What do they feed our kids?

[jpbhen]

I went to Walton County school a long time ago but our lunches were very good--I never forgave Coach Anderson for making me drink milk, but that is another story.
When I worked for awhile as a sub at WHS two years ago, I was appalled at the quality (or lack )of the food. It was horrible. I packed my lunch--the students were wanting healthy food, but what they were served was just not edible IMO.
In my mind I thought they needed to have a 60s style sit-in and refuse to eat or leave until someone did something about it.
Not sure about the rest of the schools here, but if nothing has changed in WHS, then it should.
We spend $ millions on a new building, but provide food that I wager you could not sell or even give away in the real world.

i don't know how florida handles school lunches, but in our local school district in ohio (where i taught for 30 years), our pretty great cafeteria (lots of homemade GOOD food, balanced lunches, etc) changed drastically when the superintendent decided that food service should be self-sufficient. an outside company was brought in to handle EVERYTHING - menus, staffing, ordering food, etc etc. the prices shot way up, and the quality went way down. the cafeteria became a huge fastfood empire - and the profits after all expenses went to the outside company. our cooks (those lucky enugh to be hired by the company) no longer cooked - they warmed up trays of crapola (or deep fried it). our kids were mainly poor, and school had usually been their one balanced meal of the day. that went completely out the window in the interest of making money. it was a huge savings for the district - but at what cost to the kids??

so - you may want to look into the WHY the food is so icky. that may be the easiest way to correct the problem.

 

[Matt J]

So none of the schools has a salad bar? We had one in elementary, middle, and high school when I was growing up. On the days when we got something I didn't like I could always make a nice big salad for around $.75.

What does a school such as SWHS do for a vegetarian or vegan option? Both are required by law.

P.S. Shallowsnole that's a teenage boy thing. I ate like a pig at school, got home around 3pm ate again, and then was ready for dinner at 6pm.

 

[wrobert]

Okaloosa County public schools provide their lunches through a central kitchen and they are delivered to be heated and served at the school. The lunches they provide are terrible in taste, appearance, and nutrition.

I grew up in the area and our lunch ladies provided soups, stews, chili, meatloaf, grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh rolls (!), cake squares, pudding, tossed salad, green beens, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, spaghetti and a number of other freshly prepared meals each day. I didn't always love what was being served, but there was never any doubt that what I received on my plate was edible and (in an overall sense) nutritious.

When my children went through the same school system, they got cold fries, hot dogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, and "pizza" which was self serve from a lukewarm cart. I would have loved to give my children the $2.00 a day and told them to "Eat whatever Mrs. Jay puts on your plate!" like my mom told me. We don't do picky eaters in our family. Instead, I was stuck packing their lunches just so I could be sure they'd have something I would let them eat. I was simply appalled at what was being served, and I felt terribly sorry for the students that depended upon the school for their most nutritious (or only) meal of the day.

Liza Jackson Preparatory (a charter school -- which isn't the same as "private") at one time imported some of their hot foods from Golden Corral. Not sure if they still do. My youngest went to Liza Jackson, and the food there (wherever it came from ) was ten million times better than what I saw at the other schools.

I understood that Okaloosa dismantled the central kitchen project with the new Super.

Liza Jackson is the school I was thinking about, have not run into Miss Jo lately to ask her what they are doing, but will see her in the next few days.

I am trying to gather information on private schools, pre-Ks. I can get the public school stuff easy enough.

 

[SneakyPete]

As far as I know the central kitchen is still in operation. Many of the on site school kitchens were dismantled after the centrail kitchen came into vogue.

Liza Jackson is NOT a private school, BTW. It's a charter school. Charter schools are FREE to the general public, and operate under the umbrella of the county school system. Even though they have their own boards of directors and guiding principles, they are subject to most of the same policies and testing mandades that govern all public schools.

 

[scooterbug44]

Why can't we feed our kids decent food?

This was bugging me all night - there are a lot of kids in our schools who get free lunch, (which for many kids in the US is their only or only nutritious meal that day), and by all accounts we are feeding ours unpalatable crap!!!

I find it absolutely appalling that with so many fine restaurants and people interested in good food in this area we can't put a decent meal on the table for these poor kids.

I'm not saying my school lunches were taste sensations, but they were somewhat healthy and edible.

 

[Jdarg]

In my inbox from Christin at Raw & Juicy-





I?m writing you today to let you know a little bit more about Time for Lunch, the national campaign I mentioned a couple of weeks ago.

Slow Food USA is organizing a National Eat-In on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009. On that day, people in communities across America will gather with their neighbors for public potlucks that send a clear message to our nation?s leaders: It?s time to provide America?s children with real food at school.
As part of the campaign, Slow Food is lobbying Congress to allocate an additional $1 per day per child for healthier lunch items, to limit the junk food sold in schools and to teach children about food through farm-to-school programs and school gardens.
As we know, children who grow up enjoying food that is both delicious and good for them learn healthy eating habits that last throughout their lives. By giving schools the resources to serve REAL food, we can make sure that the legacy we?re leaving our children is a future filled with opportunity, security and good health.
I thought it would be a great idea to combine this - rather - have this be our September Eat Local!!
We will have information and petition signing set up all day at Raw & Juicy, then we will gather for our potluck in the seating area at 4:00.
As most of you know, I work at Raw & Juicy, and will be there by myself, so that day I will need help with setting up - please let me know!

Also, if not more importantly, this program information NEEDS to be addressed in our schools! Please help me with forwarding this information to any teachers or parents! I have included a PDF file with an activity sheet to do in class! Any parents or teachers can also check out the very user friendly website for more information and activities!

And any teachers or parents or anyone else that receives this and has questions - please feel free to call me or email me!
ONE MORE THING - If you can't come at least take a minute to check out the campaign website:Time For Lunch : Home : Slow Food USA , find out where an eat-in might be happening in your area, and maybe even sign the petition!
Thanks!

 

[CPort]

I'll have to find out more updated info,but as of 2003 when I retired french fries were served every day at school and considered a veggie!i fussed about it then,but food services were a seperate whole dept.and not under my principal's supervision.

Way back when I went to school in the age before free lunch, I know of several large families who grew food on their farms that actually were allowed to trade fresh locally grown food for free lunches for their kids.
We had good food served lovingly daily (cept for that dern milk) btw,milk was a whopping 2 cents. not that i wanted to waste my $ on it when I could hold out till recess and get a coke for a nickel!

 

[rheffron]

Yesterday was the the first day of school for SWHS and my Freshman daughter came home and complained that the only entree was a corn dog and that the salad bar was empty by the time it was her turn to eat. Maybe just first day issues. I will ask again today!

 

[Dia]

Bay Elementary breakfast/lunch: Bay Elementary School

 

[dcurlin]

lunch/nutrition idea

Check out Lunch Lessons by Ann Cooper for some great info about inproving how our kids eat and what schools can do. I have stopped letting my kids buy from Sodhexo at a private school and only use the laptop lunchboxes she talks about. Huge improvement! This book really opened my eyes!