U.S. Public School Lunches Atrocious

Dear Moms and Dads... pack lunches of your school children who attend public school.

Look at these school lunch pictures... every public school lunch is not created equally.

'Thanks Michelle Obama for the filling lunch': Student photos of paltry school lunches raise alarm on social media - Daily Mail

I don't know that Michelle Obama is to blame for this because the lunches before a rule was enacted focused on bready pizza or greasy french fries and ice cream bars.

In fact, I think that the schools are each provided with certain food items and whoever is in charge at each school cafeteria takes the food products they receive and attempts to fit the new criteria and calorie count.

Whatever happened to a sandwich with two pieces of healthy bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato?

Look at these comparison meals from 2010, the year the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was enacted.

School Lunch Showdown: 850-Calorie Meals Compared - ABC News

Here is the current Nutrition Standards for School Meals from the USDA.

Nutrition Standards for School Meals

And the specific calorie count for each age group.

Daily Amount of Calorie Counts for Nutrition Standards in National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs

You can sift through pages and pages of information and requirements, but basically it says they require schools to offer healthier meals with more fruits and vegetables.

Not every parent has the time or makes the time to pack lunch for their students.  But it could be easy for parents to buy the ingredients for a simple turkey sandwich and teach their children, when they are age ready, to pack their own lunches.  Add an apple to that sandwich along with some carrot sticks and a bottle of water and you have a healthy lunch.

So schools take note:  Sandwich.  Apple.  Carrot sticks.  Water.  Done.

Parents, check your child's school lunch offerings.  If they can't provide a simple lunch like this, then do it  yourself or teach your children how to pack it themselves.

Eating healthy and keeping these food items on hand is the healthy choice!