This just in from the Food Police Chronicles ….
A state employee required a preschooler at West Hoke Elementary in Raeford, North Carolina on January 30, 2012 to eat chicken nuggets during lunch because her lunch brought from home was not nutritious enough.
The child’s lunch contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, potato chips, and apple juice.
The state agent decided that the girl’s lunch did not meet USDA guidelines and required that the child be given a “healthier” alternative. Â Furthermore, the state agent apparently inspected all the children’s lunches that day in the four year old classroom. Â No word if other children were asked to eat chicken nuggets as well.
USDA guidelines mandate that all children’s lunches contain one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables even if the lunch comes from home. Â The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires child care providers to supplement children’s lunches with whatever compulsory items are missing.
The mother of the child who ate the three chicken nuggets, who prefers anonymity fearing retaliation, said she received a note from the school warning her that her child’s lunch was not nutritious enough and that noncompliance in the future could result in fees from the school cafeteria.
Since when are industrially processed chicken nuggets (aka “pink goo”) fried in genetically modified, rancid vegetable oils and nuked in a microwave healthier than a turkey and cheese sandwich and a banana brought from home?
School cafeterias don’t even qualify as real kitchens in most cases as cafeteria workers only have access to giant microwaves that quickly heat up the overly processed, factory fat laden, genetically modifed, agricultural dumping ground food they serve.
Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, says that bureaucratic rules require that schools buy food only from the cheapest bidder.
The sad truth is that only the cheapest, most nutritionless, most highly processed garbage food makes the cut for the school lunch program.
Many parents are choosing to pack their children’s lunches until better food is served at school, but apparently these efforts are being thwarted by the Food Police who are determining that homepacked meals are not up to snuff.
This story is yet another outrageous overstep by an overly aggressive, nanny style government increasingly insistent on raising our children according to its own standards while ignoring our own.
Only a lawsuit is going to stop this sort of thing from progressing and getting worse in the future. Hopefully, this mother can gather her courage and file a legal complaint immediately to force these overzealous government workers back in their bureaucratic box.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I am appalled by the school’s decision to take her lunch but I’m equally appalled that it is being held up as the new status quo by an intrusive government. That is just fear mongering. You did not mention in your post, and I rarely see anyone up in arms about this acknowledge the fact that when broader authorities were contacted it was agreed that the parent was in the right. This is one crazy whack job who overstepped and was told to stop. If you want to talk about government intrusion in the schools, lets talk about No Child Left behind which was dreamed up by the right and followed along blindly to by the left.
This story really gets under my skin. I have been awake and paying attention to the slow erosion of our freedoms and the continual government creep into our lives for years now. This just shows that they will stop at nothing to control us. Make no mistake, this isn’t about providing a healthy meal to your children (otherwise they would offer truly healthy options), it is about control.
A lot of people want to homeschool and I think that is the best way to go anymore. For those who can’t do this because of work, maybe find a good friend or relative that stays at home and ask them to do it for you. So long as it is someone who you know will do a good job, it is a far superior option than the public school system. You can even pay them for “babysitting.” There are always alternatives – sometimes you just have to be creative!
If that was my child I would take her out of school and never go back… How dare they!!
Mothers should be allow to feed there children what they believe is right. We know our kids better than anyone. Some of us need more meat than grains, and some of us don’t eat grains everyday…
Governments will always be incontrol. So I guess home schooling is sounding more and more appealing…
Sarah,
This actually just happened to my daughter about a month ago. When I picked her up from school she told me she “bought” lunch. I asked her what she meant and she told me the lunch lady walks around looking in the kids lunches and since I didn’t pack her a sandwich she was told to go get the nasty chicken nuggets. I didn’t pack a sandwich because she didn’t eat them and the lunch lady told her she had to have a sandwich in her lunch. So I told my husband as soon as we got home and the next day he was at the office talking to the VP and he got furious saying the lunch lady has no right to tell a child wheather she thinks their lunch is healthy or not.
The stupid thing is… why give her chicken nuggests? How did THAT make her lunch meet the ridiculous “criteria”? She had turkey in her sandwich. If anything was missing, it was a vegetable item (as the rest seemed to be there?). So why not give her, say, a carrot?? How utterly ridiculous.
This did upset me. I pack my Sons lunch daily because the food at the school is full of corn syrup and preservatives. I do not follow the USDA guidelines for lunch mentioned in this article. I pack my Sons lunches based off of his breakfast and dinner. There are days he has no meat, but homemade yogurt w/honey and fresh fruit, a scone and some veggies along with a water other days he has hummus and veggies with pita bread. I think these are perfectly fine lunches and he is eating them. It is also far healthier because they are natural wholesome ingredients not chicken nuggets coming from horrible farmed chickens and containing far more than just chicken… I would choose homeschooling over allowing the school via the Govt. to control what my kid eats at one meal when they are unaware of what he is eating at the other meals
question for you: Where did you get this info? “USDA guidelines mandate that all children’s lunches contain one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables even if the lunch comes from home.”
Can you point me in the direction to find that on the USDA’s website or something? thanks!! 🙂
ah, ok I see the above comment from someone.. so when it says “child care centers” does that just mean preschools or elementary schools?
I got this info from the NC government website that was linked in a Raeford, NC newspaper article about this incident. It seems that the USDA mandates guidelines and the implimentation is up to the state. This official was with the Dept of Health and Human Services/Homeland Security for NC. I don’t know if that would be a federal or state job. My guess would be state. Also, I found that NC is strapped for money in their statewide luch program because of the limiting of fatty and processed foods in the school lunch programs. Maybe someone is trying to make a point.
It is a state thing because Georgia does not “police” school meals. And you are correct, the USDA has come up with many new guidelines for the school lunch program that includes reducing fat, sodium, and processed foods and adding more whole grains, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables.
Thanks to jamie Oliver the schools here in England offer freshly cooked meals. And we all received a letter telling us to avoid putting sugary foods in the lunchboxes. I wasn’t expecting a whole foods menu but I was shocked to see the menu offers the same old hot dogs etc and sugary desserts every day. I can’t give them to him but they can!
By the way, I grew up in the USA and we didn’t have chocolate milk offered. And no sodas either.