school lunches and
forced many families
to start sending
food from home. By
this time, however,
school lunches had
become a big
business, with jobs
that needed to be
maintained, etc.
School boards
therefore started to
make school lunches
generate revenue and
become
self-supporting by
offering a la carte
or pay-by the item
selections. In some
areas, the lunch
programs were closed
down.
A US House Committee
expressed concern in
1996 that only 50%
of low-income
children and 46% of
middle to upper
income children were
participating in a
school lunch
program, so more
flexibility was
given to schools to
choose any approach
just to get more
children to eat at
school.
This flexibility
allowed schools to
comply with dietary
guidelines only on
the federally
subsidized portion
of the meals, while
the revenue
generating a la
carte items did not
have to comply. This
is what opened the
door to the fast
food companies, soda
machines, etc., to
be in the schools.
And this is partly
how we arrived at
the place we are
today, where the
garbage in the
schools does not do
much to help, and
often hurts
children’s school
performance.
Melva Matkin,
principal of an
award winning school
in San Antonio
Texas, recently
lamented: “In
efforts to improve
our school, |
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we analyzed,
scrutinized, and
restructured every
aspect of our school
except food service.
That was off limits
to us. We met with
strong resistance to
making changes
because the a la
carte junk foods
children buy bring
in revenues that
support personnel
positions.”
Inadequate food
intake limits
children’s ability
to learn.
Chronically
undernourished
children must use
their energy for
tasks in order of
most importance.
First comes
maintenance of
critical organ
function, second is
growth and third is
social interaction
and cognitive
function. Most kids
today are spending
all of their energy
on just maintaining
function with little
left over for
learning.
Again, there is
progress being made
with soda machines
coming out of some
of the schools. But
there is much left
to be done. One way
that parents can
help effect change
is to stop
supporting the
school lunch program
by having kids bring
their lunches to
school. Vote with
your checkbook!
We hope these simple steps toward a healthier
lifestyle assist you in winning the fight against
childhood obesity. If you have any questions
you may email us at
info@youngslimkids.org.
We are here to help you in the fight to save
our children.
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