850 calories only for kids' school lunches

[jlschlangen]

There is a story on KSTP asking if 850 calories is enough for kids.

I think for the elemnetary and maybe the middle school kids yes it is enough, but not for the high schoolers. I say that b/c I was w/ my SIL who does work in a school kitchen w/ food & kids. She was saying the kids are complaining. This is in a city where there are a lot of farms and the kids work on those farms.

So I am asking you: Do you think 850 calories is enough?

[onlyoneboy]

Think of it this way if you need 2000 calories a day this is more than a 1/3 of the calories. I hardly eat 850 calories in a day much less one meal.

[jlschlangen]

I suppose you have a point there OOB. I didn't realize that was how many cal. you need in one day.

[doeeyedgirl]

I understand that kids are growing and need good food, however 850 calories is more than sufficient for one meal.

[sharon]

My guess is if kids are complaining it's not about the number of calories but about the other rules. My understanding is that they can't fill up on carbs anymore and there are a lot more fruits and vegetables in the meals.

[jrose]

850 calories for one meal?!?!?! IMO that is A LOT! Are these kids not getting a good enough breakfast??? No snacks through out the day?

[sharon]

This shows a sample menu before and after the new standards.


www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Legislation/cnr_chart.jpg

[doeeyedgirl]

Well, there is the problem right there! How dare we take away their fat-saturated, carb-filled goodness and replace it with healthy food! *insert sarcasm here*

[sharon]

My understanding is that the 850 calories is only at the upper levels. I think the elementary meals are lower.

But imagine what the calorie count was BEFORE.

[onlyoneboy]

Here is the menu for DS1's school. I don't think it's too bad.
www.sowashco.k12.mn.us/ss/food/public/AWEBSITE2010-11/MenuPage/MenuMain.htm

[nevaehsmom327]

if you ask me, they should be splitting that up throughout the day. it's better to eat 4-6 small meals than 3 large ones throughout your day. if they had breakfast at home, two "meals" or lunch and "snack" at school that totaled the 850 calories, then dinner at home, it's more than sufficient. Part of the problem with a lot of inner city schools though, is that a lot of kids don't get breakfast or dinner at home. The parents rely on the schools to feed their children because they can't afford it.

DD1s school has a pretty good menu. Haven't heard her complain, and she likes getting school lunch more than taking one. I think 850 is plenty, I just think it should be a little more split up rather than having that as ONE meal over a 9-10 hour period.

[dara1012]

I think 850 calories is more than enough for teenagers in one meal. My guess is the ones that are complaining it is because they are choosing to not eat certain parts of the meal and/or they are not coming to school having eaten breakfast so they are hungry already.

My son goes to a preschool/childcare program in an elementary school so they eat the breakfast/lunch from the school, all the menus list the USDA guidelines.

[cakemakermom]

Say a teenager has 3 meals at 850 calories a piece. That comes to 2550 calories in a day. Yes, teenagers tend to need more than the normal person as they are going through their second big growth spurt. You also need to look at the fact that some schools don't offer a breakfast program at all and many poor kids will only get that 850 calories all day. The average man needs around 2000-2200 calories in a day and women need a couple hundred less.

From what I've read, and perhaps it's just in my school district, but they are allowed to go up and get more fruits and veggies if they wish. They are not allowed to get more bread and meat, but they are free to fill up on those healthier items. Supposedly they need to pick a certain amount of fruits and veggies to get through the line. We're going from kids who are used to eating snack cakes and chips for lunch to kids who are learning how to eat healthy. Some schools in the States have had fast food literally in their lunchrooms, and now they're having to implement real food in their lunches.

If I were used to eating chips, pop and cake for lunch every day and now I'm being forced to eat non-processed food that looks like food grown on the farm, that would be a big issue to overcome mentally. Some of these kids have never eaten a piece of fruit in their lives because it's not available in some markets, especially the poorer ones where most families buy on supplemental food support. So naturally they're complaining about not getting their favorite foods with their hot lunches.

[cakemakermom]

kstp.com/article/stories/S2768889.shtml?cat=0
Here's the mink to the story Jodi is talking about.

The football player that's complaining needs to bring something for before his practice or that school needs to have an after school program for the kids that stay after to practice something. I remember being hungry when there was some after school thing I needed to do if I forgot to pack something to eat.

[cakemakermom]

One more link to another article on the same topic: kstp.com/article/stories/S2765569.shtml?cat=0