I am a Minnesotan resident. As a new father, I won't see the benefit of this for a while. But even before I was a father I was all for this. I think too many people in my peer group think "how...
I am a Minnesotan resident.
As a new father, I won't see the benefit of this for a while.
But even before I was a father I was all for this. I think too many people in my peer group think "how will this benefit me".
I'm so proud of my state for passing this. The positive effects this will cause downstream are going to be tremendous.
We grow more human as a society when our families care for one another. We are all in this together.
Same here. However I realise, that my peer group is many lucky and priviledged people. Having dove deeper into relations with other groups of people, cooking with FNB, meeting less priviledged and...
But even before I was a father I was all for this. I think too many people in my peer group think "how will this benefit me".
Same here. However I realise, that my peer group is many lucky and priviledged people. Having dove deeper into relations with other groups of people, cooking with FNB, meeting less priviledged and less lucky people, I fully understand how imporant it is to support each other, to work towards leveling out everybody's chances in this world.
I look at society as a one huge organism. And looking at mine, my body, if some tiny part of it is sick or hurts, I feel sick as a whole. For the body to be healthy, all of its organs have to be healthy. Same with society.
I’m childfree - it’s just not for me. Despite that, I’m 100% in favor of this. This benefits me because they’re the future of our country. Also… they’re kids. If you need to tax me to put food in...
I’m childfree - it’s just not for me. Despite that, I’m 100% in favor of this. This benefits me because they’re the future of our country. Also… they’re kids. If you need to tax me to put food in their bellies, to keep them from poverty, and to give them the best education possible, then do it. If there’s one thing I’m willing to be taxed more for, it’s our country’s children. I know the type of person you’re talking about, but it has never made sense to me in this context. I hate that I have to explain how it’s an investment in our country’s future instead of just pointing out the obvious moral obligation.
The state of Michigan is doing this for the first time this fall. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about it. I recalled my hot lunches in middle and high school, and seen some pictures...
The state of Michigan is doing this for the first time this fall. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about it. I recalled my hot lunches in middle and high school, and seen some pictures from other states.
I was pleasantly surprised by the menu provided. It's given a month in advance, they have you choose which days to minimize work and waste, and the options feed even my picky daughter most days. It's not perfect, but it's way better than it was when I went to school.
Nutrition wise, it's pretty bad. Nothing but fried/fast food and prepackaged junk. Unfortunately, that's the damn diet of way too many kids these days, so trying to clean it up would require some...
Nutrition wise, it's pretty bad. Nothing but fried/fast food and prepackaged junk. Unfortunately, that's the damn diet of way too many kids these days, so trying to clean it up would require some fighting with kids to just try it. So as a parent I say, at least they'll eat it, but I wouldn't call it an ok diet.
I've had a similar conversation with other folks, and while I generally agree Nutrition-wise it's not great, we live in a society where we pack a bunch of extra vitamins and minerals into our...
I've had a similar conversation with other folks, and while I generally agree Nutrition-wise it's not great, we live in a society where we pack a bunch of extra vitamins and minerals into our processed food. Granted they are still full of preservatives, and "flavor enhancers" but the idea that my kids aren't getting a reasonable portion of their needed nutrition by eating 2 school meals a day I have a hard time believing.
The fact that a bunch of it is fried/fast food adds more to the calorie count, which is a separate, but related problem. If my kids eat their full calorie count at school, but still need other nutrients, it means they'll have calories to burn, and that's ok. That's something my wife and I can manage by being active with our kids.
I've seen the lunches provided in countries like South Korea and Japan. I want THAT for my kids more than what I linked above, but I'm also cognizant that's not possible, yet (ever?). The purpose of this program is to feed kids on the poverty line, and give families some sense of food security. I think this accomplishes that well enough.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good, but strive to make good better.
It is a good thing that food is being provided and enough calories but it's a damn shame the nation is so poorly educated on food. And it really starts with what is being fed to kids. They only...
It is a good thing that food is being provided and enough calories but it's a damn shame the nation is so poorly educated on food. And it really starts with what is being fed to kids. They only learn to eat corporate processed human feed rather than learning what food actually is and where it comes from.
As to the calorie count, that's a tough one. It's certainly needed for those who are food insecure, but there's also an obesity crisis even from kids when they've got everything going for them metabolically. Over stuffing on empty calories only leads them to more issues as they age and their metabolic rate decreases.
The nutrition is mid but it's also very discrete, which I also remember from when I was a kid. It's really common thing in stereotypical "american" meals for things to be so weirdly compartimized....
The nutrition is mid but it's also very discrete, which I also remember from when I was a kid. It's really common thing in stereotypical "american" meals for things to be so weirdly compartimized. Like every meal there is basically "something that kids want to eat, something that kids don't want to eat". Mixed fruits? Like the sludge that comes out of a can?
"Broccoli"? Just broccoli? Probably steamed, too...
"Roasted califlower/diced pears" At least it's specificed that it's roasted
"Baby carrots, applesauce"
This isn't how actual cuisine works. Even beyond other cultures, which have similarly mass produced food but is, like, normally composed normal food (as an extreme example, see the mass meals Sikh temples give out), just imagine if you went to a nice restaurant and one part of the meal had only meat and carbs and the only part had only vegetables.
No, actual dishes definitely have, uh, both. The vegetables aren't there to be nutrient padding, they make the actual meal better - like, strictly the dish tastes better with the vegetables.
Really helps develop the stereotypical American phobia of vegetables when they're basically used in the same way a multivitamin is.
Feeding children is endlessly frustrating. I am a good cook. I cook in the way you describe, and always have. And yet my kids still gravitate towards monochromatic nutrient-devoid foods. I don’t...
Feeding children is endlessly frustrating. I am a good cook. I cook in the way you describe, and always have. And yet my kids still gravitate towards monochromatic nutrient-devoid foods. I don’t know what it is but if there is color in it, or for some kids if it ISN’T segregated on the plate, they won’t touch it.
Like I said. Endlessly frustrating. It’s the number one source of tension in my household.
I grew up in an asian household, and the attitude w.r.g to homecooked meals was basically, eat it or leave it. Not my problem. Leftovers in the fridge when you get hungry. And I think that's fine....
I grew up in an asian household, and the attitude w.r.g to homecooked meals was basically, eat it or leave it. Not my problem. Leftovers in the fridge when you get hungry.
And I think that's fine.
I think some people are worried that children will end up nutrient and/or calorie deficient, but 1) people vastly overestimate the degree to which this can happen - underdeveloped children arise from systematic deprivation to nutrients, not being hungry for a day 2) hunger is a very strong stimulus. Things taste a lot better when they're hungry. If something seems unappealing, it'll seem a lot more appealing if it's been 10 hours since you last ate. 3) modern food has an overabundance of calories and can have an overabundance of nutrients
“Now everybody has the food and water and milk — the nutrition — that they need,” she said." Don't all schools provide water or was that just misspoken? They should just up the amount per student...
“Now everybody has the food and water and milk — the nutrition — that they need,” she said."
Don't all schools provide water or was that just misspoken?
They should just up the amount per student schools get from the Feds and require all lunches be free. Nothing is affordable these days, even middle class don't have it so easy anymore. Anyone who can truly afford it are likely paying for private school.
They have fountains, and I never went to a school that sold bottles of water in the lunch line. We also had concessions rin by the school but they were not "school lunch." To clarify, probably...
They have fountains, and I never went to a school that sold bottles of water in the lunch line. We also had concessions rin by the school but they were not "school lunch."
There are quite a few schools across the US that don't have safe drinking water due to high lead levels. I wish I could be more specific, but many states don't require tests for lead. Same goes...
There are quite a few schools across the US that don't have safe drinking water due to high lead levels. I wish I could be more specific, but many states don't require tests for lead. Same goes for PFAS. So technically, yeah, water is available. But it's the kind of water you want your kid drinking.
an op-ed on this subject from last month that I really liked: A radical idea: Just give kids lunch (archive link, and Tildes thread) as I mentioned in that thread, here in Washington state our...
an op-ed on this subject from last month that I really liked:
as I mentioned in that thread, here in Washington state our legislators tried to do this as well, which would have made this headline say nine states instead of eight. but even with a Democratic trifecta (governor and both houses of the state legislature) they couldn't manage to get it passed.
The bill’s title is still “Providing free school meals for all.”
But now the “for all” refers to kids in kindergarten through fourth grade at schools where at least 30% of students meet federal income eligibility requirements for free and reduced lunch.
A community-based approach to schooling is becoming more and more common in my state, with many schools around me actually turning into one-stop-shops for families to get access to housing, food,...
A community-based approach to schooling is becoming more and more common in my state, with many schools around me actually turning into one-stop-shops for families to get access to housing, food, counseling, social workers, and more.
Personally, I tend to gravitate pretty far left, so I like this idea in theory. I've heard a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, but it's hard to say what the real impact is without solid data. As a teacher, I wish people could see how much families are struggling right now. I see it every day in the students. The behaviors and social emotional issues, the financial issues - if you aren't a teacher you probably can't imagine what we are being asked to deal with right now. All of society's shortcomings just get shoved into my classroom and break my heart almost every day. And I'm in a "good" school district in a moderately wealthy suburb.
One thing I'm sure of is that school lunches are such a small thing, and they need to be free for kids if we are even going to pretend to be a developed and humane society.
I am a Minnesotan resident.
As a new father, I won't see the benefit of this for a while.
But even before I was a father I was all for this. I think too many people in my peer group think "how will this benefit me".
I'm so proud of my state for passing this. The positive effects this will cause downstream are going to be tremendous.
We grow more human as a society when our families care for one another. We are all in this together.
Same here. However I realise, that my peer group is many lucky and priviledged people. Having dove deeper into relations with other groups of people, cooking with FNB, meeting less priviledged and less lucky people, I fully understand how imporant it is to support each other, to work towards leveling out everybody's chances in this world.
I look at society as a one huge organism. And looking at mine, my body, if some tiny part of it is sick or hurts, I feel sick as a whole. For the body to be healthy, all of its organs have to be healthy. Same with society.
I’m childfree - it’s just not for me. Despite that, I’m 100% in favor of this. This benefits me because they’re the future of our country. Also… they’re kids. If you need to tax me to put food in their bellies, to keep them from poverty, and to give them the best education possible, then do it. If there’s one thing I’m willing to be taxed more for, it’s our country’s children. I know the type of person you’re talking about, but it has never made sense to me in this context. I hate that I have to explain how it’s an investment in our country’s future instead of just pointing out the obvious moral obligation.
The state of Michigan is doing this for the first time this fall. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about it. I recalled my hot lunches in middle and high school, and seen some pictures from other states.
I was pleasantly surprised by the menu provided. It's given a month in advance, they have you choose which days to minimize work and waste, and the options feed even my picky daughter most days. It's not perfect, but it's way better than it was when I went to school.
Here is a sample of September's menu.
Nutrition wise, it's pretty bad. Nothing but fried/fast food and prepackaged junk. Unfortunately, that's the damn diet of way too many kids these days, so trying to clean it up would require some fighting with kids to just try it. So as a parent I say, at least they'll eat it, but I wouldn't call it an ok diet.
I've had a similar conversation with other folks, and while I generally agree Nutrition-wise it's not great, we live in a society where we pack a bunch of extra vitamins and minerals into our processed food. Granted they are still full of preservatives, and "flavor enhancers" but the idea that my kids aren't getting a reasonable portion of their needed nutrition by eating 2 school meals a day I have a hard time believing.
The fact that a bunch of it is fried/fast food adds more to the calorie count, which is a separate, but related problem. If my kids eat their full calorie count at school, but still need other nutrients, it means they'll have calories to burn, and that's ok. That's something my wife and I can manage by being active with our kids.
I've seen the lunches provided in countries like South Korea and Japan. I want THAT for my kids more than what I linked above, but I'm also cognizant that's not possible, yet (ever?). The purpose of this program is to feed kids on the poverty line, and give families some sense of food security. I think this accomplishes that well enough.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good, but strive to make good better.
It is a good thing that food is being provided and enough calories but it's a damn shame the nation is so poorly educated on food. And it really starts with what is being fed to kids. They only learn to eat corporate processed human feed rather than learning what food actually is and where it comes from.
As to the calorie count, that's a tough one. It's certainly needed for those who are food insecure, but there's also an obesity crisis even from kids when they've got everything going for them metabolically. Over stuffing on empty calories only leads them to more issues as they age and their metabolic rate decreases.
The nutrition is mid but it's also very discrete, which I also remember from when I was a kid. It's really common thing in stereotypical "american" meals for things to be so weirdly compartimized. Like every meal there is basically "something that kids want to eat, something that kids don't want to eat". Mixed fruits? Like the sludge that comes out of a can?
"Broccoli"? Just broccoli? Probably steamed, too...
"Roasted califlower/diced pears" At least it's specificed that it's roasted
"Baby carrots, applesauce"
This isn't how actual cuisine works. Even beyond other cultures, which have similarly mass produced food but is, like, normally composed normal food (as an extreme example, see the mass meals Sikh temples give out), just imagine if you went to a nice restaurant and one part of the meal had only meat and carbs and the only part had only vegetables.
No, actual dishes definitely have, uh, both. The vegetables aren't there to be nutrient padding, they make the actual meal better - like, strictly the dish tastes better with the vegetables.
Really helps develop the stereotypical American phobia of vegetables when they're basically used in the same way a multivitamin is.
Feeding children is endlessly frustrating. I am a good cook. I cook in the way you describe, and always have. And yet my kids still gravitate towards monochromatic nutrient-devoid foods. I don’t know what it is but if there is color in it, or for some kids if it ISN’T segregated on the plate, they won’t touch it.
Like I said. Endlessly frustrating. It’s the number one source of tension in my household.
I grew up in an asian household, and the attitude w.r.g to homecooked meals was basically, eat it or leave it. Not my problem. Leftovers in the fridge when you get hungry.
And I think that's fine.
I think some people are worried that children will end up nutrient and/or calorie deficient, but 1) people vastly overestimate the degree to which this can happen - underdeveloped children arise from systematic deprivation to nutrients, not being hungry for a day 2) hunger is a very strong stimulus. Things taste a lot better when they're hungry. If something seems unappealing, it'll seem a lot more appealing if it's been 10 hours since you last ate. 3) modern food has an overabundance of calories and can have an overabundance of nutrients
You're right, but it's also a matter of cost and ease of use. Feeding a large population cheaply necessitates more processed foods bought in bulk.
“Now everybody has the food and water and milk — the nutrition — that they need,” she said."
Don't all schools provide water or was that just misspoken?
They should just up the amount per student schools get from the Feds and require all lunches be free. Nothing is affordable these days, even middle class don't have it so easy anymore. Anyone who can truly afford it are likely paying for private school.
They have fountains, and I never went to a school that sold bottles of water in the lunch line. We also had concessions rin by the school but they were not "school lunch."
To clarify, probably just misspoke.
There are quite a few schools across the US that don't have safe drinking water due to high lead levels. I wish I could be more specific, but many states don't require tests for lead. Same goes for PFAS. So technically, yeah, water is available. But it's the kind of water you want your kid drinking.
Here's an article that covers it in more detail:
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/water-in-many-schools-isnt-safe-to-drink-heres-what-districts-can-do/2023/03
an op-ed on this subject from last month that I really liked:
A radical idea: Just give kids lunch (archive link, and Tildes thread)
as I mentioned in that thread, here in Washington state our legislators tried to do this as well, which would have made this headline say nine states instead of eight. but even with a Democratic trifecta (governor and both houses of the state legislature) they couldn't manage to get it passed.
WA legislators scrap plan for free school lunch for all students
A community-based approach to schooling is becoming more and more common in my state, with many schools around me actually turning into one-stop-shops for families to get access to housing, food, counseling, social workers, and more.
Personally, I tend to gravitate pretty far left, so I like this idea in theory. I've heard a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, but it's hard to say what the real impact is without solid data. As a teacher, I wish people could see how much families are struggling right now. I see it every day in the students. The behaviors and social emotional issues, the financial issues - if you aren't a teacher you probably can't imagine what we are being asked to deal with right now. All of society's shortcomings just get shoved into my classroom and break my heart almost every day. And I'm in a "good" school district in a moderately wealthy suburb.
One thing I'm sure of is that school lunches are such a small thing, and they need to be free for kids if we are even going to pretend to be a developed and humane society.