Photo courtesy Prawny on Pixabay
By Carie Moore
As we close this month of thankfulness and are in the middle of the “feasting” season, I am thankful for something many of us have a love/hate relationship with: School lunch programs. I remember my mom packing my lunch every day in elementary school. On certain Fridays, moms would take turns and a few of us would get personal pan pizzas brought to the school and we could get a Dr. Pepper out of the pop machine.
I also remember when we finally got a school lunch program. That was a big deal. It was mostly homemade hot dishes, but we were very fortunate as we were a small, private school.
Today the lunch program has gone through many changes, from the food pyramid to My Plate.
I eat school lunch with my kids at least bi-monthly if not more. I don’t know a whole lot about the school lunch program requirements, but I do know that not all calories are the same. Empty calories and nutrient dense calories should not be considered equal when meal planning. As a farmer, I have a hard time with meatless Mondays. You get more protein and vitamins and minerals from meat than trying to compensate with beans and nuts. Nut allergies makes it even more difficult.
Since switching our boys to a different school, I noticed an improvement in the lunch room options. All ages have access to a salad bar and the planned meals are a major step up as well.
Before I catch any grief, I just want to say to those serving lunches THANK YOU. I know how hard you work and sometimes you are not given options, depending on your district. You make the best with what you have.
I briefly looked at the standards and was overwhelmed https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp . Some meals may “meet” the requirements but are they the best option? Not really. The meal I will forever despise is “burrito dogs” a hot dog wrapped in a tortilla shell. It meets the meat and grain requirement. But my kids can eat a pack of 8 hot dogs in 5 minutes flat. How are they supposed to feed their body and mind for 3 more hours on a hotdog wrapped in a tortilla shell?
I get upset when my active boys are told they can only have half a breadstick because they need to have enough for the high schoolers. A school lunch is a school lunch. My child should be fed just like all the others.
My daughter can get on the bus early and have the option to eat something else if she is hungry before school. I appreciate that while packing lunches for in the field and bringing lunches to the field, I have 3 less lunches to pack and prepare for each day. I will always remember the amazing chocolate chip cookies my 9/10 grade school would make and I would have EVERY day, and I don’t even usually eat chocolate chip cookies. They would be warm on a wax square paper, gooey and soft.
I know many adults who have a special lunch lady they remember. I have listened to a couple good TED talks on superhero lunch ladies and school lunch programs. Great to check out if you get a chance.
Free and reduced-priced meals and backpack programs are also a huge asset. I won’t lie, we’re on the reduced-priced meal plan. I’m not ashamed of it and use it because while my kids are at school, we’re doing our part to produce the food they are eating. I could not pack them a descent lunch for what I pay for them to eat at school. No matter what kind of lunch program they have.
I am grateful to an organization like NDFB that has other parents in other counties fighting the same battle and willing to make policies backing lunch programs that feed our kids well and support fresh and locally grown agriculture products.
Cool food buying app from USDA: https://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/food-buying-guide-mobile-app
Why Lunch Ladies Are Heros https://www.ted.com/talks/jarrett_krosoczka_why_lunch_ladies_are_heroes
Teach every child about food https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver
Want to teach kids: feed them well https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_kass_want_to_teach_kids_well_feed_them_well