As soon as people start talking about low-fat I tune them out of nutritional advice altogether. Starving children in this way is so self-evidently stupid that I could almost believe it was malicious.

Parents and society just failing children huh?

First off these lunches sound like something someone on a diet would eat. Obese kids are not that way because they are eating school lunches anyways....

And you have a source of free breakfast but can't get your kid there on time? Jesus christ. As a child I grew up poor but my parents always fed me and my mom always said those school lunches were unhealthy anyways.

My wife and I went and voted yesterday. As I pushed the Red Button I thought about Chris Stevens and all the small petty tyrannies we've had to endure under the Obama Administration. This one comes to mind as a reason I voted.

I remember the lunches I had in the cafeteria when I was a child. Full of fat. Not so tasty, but full of energy. Homemade fluffy rolls, with chicken fried steaks. Hamburgers. Green beans made the Southern way, with plenty of bacon. Planks of fish. Chicken nuggets. French fries.
We only had two children in our grade who were morbidly obese; the rest of us needed the energy these lunches gave us.

"Two [six-year-olds] were crying inconsolably ... they eventually confessed that they hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before."

Because their parents decided to have kids but apparently can't be bothered to feed them. We expect teachers to play the role of social worker, then wonder why the school systems suck.

This is what sticks out in my mind - more than what is being served for lunch.

If we must hand out welfare payments, I wish we could pay people to not have kids.

"There is a choice of up to 2 vegetables, usually one hot vegetable choice and maybe a cold vegetable, such as sliced cucumbers or a very small (1/2 cup?) romaine lettuce salad with 1 or 2 cucumber slices and a wedge of tomato."

1/2 cup of lettuce as a salad? Who came up with these ridiculous serving sizes? Anorexic old women? Scrooge?

They seem to be the bureuacratic standard. When you ask how much "five servings of fruits and vegetables" works out to, it ends up being like on dish of Chinese food.

While I feel for the kids, I think that the parents need a wake-up dope slap. If you can't feed your kids, you need more help than school lunches.

While I feel for the kids, I think that the parents need a wake-up dope slap. If you can't feed your kids, you need more help than school lunches.

Agreed. If not a dope slap, then help (perhaps just advice rather than money) in how to provide inexpensive meals. If these kids are eating only during school lunches, that means they're starving on days the school is closed and all summer.

Maybe social services needs to step in in these cases. If the kids are being neglected, it's a bigger issue than getting lunch at school. If the family doesn't have the resources to feed them, that can be addressed with food stamps and other programs.

As for parents who CAN afford to feed their kids lunch, well, school lunches have been unhealthy for a long time. My parents made lunch when I was a kid, which resolved the problem.

I say no school lunches at all, pack em at home, you cant afford it?

Thats your problem, I need my money to pay my bills not yours.

Maybe once I'm done paying my bills I'll donate some.

And quite frankly, I worked 7yrs every other saturday running a food bank. Christ I hate those people

Its too hot, its too cold, why cant I have 12 loaves of bread like that guy even though he has three vouches and delivering food to to of his neighbors and I only have one voucher?

You mean that even though I showed up late I have to wait in line like the people who got here an hour ago are doing?

I have very little symapthy for most of the needy, they aint needy they are lazy. The truly needy werent such flaming assholes about the weather or the fact that they couldnt smoke inside the church that graciouly let us use their parking lot

Amy, I thought as you like the Mitchell&Webb homeoptheic ER skit this one would be apropo for this topic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SavsJYXWgm8&feature=relmfu

Lujlp,

I think they are used to people enabling their bad habits and others feeling sorry for their situation (and them feeling they are entitled to be treated nicely because life was just hard on them for no reason).

I hate people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

I firmly believe the government and their media minions want us on high-carb, low-fat diets so that we are too dumb and fat to fight back. Oh, and implementing these programs in elementary school is the best way to make sure they are too dumb and fat.

Ms Alkon: "...I sometimes eat a half pat of Kerry Gold butter."

I had a friend whose adult son has schizophrenia. One day at a community potluck I was sitting across the table from the son. He pulled a small plate with a whole cube of butter over to himself, cut the cube of butter in half with his fork, and ate it in two bites.

The American middle class, including most of the working poor, enjoys the highest standard of living ever enjoyed by any large population in human history. The Left hates this fact and is determined to fix it.

Seriously, you can't put 1st graders on a diet. That is essentially what this is doing. Give them reasonable portions of fatty foods and just back off the sugar so they don't have the mid-day sugar crash. Eggs, a couple small sausages, toast with butter, milk that is not nearly water; that is a real breakfast.

I am not saying they need to load the plates, they just need to meet the dietary needs of growing children not rabbit food, skim milk, shitty over-cooked veggies and a sugar-free whatever for a sweet.