/news/ct-met-school-lunch-waste-20110220_1_cps-lunchrooms-lunchroom-waste-unwanted-fruit
http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/ph/rt/food_waste_and_organics.htm
http://www.kiddiecatering.com/
http://www.fns.usda.gov/slp
http://docs.schoolnutrition.org/newsroom/jcnm/04fall/bergman/bergman1.asp
From my friend Chrissy who could not post:
ReplyDeleteRegarding your rant.. My sister works for the school district in Evansville & has for nearly 15 yrs.... Last year her school was the first kitchen to be fitted with the special ovens & such needed to prepare foods according to the new standards. They by no means were cheap & yes workers had to be informed how to operate them. The students did protest the changes however she told me that after a few weeks they began to accept the changes. Many of those students were on no or low cost lunch programs. After one year the changes were a success & plans were in place to outfit the other schools with the new equipment. Despite the failures of the program there have been a few successes. Not arguing just wanted to share the experience.... I tried commenting on your rant but had issues.
http://m.courierpress.com/news/2013/apr/15/a-lot-on-their-plate/
School lunches were not simply meant to prop up food prices. National security was a major concern:
ReplyDelete"During World War II, the military discovered that at least 40 percent of rejected recruits were turned away for reasons related to poor nutrition. Stunted growth from inadequate nutrition and poor health was so common that the young men who
made it into the military during World War II were more than an inch and a half shorter, on average, than young American men today. After the war ended, General Lewis Hershey, the military’s Selective Service Director, delivered testimony that helped win passage of the National School Lunch Program."
http://cdn.missionreadiness.org/MR_Too_Fat_to_Fight-1.pdf