2mmk
12-06-2002, 04:02 PM
I am sooo angry - need to vent and ask if anyone else has similar sitiations with their school and What can I do?? Where do I go?? Having a relative that works in the school I probably know tooo much, but: I was told that one day, our school started to serve Raw chicken nuggets, one day they served chicken fajitas at a very low temp (40 degrees-means nothing to me except is alot of the food bad/contaminated/have bacteria???) and then one day their lunch was: Chicken nuggets or French toast sticks and sausage - square patty of potatoes and GUMMY WORMS!!!! That was it!!! One of the teachers had went in complaining to the superintendant and left crying!!!! He said gummy worms were ok for a fruit subsitute??? and she was no doctor, when she disagreed on the sugar content being ok. Obviously I don't need to take my problem there. But If choose not to have my kids eat gummy worms, gummy bears. etc.... candy that should be my choice. Our menu's they pass out only say the choice of entree and at the bottom is states: Veg. fruit. bread and milk served, so I don't know exactly what else is being served. I do know many!!! other parents have requested a full menu but it is not happening. I don't want to yell/complain to the school I'll be another one who hasn't gotten anywhere! and with two children in the school system I don't want them being punished. We are from a very small community!! Am I (over-heated) on this???? Should I mellow out?? Where do I go if I want to take this higher that school personnel??? Who regulates the school lunches?? How can they be served this crap!!! That was just one example, their menu's are Gross!!! and yes my kids could carry, but that isn't very nutritional either. Alot of their friends buy, they want to although they say it doesn't tast very good, and If they carried I can control the sugar content. Any suggestions or input I really would appreciate. Thanks for listening!!
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Chelle1977
12-06-2002, 04:18 PM
Are your kids enrolled in a public, state-funded school? If so, the school lunches are supposed to be designed to be nutritionally balanced ... I know here in MO the thought is that many kids do NOT get well-balanced meals at home and school lunch is their only chance at getting many nutrients.
I'm not sure who else you could complain to though I would think you could go to a state official. It might help if you organized the "many other parents" and presented a signed petition.
I'm not sure who else you could complain to though I would think you could go to a state official. It might help if you organized the "many other parents" and presented a signed petition.
Chelle1977
12-06-2002, 04:20 PM
Also, if you serve nutritiously balanced meals at home, does it really hurt for them to have one thing that is a little higher in sugar?
DSW67
12-06-2002, 05:28 PM
In Nebraska, the state regulates the public school lunch program. What state are you from? I think they have to follow USDA guidelines. I would start by talking to the superintendant. Maybe getting enough parents together that are against the current lunch menu, have them all go and talk to the superintendant, they will listen if enough speak out.
2mmk
12-08-2002, 08:36 PM
My children are enrolled in Public schools in the state of Michigan. No it is not bad to have one thing a little high in sugar at school, I am not one that doesn't allow my children to have sweets. They are allowed (usually after they have eaten lunch or dinner) I guess my point being - IT should be my choice and I should see that is what they are going to be served before they are served it!! The particular situations I listed are only a few - there are many others happenings. Thank you for the ideas I think myself and a few other parents are going to keep track of 1 or 2months of lunches and write them on the menus we are sent home and write a letter to a state offical. We had thought about going to School board, but that was already done a year back and nothing was done about it or at least nothing has changed!! We do a have a "free or reduced" lunch program in our school , it just blows my mind that if the "state" or some other place in the government is giving the school money for the children that qualify for free/reduced lunch they are allowed to get away with it. I know the school itself isn't giving these children the free lunches.?! Thanks again for the responses.
Melamom
12-09-2002, 11:11 AM
You should complain to your michigan state school superintendant. Here is the info for that department in MI.
John Hannah Building
South Tower
608 West Allegan
P.O. Box 30008
Lansing 48909
Thomas D. Watkins, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction
Information 373-3324
State Board of Education 373-3900
Write them a letter detailing your complaints and what you have done so far etc. In the meantime why not let your kids take cold lunch so that you can monitor what they are getting. There are guidlines as to how hot or cold foods need to be in institutions so serving foods at the wrong temperature would be in violation of federal standards. The only way to correct this is to complain and since you have been unsuccessful so far you need to take it a step higher. Your childrens health is at stake since undercooked chicken etc. is a prime source for bacteria. Better to raise a ruckus and get this corrected than to wind up with sick children.
John Hannah Building
South Tower
608 West Allegan
P.O. Box 30008
Lansing 48909
Thomas D. Watkins, Jr., Superintendent of Public Instruction
Information 373-3324
State Board of Education 373-3900
Write them a letter detailing your complaints and what you have done so far etc. In the meantime why not let your kids take cold lunch so that you can monitor what they are getting. There are guidlines as to how hot or cold foods need to be in institutions so serving foods at the wrong temperature would be in violation of federal standards. The only way to correct this is to complain and since you have been unsuccessful so far you need to take it a step higher. Your childrens health is at stake since undercooked chicken etc. is a prime source for bacteria. Better to raise a ruckus and get this corrected than to wind up with sick children.
Greenberry
12-09-2002, 11:14 PM
If you ask me, the lunches at (public) school are one of the lesser problems of public schools these days--and those lunches sound pretty bad, don't get me wrong... You've really got to wonder about a place that equates gummi worms with fruit. You should complain, but I don't know if complaining will do you any good, because I have heard that the government agency that oversees school lunches has, in fact, declared that gummi worms ARE an acceptable fruit substitute. Good luck, and keep us posted. I am interested to learn what you find out.
AngelaMDarling
12-21-2002, 05:34 PM
I have a solution: pack your kids' lunches.
?
?
2mmk
12-21-2002, 09:22 PM
AngelaMDarling, thanks for the advice, didn't think of that.
[This message has been edited by 2mmk (edited 12-22-2002).]
[This message has been edited by 2mmk (edited 12-22-2002).]
mydog8mybrain
01-06-2003, 08:27 PM
Good post. I went through the same thing with my kiddos. My oldest is out of school now but my youngest is still there.
I just set my alarm a few minutes earlier and make their lunch. It was a bit of a chore at first but now I kind of look forward to it. Also - I make them go to the grocery store with me to get new ideas on lunches so things don't get boring.
I also stick a little note in with their lunch from time to time and they get a kick out of that.
Good luck
------------------
Those who dispense tough love to their children now should be prepared to receive same back from them in 30 years.
I just set my alarm a few minutes earlier and make their lunch. It was a bit of a chore at first but now I kind of look forward to it. Also - I make them go to the grocery store with me to get new ideas on lunches so things don't get boring.
I also stick a little note in with their lunch from time to time and they get a kick out of that.
Good luck
------------------
Those who dispense tough love to their children now should be prepared to receive same back from them in 30 years.
jazzgal
01-17-2003, 11:08 AM
As crazy as it sounds, gummy worms were determined to be a suitable substitute for fruit, and get this-ketchup counts as a vegetable! The authorities have lost their minds. I think it would be a good idea to organize the parents who agree with you about the quality and safety issues you have. Serving undercooked chicken etc. can cause serious illness, even death, so it should be looked into. Besides the sugar content of the school lunch menus, the fat and sodium levels are also extremely high. When my daughter began elementary school (she's in 8th grade now) we went to the store together and picked out healthy foods like baby carrots, Fuji apples, fat free yogurts, lean lunch meats, mult-grain breads etc. for her lunches. We packed them together the night before so that all she had to do was open the fridge and grab the bag on her way out the door. She is now in middle school where they offer the kids large salads as an alternative to the other slop they serve-she is buying lunch for the first time this year because her friends do but mostly chooses the salads.
Good luck-a request to the school board for a more in-depth menu while at the same time putting together a written complaint to higher-ups in the state should be a good place to start.
Good luck-let us know how you do!
Kim
Good luck-a request to the school board for a more in-depth menu while at the same time putting together a written complaint to higher-ups in the state should be a good place to start.
Good luck-let us know how you do!
Kim
LookingForHealth
01-17-2003, 11:40 AM
Those lunches are not going to change--theyre cheap, theyre fast and they were also here in the 80's as I remember.
Who would want to eat fatty undercooked chicken that will cause them to vomit and have diarrhea, not me!
That nasty cardboard pizza is the worst, it tastes old and is greasy.
I think kids would much prefer stuff bought at the grocery store like 100% juice, apples, sandwiches, fruit bowls, string cheese, yogurt, and some junk for the end...I liked packed lunches as long as the lunch sack had fresh items and tasty items.
Who would want to eat fatty undercooked chicken that will cause them to vomit and have diarrhea, not me!
That nasty cardboard pizza is the worst, it tastes old and is greasy.
I think kids would much prefer stuff bought at the grocery store like 100% juice, apples, sandwiches, fruit bowls, string cheese, yogurt, and some junk for the end...I liked packed lunches as long as the lunch sack had fresh items and tasty items.
2mmk
01-17-2003, 02:48 PM
Thanks to all of you who responded, I see I'm not alone. Myself and a few other parents got together and wrote up a letter to:Superintendant Thomas Watkins Jr. - THANK YOU MELAMOM, for name and address.!! The outcome of it we will probably never know, but in the mean time, I have started to involve my two children in the shopping of lunches, so they pick it, hoping they'll eat it and I always make sure that their dinner is nutrious for them at least I know they are getting two good meals a day. Breakfast - Dinner. Thanks again to all of you.