June in National Fruit and Vegetable month so I thought I would take this opportunity to discuss school lunch. Now, I would love to hear what you have to say because all I have to go by is what is served in my children’s school.
I know that many kids turn their noses up at may foods and that the school have a tough job of providing food that the kids will eat. But, I do not think that it is right to serve kids over cooked vegetables, over processed meats and white bread just because it is what the kids will easily eat.
From Produce For Better Heath Foundation: Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in School
The school environment greatly influences fruit and vegetable intake among children. As the
variety of food and beverage choices increases and students have more access to snack bar type
foods (e.g. pizza, chicken nuggets, chips, sodas and French fries), they consume fewer servings of
fruits and vegetables (Cullen et al., 2000).
If all that we give kids is bland food, then that is what they are going to get used to eating. “Real food” tastes good and is good for them. I really don’t understand why it isn’t being served. One of my biggest pet peeves in school lunch is corn as the vegetable. Corn is a grain, not a vegetable. So, on the days that corn is served, which is many, there is no vegetable given to the kids.
I am not ever going to start on the snacks that the sell in the cafeteria. That is a whole other issue. What is your experience with school lunch?
