Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

Big Don

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Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

To encourage healthful eating, Chicago school doesn't allow kids to bring lunches or certain snacks from home — and some parents, and many students, aren't fans of the policy

By Monica Eng and Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune EXCERPT: 3:42 a.m. CDT, April 11, 2011


Fernando Dominguez cut the figure of a young revolutionary leader during a recent lunch period at his elementary school.
"Who thinks the lunch is not good enough?" the seventh-grader shouted to his lunch mates in Spanish and English.
Dozens of hands flew in the air and fellow students shouted along: "We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch!"
Fernando waved his hand over the crowd and asked a visiting reporter: "Do you see the situation?"
At his public school, Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, students are not allowed to pack lunches from home. Unless they have a medical excuse, they must eat the food served in the cafeteria.

Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food choices.
"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," Carmona said. "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception."
Carmona said she created the policy six years ago after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" on field trips for their lunch. Although she would not name any other schools that employ such practices, she said it was fairly common.
A Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman said she could not say how many schools prohibit packed lunches and that decision is left to the judgment of the principals.
"While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments," Monique Bond wrote in an email. "In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom."
Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.
At Little Village, most students must take the meals served in the cafeteria or go hungry or both. During a recent visit to the school, dozens of students took the lunch but threw most of it in the garbage uneaten. Though CPS has improved the nutritional quality of its meals this year, it also has seen a drop-off in meal participation among students, many of whom say the food tastes bad.
"Some of the kids don't like the food they give at our school for lunch or breakfast," said Little Village parent Erica Martinez. "So it would be a good idea if they could bring their lunch so they could at least eat something."
"(My grandson) is really picky about what he eats," said Anna Torrez, who was picking up the boy from school. "I think they should be able to bring their lunch. Other schools let them. But at this school, they don't."
But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."
At Claremont Academy Elementary School on the South Side, officials allow packed lunches but confiscate any snacks loaded with sugar or salt. (They often are returned after school.) Principal Rebecca Stinson said that though students may not like it, she has yet to hear a parent complain.
END EXCERPT
I'd bet dollars to donuts Principal Stinson is lying. How dare you decide what to feed your children?!
 
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Big Don

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Though CPS has improved the nutritional quality of its meals this year, it also has seen a drop-off in meal participation among students, many of whom say the food tastes bad.
I bet that comes with a corresponding drop-off in money...
 

granfire

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I am a rebel that way...I don't pack my kid a lunch to take he happens to like the cafeteria food. But if it were different, I would be furious if I would not have that option.

It's bad enough when you can't give your kid a nutty snack because almost everything contains peanuts and those are not allowed in school...
(which is another story...while I can understand such rules for the elementary crowd, middle school should have allowed them to sprout a brain and realize they can't have stuff that could kill them, thus not messing with other kids' foods...)


But seriously, I have seen many examples of the horrible things institution kitchens do to perfectly good ingredients to render the resulting food nearly inedible...I find this an outrage!
 

LuckyKBoxer

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I am becoming more and more convinced that nothing good comes out of Chicago...
 

CoryKS

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Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food choices.

Principal should be made to write "Protecting students from their own unhealthful food choices is not my ****ing job." 1000 times.


Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.

I'm sure this plays absolutely no part in the decision.
 

K-man

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And we, as parents, have every right to send our children to school with food to maintain their obesity! (Ask Bill, I'm sure it must be somewhere in the Constitution.
icon7.gif
)
 

Twin Fist

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thank the dems, this is just part and parcel of thier "we know whats good for you better than you do" mentaltiy
 

granfire

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And we, as parents, have every right to send our children to school with food to maintain their obesity! (Ask Bill, I'm sure it must be somewhere in the Constitution.
icon7.gif
)


There is somewhere a statute about cruel and unusual punishment! :asian:
I mean, listen to some of the kids when they talk about school food: having to grab extra napkins on pizza day so they could dab the grease puddles off before eating it...

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1383171#post1383171

seems to fit into the discussion.
 

David43515

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But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."
Does this guy strike anyone else as an idiot? If I`m packing my kid`s lunch I have TOTAL control of what goes into it. I don`t have control of whether or not they eat it, but neither does the principal have any control over whether or not the kids eat the school lunch.....unless they`re force feeding them as well. If they really want people to think this is about anything other than money, they should just make up a list of foods or types of foods they don`t want the kids to bring. Or here`s an idea, they could but the heck out.
 

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Did anyone see the show where Jamie Oliver went into a number of US schools and changed the canteen food? Similar concept to try and reduce the intake of high fat, high sugar foods and combat childhood obesity.
 

Blade96

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School food often has stuff like wheat, gluten and lactose and peanuts for the unsuspecting. I suffered all my life from gluten and lactose intolerances i never knew i had because i thought the way i felt was normal. If we werent allowed to get stuff from home I woulda went hungry. Also happens at MA seminars. I couldn't eat any of the lunch last year at one shotokanny one and i was given food later. and was yelled at by my sensei for eating in the training area :( He later apologized sincerely and it was also my fault because i never told him about my intolerances.

In conclusion, I vote that people be alloowed to bring stuff from home or else they should have suitable food choices in the schools. :)
 

Carol

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Did anyone see the show where Jamie Oliver went into a number of US schools and changed the canteen food? Similar concept to try and reduce the intake of high fat, high sugar foods and combat childhood obesity.

I've seen him talk on TED, the man is a powerful speaker. :asian:
 

billc

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Unless you have an enforcer in the cafeteria, making the kids eat the veggies and other "good for you stuff" it goes directly into the garbage. you would need food monitors to keep this from happening, which is how it always works. Institute a law that goes against human nature, and then create the secret police to enforce it.
 

CoryKS

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And we, as parents, have every right to send our children to school with food to maintain their obesity! (Ask Bill, I'm sure it must be somewhere in the Constitution.
icon7.gif
)

How about: we, as parents, have every right to decide if our children are healthy enough to rate an occasional snack? My son is on the track team and goes to karate class 2-3 times a week. He's in perfectly fine shape, but because some other kid is fat he can't have a cookie? **** that noise. And **** anyone who thinks their opinion on what my child can eat has precedence over mine as a parent.
 

granfire

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Yep, my kid was looking forward to having sweet tea for lunch as one of the big kids in middle school, of course this year they took it out.
Sad thing, though it's a truly southern beverage we hardly have any at home...
 

K-man

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How about: we, as parents, have every right to decide if our children are healthy enough to rate an occasional snack? My son is on the track team and goes to karate class 2-3 times a week. He's in perfectly fine shape, but because some other kid is fat he can't have a cookie? **** that noise. And **** anyone who thinks their opinion on what my child can eat has precedence over mine as a parent.
My kids are the same (or were when they were kids). Unfortunately not all families are that way.
Latest Statistics of Childhood Obesity in America :

Obese children have 70 percent chances of remaining obese even in their adulthood.
The rate of childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years.
The prevalence of obesity among children belonging to the age group of 6-11 years has raised from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent, in the year 2008.
In adolescents belonging to the age group 12-19 years, the prevalence has raised from 5.0 percent to 18.1 percent.
70 percent obese youth belonging to the age group of 5-17 years has at least one risk factor of heart disease.
Heart diseases, Stroke, Type 2 Diabetes, Breast Cancer, Sleep apnea, Bone and Joint Problems, Mental disorder like Depression and poor self esteem are couple of the risk factors associated with childhood obesity.
The United States government declared Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes as national epidemic last year.
http://obesity.ygoy.com/overweight-chidren-in-america-childhood-obesity-statistics/
It's not that Australia is any better. I think we are 2nd to the US in the 'Fat' stakes. The generation of kids coming through now is the first in history to have a life expectancy less than their parents. The costs to the community in the next 50 years is going to be horrendous unless someone (read officialdom if you like) is prepared to take action.
 

ppko

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I hope this crap gets changed and doesnt become a trend. I know before my family moved to Germany that the last two schools my oldest went to wouldnt allow you to bring in food from restaraunts which to me doesnt make any sense either, not like that what we would ever wish to send our daughter with but there have been times where we go down and eat with her at school and to be honest there shouldnt be any reason why you can't reward your kids every once in a while. This is just a case of the schools trying to overstep there boundaries it is the parents responsibility to raise there kids right, feed and put clothes on there back noone elses. I hate this crap as much as I do a big Government.
 

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Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

To encourage healthful eating, Chicago school doesn't allow kids to bring lunches or certain snacks from home — and some parents, and many students, aren't fans of the policy

By Monica Eng and Joel Hood, Chicago Tribune EXCERPT: 3:42 a.m. CDT, April 11, 2011


Fernando Dominguez cut the figure of a young revolutionary leader during a recent lunch period at his elementary school.
"Who thinks the lunch is not good enough?" the seventh-grader shouted to his lunch mates in Spanish and English.
Dozens of hands flew in the air and fellow students shouted along: "We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch!"
Fernando waved his hand over the crowd and asked a visiting reporter: "Do you see the situation?"
At his public school, Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, students are not allowed to pack lunches from home. Unless they have a medical excuse, they must eat the food served in the cafeteria.

Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food choices.
"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," Carmona said. "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception."
Carmona said she created the policy six years ago after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" on field trips for their lunch. Although she would not name any other schools that employ such practices, she said it was fairly common.
A Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman said she could not say how many schools prohibit packed lunches and that decision is left to the judgment of the principals.
"While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments," Monique Bond wrote in an email. "In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom."
Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.
At Little Village, most students must take the meals served in the cafeteria or go hungry or both. During a recent visit to the school, dozens of students took the lunch but threw most of it in the garbage uneaten. Though CPS has improved the nutritional quality of its meals this year, it also has seen a drop-off in meal participation among students, many of whom say the food tastes bad.
"Some of the kids don't like the food they give at our school for lunch or breakfast," said Little Village parent Erica Martinez. "So it would be a good idea if they could bring their lunch so they could at least eat something."
"(My grandson) is really picky about what he eats," said Anna Torrez, who was picking up the boy from school. "I think they should be able to bring their lunch. Other schools let them. But at this school, they don't."
But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."
At Claremont Academy Elementary School on the South Side, officials allow packed lunches but confiscate any snacks loaded with sugar or salt. (They often are returned after school.) Principal Rebecca Stinson said that though students may not like it, she has yet to hear a parent complain.
END EXCERPT
I'd bet dollars to donuts Principal Stinson is lying. How dare you decide what to feed your children?!

While I see the schools point....they want to help reduce the amount of fat *** kids in todays world, by offering healthy meals, in the long run, its really not their job, although, a main reason they do do it, is because the parents dont. The schools offer PE, but honestly, that isn't nearly enough to keep people healthy either.

As I said, the school probably feels that some parents dont do enough, so they do what they can, within reason. Just like the sex ed in school. Some think its just the parents job, but the school views it as, well, if parents arent teaching it, someone should.

What are the schools going to do on the weekend? Once Friday hits, between Fri-Sun., a kid could literally pig out on as much junk as they wanted.

IMO, the schools should keep doing what they're doing...offer a healthy lunch and healthy snacks. If a kid wants to bring a lunch from home, who cares, let them bring it. Demanding that they have to eat a school lunch isnt right, IMO.
 

LuckyKBoxer

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While I see the schools point....they want to help reduce the amount of fat *** kids in todays world, by offering healthy meals, in the long run, its really not their job, although, a main reason they do do it, is because the parents dont. The schools offer PE, but honestly, that isn't nearly enough to keep people healthy either.

As I said, the school probably feels that some parents dont do enough, so they do what they can, within reason. Just like the sex ed in school. Some think its just the parents job, but the school views it as, well, if parents arent teaching it, someone should.

What are the schools going to do on the weekend? Once Friday hits, between Fri-Sun., a kid could literally pig out on as much junk as they wanted.

IMO, the schools should keep doing what they're doing...offer a healthy lunch and healthy snacks. If a kid wants to bring a lunch from home, who cares, let them bring it. Demanding that they have to eat a school lunch isnt right, IMO.

Cute another person who believes in the kindness of mankind...
have you seen the school menus nutrition factlist?
I have not seen this particular schools, but I have seen many other schools and not one has been anywhere close to healthy...
If anyone believes this is about the kids health, and not about dollars and cents and the bottom line... then I have some highly nutritious, desert wild veggies to sell you... its gourmet, fairly rare, and has unheard of health benefits... do not listen to the naysayers who would call them weeds... act now before I finish weeding...ermmmm harvesting the crop..
But back to the discussion, here in California a recent school lunch at the highschool when analized showed that it contained almost 1500 calories, and the fat and sodium content was through the roof. no they could go healthy, but then they lose money... so they go with what sells the most.
 

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