School Food

they took the coke mashines out of our school and replaced with theys frout juoice but there just coke without the fiz..
evey 2 days our school runs out of sandwitches p;isses me off iether i have to have nothing or somthing like greesyass pizza

There's been a lot of stuff in Scotland about school meals. A lot of Schools have removed soft drinks and sweets from all vending machines, Coca-Cola has agreed a deal (first of its kind in the world) to remove its branding from all its vending machines in Scottish schools. Diet coke is still available and all the rest of the drinks are still or water. There has been a general shift towards healthier food in canteens, with some schools using schemes where the pupils gain points on the swipe cards they use for meals for taking healthier options that can then be exchanged for goods or discounts. Others use similar schemes.

I've seen a lot of studies too about the effect of food on people�s general behaviour and mindset. It's said that food can affect the chemical balance in the brain. I can't find any links just now but some of the studies I�ve seen tried out specific diets on school children and prisoners. After a few weeks the pupils were happier, could concentrate better, took in more information, were more awake and alert, had more energy and were generally better behaved. The prisoners were the same and also showed much reduced signs of aggression. Something to think about.




[Edited on 21-4-2004 by kegs]

Interesting stuff. The points system is a neat idea.
I'll have to look for some info on some of the studies you mentioned. It would surely make for some interesting reading.

We don't get to leave our high school for lunch, which is only twenty five minutes long...

Damn, that's not long at all. I remember in highschool we had an hour and 15 mins for lunch.

My highschool insisted they were giving us 1 hour for lunch.. but anyone with first grade math ability could easily figure out they were only giving us 45min.

Think maybe it's time for the teachers and admins to put down the answer books, and actually figure out 11 - 11;45 = 45 ... It's sad really that it's plain right there.. that that's 45 min, and they insisted it was an hour..

Originally posted by AuburnFox
My final point, and I'm verging on ranting here, is that we are talking about ONE meal. If the kid is eating cocoa-puffs for breakfast and a Big Mac for dinner, a cheeseless pizza at lunch isn't going to make a bit of difference.

If they are eating heathy at breakfast and dinner, isn't that 2/3 of the battle?

Schools should be focusing on educating children about nutrition and TEACH them to make good choices. It would serve them far better for life.

I agree with the teaching proper nutrition part. But, as long as the USDA food pyramid is what is taught, our kids are doomed to obesity, diabetes and other poor nutrition issues.
We need to limit our intake of white foods: sugar, flour and rice. Period.
And, as long as my local high school has a Coke truck parked in front of it, I doubt real proper nutrition will EVER be tauaght in school. My advbice: PARENTS wake up and take charge!

-Taking Coke machines out of schools does absolutely nothing besides boost income for the grocery stores, because kids just buy them from there and bring them to school.

-People say its the kids fault for not buying the healthy food at lunch. Well, that's true, seeing how we're LOGICAL and like to save money. No lie- the sandwhiches are $3, while a pack of reeses and a coke would only be $1.50. Seriousoly, no lie.

-Every Friday at my school, the FFA puts on a barbecue (that's the Future Farmers of america for yous guys that aren't down with the southern lingo...). and its goooood. Barbecue, nachos, cokes for just 50 cents, candy for just 50 cents, and Chick-Fila sandwhiches for only...oh just a whopping 3 bucks!!!!! The healthiest thing is the most expensive, so don't yell at us for wasting your money, and then yell because we don't buy healthy food.

-At my school we did a test. We all got shool pizza, nachos, Crispitos, fries, and ...."chicken." Then we got napkins, placed them on top of our food products and saw how much grease they could suck up. I believe the results were:
pizza- 3
nachos-1
crispitos-2 1/2
fries- 1
"chicken"- 2

Let's just say...if ANY food product can fill up an entire napkin with grease, its pathetic. And filling up 3? That's just...blech.

-Alot of kids don't eat until they get home, or they bring their own lunch to school. I mean, at least we're trying. What me and my buddies all do is hop over to Subway after school, grab a sandwhich, and chill for an hour or so. Then we go to the movies and get popcorn and cokes...to balance it out. Hahahaha!

-Many ask, if kids say school food is nasty, then why do they keep eating it? Well, let me Captain Obvious and say....BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO. I got thrown into the principals office one time because I wasn't eating lunch, they thought I was anorexic. Bastards. Also, I know a whole lot of kids whose lunch is the only meal they get. For whoever said that its just one, and they can eat a healthy breakfast and dinner, that couldn't be more false. The ratio is probably 1:5000 of parents who make sure their kids are getting a healthy breakfast and dinner. Most of them are on their own for food, and that usually means drive thru or scroungin up change to buy a candy bar at Walgreens. Also, alot of kids in athletics dont get a breakfast or dinner either, theyre practicing during that time. know that's how it was for me with dancing, I mean I didn't get home until 10 on most weeknights and lets just say that most dance schools dont boast eating.

So basically, school food is a big problem, and yes i agree, it sucks so hardcore I'm actually allergic to te sausage they serve, no lie. But from a kid's standpoint, there isn't much that WE can do. Besides, when we try, we just keep getting told that we're the ones who choose to buy it so its our fault. How about we get some older people (maybe hmm.... PARENTS AND TEACHERS??? Oh wait, that's the PTA isnt it? Pshh) to do something about it. Until then, i've got to go run into line to get my daily portion of heart attack and clogged arteries for only $3.50!


Trust me, I'm a little kid, I know what I'm talking about.

Tha kids are eating more energy than they use, thats basically the problem.

There is also too many low quality carbs and most of it is loaded with saturated fat.

My breakfast and lunch consists of some Porridge(quite nice with some fruit and honey) and a salad sandwhich with slim meat on wholegrain bread.

Also alot of kids eat until there 'full'. You don't always have to eat till a satisfied standard.

Lack of exercise plays a big part, alot of kids are utilizing far too efficiently the simplicitiy devices of today and are becomng LAZY.

Who's 'fault' is it??
Anyone who has any responsibility for the children; school parents government etc. We should educate them to eat healthy food, and maybe give a reward system for doing do, or simply make the healthy food taste and look tasty!
Otherwise we might have to start strict healthy eating programs for kids if they cant stop being stupid.

You need a well balanced diet with daily exercise each day and you'll be all good.(sorry veges; but theres alot of advantages to eating meat and not alot to not eating it.[unless religion] ) - it gives u iron and some other red blood cell stuff that gives you heaps of energy capability.

[Edited on 23-4-2004 by quiksilver]

I also notice a lack of kids outside these days.. when I was younger (I'm only 20 now mind you) me, my cousins, and all my friends, walked, ran, and biked everywhere.. your bike had a flat tire? damn too bad, you friends on their bikes slowed down and you jogged along beside them.. that's the way it was.. and I'm actually surprised.. we could go on for so long jogging along beside the kids with bikes when ours were busted up from doing something stupid :p

I rarely see kids on bikes these days, and never see them walking anywhere.

Don't know why parents are such pussies these days, but back in the day if I told my mom to drive me to the mall, I'd be laughed at... I guess maybe one reason is that people are taught that they have to be pussies to their kids anymore, and any sort of discipline will corrupt your child into a mass murderer?

So I'd say another part of kids being so fat, is parents being afraid to tell them "no" everytime they want a ride somewhere.. and instead of walking/riding a bike to where they want to go, they bitch until they get a ride.

I too never eat at my schools crapiteria, but I am a bit on the chunkified side. Yes our schhol's food is loaded in lard, but the schools best athleat, who weighs a little under 100 LBs, eats there every day.

Who knows, but yea there proabably is a connection.

Originally posted by MrJingles
A kid at my mom's school broke his ankle...

You're mom's still in school? What in the hell is this country coming too?

you're probably being sarcastic, but oh well. His mom's probably a teacher.....

Originally posted by DeltaChaos
You're mom's still in school? What in the hell is this country coming too?

lol
I thought the only school for adults in America was called prison?

Originally posted by parrhesia
you're probably being sarcastic, but oh well. His mom's probably a teacher.....

Me? Sarcastic? Hey, stranger things have happened...

Originally posted by infinite
I thought the only school for adults in America was called prison?

That's right. Crime U. Get your degree in 12 short years. Grand Theft Auto... Armed Robbery... B&E... Insurance Fraud... or earn your high school diploma! CALL NOW!!!

New York's recently implemented a rule which bans soda machines from the school. Thus, rather than having a Diet Coke (argue as you will against the carcinogenic psuedo-sugar), there are Fruitopia and Minute Made machines.

Of course, it's also easy to ignore the fact that these new replacement drinks have the same amount of sugar and calories as a coke does, except they also contain 10% fruit juice. How silly.

I don't think it is the school's responsibility to instill nutritional values in a student, nor is it a school's responsibility to ensure that each student is eating healthy. However, I can vouch for what my high school was like: There simply was not any real "healthy" selection. We had a rather paltry looking salad bar, and that was mostly it.

Rather than an attempt to "substitute" similar products in (That is, high-sugar, high fructose drinks for soda), there should be a whole nutritional overhall in our nation's schools. Of course it'd be expensive and all that, but it's not any cheaper to foot the medicaid bill when all these twelve year olds are diabetics.

our school faced the same problem. Then they came up with a salade bar which overs all sorts of vegetables and salade ingrediants. Very popular with the student population

Originally posted by AuburnFox

Schools should be focusing on educating children about nutrition and TEACH them to make good choices. It would serve them far better for life.

How much are we expecting schools to teach children these days?

We expect teachers to teach them right and wrong, the appropraite shirts to wear, keep them off drugs, get them to do work, prepare them for when they leave High School, help them study to pass their tests, all while trying to teach the cirriculum.

and now u are expecting they also teach kids how to eat right?

If im not mistaken, kids should have learned that back when they first learned to speak and learn, not now that they are in high school and set in their ways.

our school faced the same problem. Then they came up with a salade bar which overs all sorts of vegetables and salade ingrediants. Very popular with the student population

We had a salad bar in middle school. Kind of an oxymoron since there was no salad in it. You had the choice of subway sandwiches (days old), pizza, and some brown stuff nobody really knew what it was.

I agree however, you hardly ever see any kids outside anymore. My friends and I along with my brother were always outside when we were little. We got a nintendo when we were about ten but never really played it.

My little cousins have been playing games since they were about six, and I rarely see them outside. My little cousin who is now eight weighs around eighty pounds, except she is the fifth percentile for height and the ninety ninth for weight. She's just a regular little doughboy now.

pizza pizza I love pizza

pizza prevents cancer!