Trump admin to move to relax school meal standards

[bmw]

Now THIS is something I am opposed to.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ts-wrapper

This is a rather lengthy, detailed article, so I won't quote large chunks of it here. But the bottom line is that the Trump administration is moving to relax Obama-era standards for school breakfasts and school lunches.

I worked at a public school from 2011-2014 and ate school lunches almost exclusively during that entire time. Not only were the lunch options healthier than when I was actually a student, but there was a lot of variety and the food actually tasted a lot better than what I remember from 20 years ago. I see no reason to reverse some of these food standards. Studies have shown time and again that processed foods are unhealthier than processed ones. Top that off with the fact that today's generation is already one of the unhealthiest, most obese generations in history, and I'm just against doing this. Without parental guidance, children will almost always choose pizza or burgers over the healthier options, if available. And if kids don't like what's being served today, they can bring their own lunch.

[zzand]

In my school district when the new rules came down the school system found hiring a catering company cost less than buying the food and cooking it in house, The same company that supplies meals to the county jail. The net result was three quarters of the food service staff lost their jobs and food waste went through the roof as students thought the food sucked. I did a job day at the high school and along with the other folk who were there for the event ate the school lunch. Wouldn't have fed it to a dog. more then 70 percent carry lunch from home now, with the free and reduced lunch crowd being the only ones who eat the school lunch. To combat this the school opened a second line, soup, a wrap and salad. It has been a resounding success. The students don't mind healthy, they mind food that tastes like shit.

[bmw]

That sounds to me like a local problem as my experience was VERY different. Our school had competent people running the school lunch program and the results were excellent.

[km1125]

The federal government should have NO BUSINESS dictating what kids eat in schools.

If YOU want your local schools to have decent meals for the kids then YOU should go to school board meetings or run for the school board. It should be the LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD that dictates these actions, not someone from Lansing or Washington D.C. !!!

Just because someone in Washington doesn't say "you must do it this way", doesn't mean you should not have the freedom and control to do what needs to be done locally. You want healthy meals in your local schools? HAVE AT IT!

[bmw]

Just because someone in Washington doesn't say "you must do it this way", doesn't mean you should not have the freedom and control to do what needs to be done locally.

So are you advocating for no federal standards whatsoever? Just curious.

I know how local school boards are run. The politics inside of these boards is often worse (if that is even possible) than the politics that goes on in Washington DC. And if feeding kids literal garbage saves a buck or two, that's how it's going to be. The idea that local citizens have any say-so in what goes on in a local school board, while true on paper, is a fantasy in the real world. And stuck in the middle are kids who have no input.

I'm a libertarian on a LOT of issues. I also support local control on a LOT of issues. This isn't one of them.

[audiophile]

Are feds paying for it?

[bmw]

I do know that just under 10 percent of all local school funding comes from the federal government. How that breaks down as far as where the money goes (ie, whether any of it is spent on food or not) I do not know. I'm not sure that's relevant though. For me, food standards for kids falls into the same category as safety standards. It isn't about money. The federal government does have at least some role in ensuring that students are safe.

[km1125]

Just because someone in Washington doesn't say "you must do it this way", doesn't mean you should not have the freedom and control to do what needs to be done locally.

So are you advocating for no federal standards whatsoever? Just curious.

I know how local school boards are run. The politics inside of these boards is often worse (if that is even possible) than the politics that goes on in Washington DC. And if feeding kids literal garbage saves a buck or two, that's how it's going to be. The idea that local citizens have any say-so in what goes on in a local school board, while true on paper, is a fantasy in the real world. And stuck in the middle are kids who have no input.

I'm a libertarian on a LOT of issues. I also support local control on a LOT of issues. This isn't one of them.

Absolutely. No standard requirements by some federal bureaucracy. If the school systems or state want to assemble an organization that is country-wide to come up with some recommendations, then that's perfectly fine with me. If local folks can't find it important enough to vote in folks they think are representative to their local area then shame on them and they get what they deserve. If the local board is feeding their kids "crap" then they need to take on the responsibility of resolving that issue - either by going directly to the school with appropriate food, or by showing up at the voting booth and fixing the problem.

That's why public schools are such a disaster as they are... NO ONE LOCALLY gives a crap to do anything to fix it. There is PLENTY of money floating around already to have high quality education in ALL districts in our state.

[bmw]

If local folks can't find it important enough to vote in folks they think are representative to their local area then shame on them and they get what they deserve.

So the children get what they deserve, in your view?

[Rate This]

If local folks can't find it important enough to vote in folks they think are representative to their local area then shame on them and they get what they deserve.

So the children get what they deserve, in your view?

I was going to ask the same thing... that’s a hard sell...

[MWmetalhead]

I know how local school boards are run. The politics inside of these boards is often worse (if that is even possible) than the politics that goes on in Washington DC.

AGREED 100%!!!

[Rate This]

I know how local school boards are run. The politics inside of these boards is often worse (if that is even possible) than the politics that goes on in Washington DC.

AGREED 100%!!!

Many of those people on a school board are far less politically talented and savvy than those in DC... Little League vs. MLB might be a good comparison...

[screen glare]

Even after the unspeakable horror in Newtown, CT - the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre of 2012 - almost NOTHING has been done to prevent other school children from dying in frequent unique American lethal mass shootings.

So what makes you think there’d be sensible nutritional standards upheld regarding what can and can’t be served in school lunches to America’s kids?

Many or most lawmakers care only about raising money to be reelected to Congress - for life.

And now - under lawless, “cut regs” Trump - republican senators and representatives worship him as a cult leader - never opposing his unconstitutional desires - with an anti-Obama Trumpian zeal.

In Trumpworld - children are expendable. Unless they’re fetuses.

[Rate This]

Why is public education in the food business?

Because the kids have to eat....

[km1125]

If local folks can't find it important enough to vote in folks they think are representative to their local area then shame on them and they get what they deserve.

So the children get what they deserve, in your view?

I was going to ask the same thing... that’s a hard sell...

The PARENTS and constituents in that city get what they deserve. It's not the federal government's job to tend to your kids or raise your kids, nor should it be some bureaucrats idea 1000's of miles away that dictates how your kid should be treated in schools. If you want to delegate it to the state, I'd be more interested in listening, as they are most likely paying the bulk of the school costs.