I'm Fed Up. What if South Walton could be the model for the nation?
- Thread starter Jill Tanner
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I really believe good food and healthy lifestyle begins at home. We are very fortunate to have many sources of good food choices in South Walton with For The Health of It in Blue Mountain Beach and all of our farmers markets.
My child has always taken his lunch to school - and when he was in Montessori in his younger years of school - they made sure every child's lunch box had the right foods in it, and if there was sugar, it was not allowed - parents were educated on what to pack in the lunch box so that the kids could function and learn their best while at school. However, now that he's at another school, he still takes his lunch, but it contains a mix of good stuff plus snacky stuff that's not so good - and pizza is served on Fridays for all. At least he isn't eating from a cafeteria of crap choices. And we do make him eat veggies at home. It's really up to parents.
My child has always taken his lunch to school - and when he was in Montessori in his younger years of school - they made sure every child's lunch box had the right foods in it, and if there was sugar, it was not allowed - parents were educated on what to pack in the lunch box so that the kids could function and learn their best while at school. However, now that he's at another school, he still takes his lunch, but it contains a mix of good stuff plus snacky stuff that's not so good - and pizza is served on Fridays for all. At least he isn't eating from a cafeteria of crap choices. And we do make him eat veggies at home. It's really up to parents.
Exactly! I remember that from when mine was at Montessori. He doesn't want what the cafeteria is serving now. Also, important to remember that schools are trying to keep the cost point down so that its affordable to everyone. Tough to balance healthy and affordable.
I guess, as many will acknowledge, I'm just "old school". I raised six children and never thought once about what they were eating at school. I made the assumption that it certainly wouldn't harm them anymore than what I ate at school. All six are healthy and useful to society. Leave my choice of food to my family. What I have had to eat at certain points in my life would make a nutritionist puke. We all have our own way of life so pliease do not try to force your way on me and mine.
Well, having no children of my own, I certainly don't have much of a dog in this fight. But I will play devil's advocate and point out that not all children are so lucky as to have parents who pack nutritious lunches for them, or pack any lunch at all. Perhaps it is less of an issue at the schools where kids are coming from higher income families, but sometimes, children from low income families have school lunch and breakfast as their primary source of nutrition, which is why programs in some districts send backpacks full of food home with kids in need on the weekends.
I think schools went too far (since yours or my day) offering candy and coke machines and lots of bad food and drink options over the years. It contributes to our nation's health issues and schools should be a model of at least a "reasonable food diet", imo. Children are becoming diabetics as a result of our habits. They are obese. Schools should teach more than academics, they should teach healthy habits. BUT, still, I do agree with you that parents and families must ultimately be responsible.
I appreciate your advice, TeaPartyHard. I hope to have people help me out with this. I will probably first go to the superintendent. They won't be necessarily be eating salads, unless they choose that. Whole foods includes meats - hormone free, antibiotic free, grass-fed, cage free meats. There could be a grilled chicken sandwich on whole grain bread, grass-fed hamburgers, pot roast, baked chicken, and of course veggies on the side. Anything that is whole food, not processed.There are plenty of fun kid-friendly recipes that can be made from real food. I think it will be a great change if the country could hop on board with this. It could change our future.
I just want the American people to change the way they look at food. So, yes a cause. We are all in this together. This is about the kids that don't have a mom like you to pack their lunch. I think if we can change this here, we can inspire more counties to do the same. The key is to have a template that we create and can share with the other counties. Let's squelch the nay-sayers of healthy food. 
I am definitely not trying to force anything on anyone. I have to ask your age. The reason is that the garbage in the school system is recent. I was born in 1981 and grew up in a world where ladies in the cafeteria actually cooked the food for us. We had a meat and two veggies. One day a week we had something like pizza that they brought in. Nothing wrong with a little splurge
. In the last 10 - 15 years, everything is processed, made in a factory and shipped miles and miles over seas in boxes to the schools where the employees only have to warm it up. That's all. I am not trying to start any sort of argument or upset anyone. I just see that 1 in 6 American children is obese and we could possibly help change that.The problem is, the sort of free range, hormone meat you are describing...Is ABSURDLY expensive. It's going to be very difficult to convince a school to go that direction with current funding limitations. Also, you have to keep in mind that this isn't like just cooking dinner for a family of 4 to 6 people. This is cooking food for several dozen children at a time, and it has to be food that can be prepared efficiently with those sorts of time constraints.
I have an idea for you. If you want to make this your cause, maybe you could approach some of our area schools about community garden programs that the kids themselves can plant and care for during some sort of elective/horticulture type of class, and what they grow could be used in the cafeteria lunches. You could volunteer to spearhead and chaperon such a program at one of the schools closest to you, and see what comes of it. While it doesn't address the concerns you have with process meats, it is a start.