When I was in school, you had two choices for school lunch: go to the cafeteria and get the
leftovers
they couldn’t feed to prison inmates for fear a riot would break out on
the yard, or ride your bike to the local convenience store before class
and build a meal out of cheese doodles, Shasta, and Red Vines. Today's
children haven't even had to expend the energy to get to the store,
since all the crap you could ever want is available at snack bars and
in vending machines on school grounds. It's a wonder kids don't like
school more.
But all that might change: The Institute of Medicine, at the request of Congress, just
developed a two-tiered system of nutritional standards
for all foods sold in schools. Tier 1 foods could be sold at any grade
level, and include things like fruit, whole-grain tortilla chips and
turkey sandwiches. Tier 2 foods would be available only to high school
students or after school hours, and would still be limited in calories,
fat, sugar, and salt. At this point the guidelines are just that:
guidelines.
It’s no secret that schools make money off the sales of sodas, chips, and candy. But with
obesity on the rise
and the fact that many of us would prefer our kids not snack on Ho Hos
every single day, who is going to oppose better nutritional options for
our little ones?
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