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LAUSD Students Roundly Reject Healthier School Lunch Menu

Camlon said:
This is complete BS. I have nothing against people eating healthier, but bringing them disgusting food that they will never eat is not a solution. They will just bring food from home. A better solution is to improve the food they already have.

It is a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences.
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What makes you think it's disgusting? Here's a couple of their lunch menus:

Oven Baked Pizza Whole Kernel Corn
Omega Fruit Cup Plum
Veggie Option: Black Bean Burger

Natural Roast Turkey & Au Jus Whole Wheat Roll
Green String Beans
California Fresh Fruit
Veggie Option: Garden Burger

Chunky Beef & Vegetable Stew
Corn Bread
Baby Carrots
Veggie Option: Tortellini & Butternut Squash Sauce with String Cheese

Does anyone think those are 'disgusting'?
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
This is a good analogy. There is a difference between support/non-support and dictating/non-dictating. The government, in this case, chooses to not support unhealthy food choices. The kids can STILL make those unhealthy decisions if they want. There is no government control, here.
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Yep its not about "control" its about no longer "aiding".

Now again I dont know what is being served but simply limiting junk is a GOOD thing not a bad thing. If the kids dont like it then by all means the can bring junk from home.
 
WhyteRash said:
its simple.. if you dont want what the publicly funded school is providing, then take your kid out and enroll them in a private school or homeschool them.
otherwise get over it.

there is no draconian push to make kids eat the food served in school.

the only downside to this is the big businesses that have purchased the right to sell their product resembling food as nutritional, through purchased legislators.
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No - we do not have to just accept *whatever* they want to do.

They are able to function - because we pay the taxes that enable them to function. They rely heavily on donations and fund raisers and parental cooperation and support to continue to function.

Just because it's mass quantities doesn't mean it needs to taste like crap or that parents have no say in anything.

Do you honestly believe that we don't mean much?
 
I have nothing wrong with the intent of giving children healthier food, but craptastic food no one wants to eat?

And the parents are reacting, by dropping their paying for the ****. Here at home my son has a loaded card for school lunches, but he's required, by me, to pack a lunch at LEAST twice a week.
 
Andalublue said:
What makes you think it's disgusting? Here's a couple of their lunch menus:

/snip

Does anyone think those are 'disgusting'?
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Sure beats sloppy joes, runny apple sauce, and over-cooked broccoli - what we had at least once a week when I in school. Fridays were pizza day and we usually had over-cooked chicken nuggets once a week.

These kids need to learn a little gratitude.
 
IIRC it was public buildings that had been some of the first places which removed cigarette vending machines and banned smoking back in the day.

If the government is doing the serving then maybe they need minimize the amount of possible side effects and potential liability from what they are selling or providing.

Somehow I imaging that if the schools had been serving Twinkies and Ding Dongs someone would be crying that the government is wasting tax dollars on luxurious and extravagant stuff that isn't necessary to sustain life

Maybe some parents can keep their kids in check while they are at the dinner table/home by feeding them only health diets but when the kids get sent to school with money to buy lunch those kids could get a hold of sweets that aren't allowed at home which should be unacceptable IMO, the school should be the last place the parents need to worry about their kids being mistreated diet wise or otherwise.
 
MrVicchio said:
I have nothing wrong with the intent of giving children healthier food, but craptastic food no one wants to eat?

And the parents are reacting, by dropping their paying for the ****. Here at home my son has a loaded card for school lunches, but he's required, by me, to pack a lunch at LEAST twice a week.
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And that's very subjective.
 
Krhazy said:
The problem that was solved was the school offering only unhealthy, disgusting food to students.
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Offering, instead, “healthy” foods that are so disgusting that the children won't eat them really doesn't seem like much of a solution.
 
Bob Blaylock said:
Offering, instead, “healthy” foods that are so disgusting that the children won't eat them really doesn't seem like much of a solution.
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Have you ever had Pad Thai? It's delicious.
 
MrVicchio said:
I applaud the entrepreneurial spirit, wholesale rejection of planned forced living and frankly just kids being kids in this whole affair. You cannot force people to live the way you want them too, not in a free society.
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As long as tax payers are paying for the meals at public schools it is fair to dictate what a public school cafeteria can and can't serve.If the kids choose to not eat it then that is their business.Boring Bob does have the right idea.Take what the kids are familiar with and make it healthy and I do not mean tossing out real food and replacing it with vegan ***** crap.
 
Hatuey said:
Have you ever had Pad Thai? It's delicious.
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Is Pad Thai made at a school where they go for the cheapest ingredients any good?
 
MrVicchio said:
I have nothing wrong with the intent of giving children healthier food, but craptastic food no one wants to eat?

And the parents are reacting, by dropping their paying for the ****. Here at home my son has a loaded card for school lunches, but he's required, by me, to pack a lunch at LEAST twice a week.
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"Craptastic", maybe compared to Twinkies and Ho-Ho's. Still if your going to sit here and rally against "government force" here over unhealthy lifestyle choices and then support other government force like the War on Drugs; you're a hypocrite.
 
Hatuey said:
Have you ever had Pad Thai? It's delicious.
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No, I haven't. If I had a good example of it, I might agree that it is very well worth eating.

But it seems to be quite apparent from the article that the version of it included in these school lunches was not something that a large portion of the children found to be worth eating. However much you or I or anyone else might like some well-prepared version of Pad Thai, doesn't mean anything at all if the school is trying to serve a version of it to these children, that the children find unappetizing.
 
jamesrage said:
As long as tax payers are paying for the meals at public schools it is fair to dictate what a public school cafeteria can and can't serve.
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It seems fair for whom to dictate this? The taxpayers themselves, some body of elected representatives who are accountable to the taxpayers, or some group of faceless bureaucrats who are not at all accountable to the taxpayers?

Just where is the connection that you claim between paying for something, and dictating the terms of how this money is to be spent?

Something tells me that the children who are rejecting this food are much more closely connected to the taxpayers who are paying for this food (being the children of these taxpayers) than are the officials who are dictating the content of this food.
 
Bob Blaylock said:
It seems fair for whom to dictate this? The taxpayers themselves, some body of elected representatives who are accountable to the taxpayers, or some group of faceless bureaucrats who are not at all accountable to the taxpayers?
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The tax payers and their elected representatives.


Just where is the connection that you claim between paying for something, and dictating the terms of how this money is to be spent?
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If you are a tax payer you have every right to dictate what goes on at schools,what is served at schools and to have elected representatives do this as well.

Something tells me that the children who are rejecting this food are much more closely connected to the taxpayers who are paying for this food (being the children of these taxpayers) than are the officials who are dictating the content of this food.
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Judging by this article it was children who helped pick out these healthy alternatives.

L.A. schools' healthful school lunches panned by LAUSD students - latimes.com
 
Kids, no let me rephrase that, nobody is going to eat food they find distasteful, healthy or not. It's obvious that the kids find this food distasteful. You are never going to be able to force them to eat anything that doesn't appeal to them.

As noted, make the foods they do enjoy healthier. Lower fat cheese and wheat buns on the cheeseburgers.
 
Just because it's healthy doesn't mean it tastes like ****.

Just becaue it tastes like **** doesn't mean it's healthy.

Ok - sounds like they need to get in tune with the cultural and regional preferences and find ways of makin those dishes less fattening / lower in calories / lower in sodium rather than trying to offer foods that no one really wants in that area.

Per kids and eating foods they don't like: I have the power to make this happen because I'm Mom . . . i'm afraid a school can't take away my kid's toys, though - in fact: they don't actually care if the kdis throw away food without eating it as the stupid serving habits of my kid's school has proven: if it's paid for they don't care whether the kids even HAVE the utensils to eat it with!
 
MrVicchio said:
How delusions, you claim "Healthier Alternative" but there is only the Government approved alternative, which has been solely rejected by the poor saps forced to eat crap food. An alternative implies choice.



No they were given only "health foods" or bring their own.


Recess Makes Kids Smarter | Scholastic.com



Obviously Gym class isn't strenuous enough now is it?
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And how do you propose making it more strenuous without resorting to some kind of compulsion by the school and teachers - something you claim take away their freedom? It is not easy for an overweight kid to be active.


Your reality is only offering "health foods" in school is just a choice for kids to eat smarter, recess is almost gone in many schools and just having a "gym period" counts as a workout.

YOUR reality does not jive with REALITY, I suggest you educate yourself on what's going on rather then what you think should be.
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There's nothing about recess that makes children healthier if they still eat unhealthy food. I know since I had them. If the school fails, it fails in not teaching the students to make good choices about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
 
What I find quite funny is that people are here arguing that "the government" pushed these meals on the kids, however, if this was the case it would be the local government rather than the Feds. Seems that people can't separate between the two.

In addition to this, I think that if the kids rejected the meals that were given to them two things should happen:

1. Those rejected meals are donated to a homeless shelter or food pantry so as to ensure that the food does not go to waste.

2. Ask the kids themselves what they want and just make healthy versions of the food kids want.
 
1Perry said:
As noted, make the foods they do enjoy healthier. Lower fat cheese and wheat buns on the cheeseburgers.
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That's like trying to polish a turd.

The kids find the food distasteful because they're used to a certain thing, maybe it'll take time but that doesn't mean you throw up your hands and give up.

At my High School in Canada my last year they went down the Healthy Route, they made the pizzas dough and burger buns whole wheat... but what the hell does that matter when everything in it and on top of it is what's really causing the harm? A few whole wheat buns isn't going to change anything, the entire attitude towards nutrition is what has to be changed, and that's not going to happen by polishing turds.

Oh and something I forgot the OP failed at, was trying to convince people that kids were being forced to have this food, whilst at the same time having a victory parade over the fact they were able to bring in their own food and eat what they wanted...

Yeah that doesn't make much sense.
 
WhyteRash said:
its simple.. if you dont want what the publicly funded school is providing, then take your kid out and enroll them in a private school or homeschool them.
otherwise get over it.

there is no draconian push to make kids eat the food served in school.

the only downside to this is the big businesses that have purchased the right to sell their product resembling food as nutritional, through purchased legislators.
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My preferred solution is to go to the root to the problem and separate school and state. Take the operation of our schools away from the purchased legislators and give it back to people who must serve the needs of the customer.
 
Andalublue said:
What makes you think it's disgusting? Here's a couple of their lunch menus:

Oven Baked Pizza Whole Kernel Corn
Omega Fruit Cup Plum
Veggie Option: Black Bean Burger

Natural Roast Turkey & Au Jus Whole Wheat Roll
Green String Beans
California Fresh Fruit
Veggie Option: Garden Burger

Chunky Beef & Vegetable Stew
Corn Bread
Baby Carrots
Veggie Option: Tortellini & Butternut Squash Sauce with String Cheese

Does anyone think those are 'disgusting'?
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I didn't say every single meal is disgusting. I was just talking about the food they threw away. Just look at the picture at the CBS report. Do they really believe the students are going to eat that?

lausd-kitchen.jpg


And the ones they said in the article they were throwing away was this
vegetarian curries and tamales, quinoa salads and pad Thai noodles
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When they are serving that, what do they expect? The things you talked about above, probably don't get thrown away.

Some of you say that we have to change the habits. The habits won't be changed by making it more normal to bring unhealthy food from the outside. Just serve normal food that is neither super healthy or unhealthy. It does not have to be pizza or hamburgers, I'm sure most students eat chicken, rice, potatoes, salad, carrots, lassagne, etc. Just don't serve quinoa salad!
 
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Centinel said:
My preferred solution is to go to the root to the problem and separate school and state. Take the operation of our schools away from the purchased legislators and give it back to people who must serve the needs of the customer.
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Some people will try to commodify anything and everything pretending it's in the interests of the consumer, but we know who it usually benefits and, in this case, it sure as hell wouldn't be the kids.
 
Jetboogieman said:
That's like trying to polish a turd.

The kids find the food distasteful because they're used to a certain thing, maybe it'll take time but that doesn't mean you throw up your hands and give up.
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Did I say the answer was to give up?

At my High School in Canada my last year they went down the Healthy Route, they made the pizzas dough and burger buns whole wheat... but what the hell does that matter when everything in it and on top of it is what's really causing the harm? A few whole wheat buns isn't going to change anything, the entire attitude towards nutrition is what has to be changed, and that's not going to happen by polishing turds.
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Sorry, we are not going to quit eating meat. It isn't going to happen. As far as pizza goes......tomato sauce is not bad for you. Cheese is not bad for you. A little meat on top of that is not bad for you.

Oh and something I forgot the OP failed at, was trying to convince people that kids were being forced to have this food, whilst at the same time having a victory parade over the fact they were able to bring in their own food and eat what they wanted...

Yeah that doesn't make much sense.
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No, but argueing that they will indeed eat what others want them to eat and they will learn to live with it is not the answer either.
 
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