OK? But a change to the national school lunch program doesn't actually affect the rich kids, because they pay for their own lunch, which means they can order off the al-la-cart menu all the chocolate milk they want. I can't speak for the setup in every school; but the 8 schools in 4 districts in 3 states that my nieces and nephews have attended in the past decade all have 2 different lunch tiers. The national school lunch program option (usually 2 different options per day) for the kids in that program, and the al-la-cart options for those who don't get financial assistance. I put "healthy" in quotes because the food in that "healthy" lunch is more likely based on which food sector the .gov is trying to subsidize than what's actually healthy.
Not sure where the argument is, until you imply that "healthy" means something different based on economic status. Are sugar calories MORE nutritional when a poor kid eats them? Nope, still just empty calories that contribute to any number of health and behavioral issues. If anything, poor kids need MORE whole foods in school lunches, because they get enough cheep junk food at home. Because "food is food and calories are calories" when you're on a budget. Except they aren't. A calorie from protein or fat are infinitely more useful to a growing body than refined sugars or even whole carbs. I don't give a crap what rich kids eat, because medicaid isn't paying for their dental or obesity related issues (and I still hate entitled rich kids in general). You want to help a poor kid, give them whole milk or more meat & veggies, not 2% milk with added sugar (what all school chocolate milk I've ever seen is).
You make some excellent points, but a lot does not really apply to many of the children I had the privilege to teach. Mind you, I am not talking about sugar diets though a bit of sugar would not have hurt. I am talking about tasty food, filled with carbohydrates and protein. Baked barbecue chicken potatoes and a green salad is a far better meal for a poor, under nourished child than celery, carrots and a kale salad. but I digest
You know, healthy has enough calories to get through the day. It may not be what you and I think as adults would be “healthy.” So, that‘s kind a the point. My kids depended on the meals, breakfast and lunch that they got at schools. They likely got nothing at home worth eating. Some, were children of druggies and welfare bums. (That would be female welfare bums). Where the money went, I don’t know, but I would visit the home and the ‘parent’ would be climbing out of bed at 2-3 in the afternoon. One can read between the lines.
“Ain’t gonna crawl out of bed, to worry with that kid, if he wants something, he can get it himself.”
The next group were children of less than capable single parents. No money, harsh living conditions and any decent meal they got was at school. The parent, as much as they loved their child and as much as they tried, they couldn’t.
Out in the country, we seemed to see too many of both.
Neither of these groups needs to be on a weight reduction diet. A little meat on their bones and some carbohydrates fueling their brains and muscles was a big boost. Yet, big hips obama did her best to make sure these young people got on a good weight reduction diet. Children in her very limited world, tended to be fat, out of shape and particularly lazy.
My kids really needed the calories. Celery and carrot sticks are great for me when I am trying to get down to cycling weight, but this does nto work for Poor Kids.
Note, Now, we also had kids, who were well cared for and receiving good nutrition. It was quite a mix.
OH, let me make one very clear point. (Totally unrelated). We were all told we had to be a member of the teachers union. Talk about a total waste. The only thing I ever got out of my money was a smelly one page newsletter telling us all the good they were doing, but they never really did anything at all. finally found a group that offered litigation protection, offered free workshops and didn’t cost as much. That damned newsletter stunk up my entire classroom. what kind of ink they used, I do not know but it was so bad, a skunk actually smelled better.
