Complaints Mount Against Michelle Obama’s New Lunch Menu

http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/09/23/complaints_mount_against_michelle_obamas_new_lunch_menu

In Wisconsin, high school athletes are complaining about not getting enough to eat each day, due to the skimpy new school lunch menu mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The story we published earlier this week on that subject is unfortunately not unique. Students across the country are complaining about the new school lunch regulations.

Perhaps the real motive is to starve students into slimming down. Just ask students in Pierre, South Dakota who, too, are in an all-out revolt.

"I know a lot of my friends who are just drinking a jug of milk for their lunch. And they are not getting a proper meal," middle school student Samantha Gortmaker told Keloland.com.

Despite the fact that the new regulations have increased the cost of a lunch 20 to 25 cents per plate, it’s not pleasing students.

Some are throwing away their vegetables while others are adapting to the rules by becoming industrious. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, students have created a black market - for chocolate syrup. The kiddie capitalists are smuggling in bottles of it and selling it by the squeeze, according to SouthCoastToday.com.

Nancy Carvalho, director of food services for New Bedford Public Schools, was quoted as saying that hummus and black bean salads have been tough sells in elementary cafeterias. That means even smaller children are going through the day fighting hunger pains, which can never be considered a good thing.

One government official tried to put the blame on the students.

"One thing I think we need to keep in mind as kids say they're still hungry is that many children aren't used to eating fruits and vegetables at home, much less at school. So it's a change in what they are eating. If they are still hungry, it's that they are not eating all the food that's being offered," USDA Deputy Undersecretary Janey Thornton was quoted as saying.

Ms. Thornton just put her finger on the problem. The government is trying to impose a new diet that children are not accustomed to. It’s not reasonable to expect them to either eat what the government deems healthy or go hungry.

Many will opt to go hungry, and that’s the government’s fault.

http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2012/09/23/complaints_mount_against_michelle_obamas_new_lunch_menu

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School lunch calorie limits leave bitter taste with some Kansas students
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/24/169497/school-lunch-calorie-limits-leave.html

Some Kansas students and at least one political
leader say new school lunch guidelines aimed at limiting calories and
encouraging good nutrition are having an unintended consequence:


Hungry kids.“Here we are in the Wheat State … and
I’ve heard some very sad stories recently about school lunches,” said
Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler.


One was from Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs, where
students and teachers created a YouTube parody, “We Are Hungry,” that
blasts the new calorie guidelines:Give me some seconds, I,

I need to get some food today

My friends are at the corner store

Getting junk so they don’t waste away …

The
video, based on the Fun. hit “We Are Young,” shows students staring
woefully at lunch trays, stuffing lockers with junk food, collapsing
during volleyball practice and crawling on the ground in exhaustion.“There’s
just not enough” food, said 16-year-old Callahan Grund, a football
player and star of the video. By Friday it had garnered 48,000 views –
more than 62 times the population of Sharon Springs, a farming town not
far from the Colorado border.“When you have chores in the morning and football practice after school, you need energy. … This doesn’t cut it,” Grund said.

The
major sticking point: a new federal rule that sets calorie maximums for
school lunches — 650 calories for elementary-schoolers, 700 for
middle-schoolers and 850 for high-schoolers.Protesters in Kansas
and elsewhere say 850 calories isn’t enough for some high-schoolers,
particularly athletes who can burn calories by the thousands.State
education and nutrition officials say portion sizes at most districts
haven’t changed. Students in Wichita, for instance, can get more food at
lunch this year because there’s a wider array of options, a la carte
items and nearly unlimited servings of fruits and vegetables.Pockets
of protest seem to be coming from districts that once ignored calorie
maximums, said Cheryl Johnson, director of child nutrition and wellness
for the Kansas Department of Education.Until this fall, districts
that opted to spend more could supplement standard school lunches,
serving larger portion sizes and offering extra servings of entrees,
breads and other high-calorie items.“Some schools were providing
excess food, above the requirements and the nutrition guidelines,”
Johnson said. “That’s the reason we’re seeing some comments and
protests.“For the most part, we feel the new guidelines and menus are being well-received.”

Brown-bag protests

The
new guidelines — the first major overhaul of school meals in 15 years —
also require cafeterias to serve less fat and sodium and more fruits,
vegetables and whole grains.Linda O’Connor, an English teacher at
Wallace County High School, penned the “We Are Hungry” parody after a
colleague, Brenda Kirkham, posted a photo of her school lunch on
Facebook and sparked dozens of outraged comments.The lunch
included one cheese-stuffed bread stick, a small dollop of marinara
sauce, three apple slices and some raw spinach. Kirkham supplemented the
lunch with items from a salad bar, including cubes of ham, bacon bits
and dressing, which were available only to teachers.“I asked why
the sauce had no meat and I was informed that due to the breadsticks
containing cheese, the meat would put us over the guidelines for
protein,” Kirkham wrote.“Now think of a high school boy who works
out at least three hours a day, not including farm work. … I’m furious.
The ‘cheese’ inside the breadstick is approximately three bites. This
is ridiculous.”In past weeks, students in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania
and St. Mark’s school near Colwich have organized brown-bag protests,
packing their own lunches instead of buying school meals.Huelskamp
and Rep. Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, have introduced a bill
that would repeal the calorie maximums imposed by the Healthy,
Hunger-Free Kids Act, which won congressional approval in 2010.Huelskamp
said the new lunch guidelines are “a perfect example of what is wrong
with government: misguided inputs, tremendous waste and unaccomplished
goals.”He also opposes rules that require students to take
servings of a fruit or vegetable at lunch, regardless of whether they
plan to eat it.“If every member of Congress would actually go
into a school cafeteria and take a look at the trash can, they’d see
that what sounds good on paper doesn’t always work out like you think,”
Huelskamp said.Planning other meals

Vicki Hoffman, director
of nutrition services for Wichita schools, said reaction to the new
lunches so far has been mostly positive.Wichita schools cut down
on waste by setting up “share tables,” where students can leave items
such as bananas, oranges or packaged foods they don’t want.“There’s
still some waste, but not as bad as we might have expected,” she said.
“We’re also seeing kids eat things they might not have eaten before.”Johnson,
the state official, said claims that school lunches don’t provide
enough food to keep high school athletes energized through practice are
unfair and misguided.“It’s one meal. It is designed to meet the
nutrient needs of an average student of that age group, but it’s never
going to meet the needs of students who burn far more calories,” Johnson
said.“We need to encourage breakfasts at home or at school. We
need to encourage students to take all of the items at lunch and then to
plan for after-school activities by packing a healthy snack.”School
districts that once financed bigger lunches could continue to offer
extra food and comply with the calorie restrictions by establishing an
afternoon snack program, Johnson said.Parents of athletes and
other active children should make sure they have a healthy snack between
school and practice, Johnson said.“The guidelines don’t say this
is the only food a student should have all day,” she said. “We know
from research that it is much better to have six small meals and snacks
during the day as opposed to a lot of food at one time.”Sam
Eckels, a sophomore at Northeast Magnet High School in Wichita, said his
school lunch portions — one recent day it was steak fingers, mashed
potatoes with gravy, peas and applesauce — are adequate. But he packs
fruit snacks and a sports drink to keep him going through after-school
basketball conditioning at East High.“The lunches are pretty good,” he said last week. “I don’t see any difference from last year.”

Kirkham, the Sharon Springs teacher, said she has started letting students eat snacks during her afternoon classes, even in art.

“I
have quite a few football guys come in here, and I’m like, ‘Hurry up
and eat so it doesn’t get on your project,’ ” she said. “I mean, they’re
starving.“This isn’t about some spoiled kids who want too much food.”

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/24/169497/school-lunch-calorie-limits-leave.html




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