Obama's school lunch crusade: A disaster for NC
Published June 2, 2014
by Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation, June 2, 2014.
Championed by First Lady Michelle Obama and passed in 2010, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was designed to provide more nutritious school meals for public school children. In North Carolina, this well-intentioned piece of legislation has been a catastrophe, sort of like New Coke.
This week, the N.C. State Board of Education will hear an overview of new federal rules and regulations for school nutrition programs. The following is a summary of North Carolina’s implementation of the law provided by N.C. Department of Public Instruction staff:
- Preliminary projections indicate an increase in food and labor costs by $0.25 for lunch and $0.32 for breakfast by 2015;
- food/labor costs increased between $0.10 – $0.16 per lunch served in 2012 – 2013;
- food waste increased (multiple reasons – student taste preferences, too little time to eat);
- student participation declined by 3% in the paid meal category; overall state-wide participation declined from 62% – 58%;
- whole grains for all foods have not been well-accepted by many students;
- storage space (frozen, chilled, dry) for additional fruits and vegetables is limited;
- continuing education requirements for school nutrition personnel increased significantly; and
- the scope, complexity and intricacy of school nutrition operations increased exponentially.
Just to summarize, The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act raised costs, increased waste, discouraged participation, and made it more difficult for food service employees to do their job.
Way to go feds!
On the other hand, the legislation may actually achieve its goal in a perverse way. Public school children may become healthier as they eat less food, that is, throw away many of the calories provided on their tray. And those who opt out of the school lunch program may bring healthier lunches from home.
June 2, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Joey Allen says:
Waste figure is a made up joke, have wife that is 20 year plus educator and she say's no kids are eating lunch. They all complain of being hungry. They have been told that rules mean starting next year no food can be served (NO FOOD) during school hours next year except approved food in lunch room, this means no birthday parties or parties of any kind in elementary school, nothing, nothing, nothing at all. My middle school daughter has not eaten in lunch room all year, she takes lunch everyday, says food is awful, she used to at least eat 2 or three day as week in past years depending on menu.
June 2, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Norm Kelly says:
It's a safe bet that not much of this information comes as any surprise to lib politicians. The central planners don't care about the kids, they care about control. They don't care about cost increases, they care about control. They don't care that it's more expensive for the states, they care that people/lib supporters/low-information voters BELIEVE that they care about the kids. They don't actually have to care about the kids, it's just the perception that they care that gives them power.
The next thing to come from the central planners will be a law to make it illegal for kids to discard ANY of the food provided by the school system. (just like it will soon be law that every doctor and every hospital will be required to accept obamascare insurance plans.) Garbage cans will be removed from the lunch room. Some type of guards, be it teachers or administration or on-site police officers will show up some day to prevent kids from leaving the table until the tray is completely empty. Force feeding will become the law. After all, just like most other lib rules, it's for the kids so it's gotta be good. Enough low-information and demon voters will accept it that it will be another intrusion that will be allowed to slide. And the used-to-be-news media will explain how important and necessary the new rules are, if they report on it at all.
Central control is the answer. Just ask your friendly neighborhood lib pol. Ask K what her thoughts are on kids refusing to eat the stuff forced on them by the central planners. I'm sorry; I almost forgot K is a lib. Don't ask her an impossible question. It won't be her 'thoughts' that you have to ask her about. You will have to ask K how she 'feels' about kids pitching central planner-provided healthy meals.
What part of central control can ANY lib show that ACTUALLY works? What part of central planner control doesn't have NEGATIVE unintended consequences? There are many cases where the consequences are intended by the libs. You see, if they leave some part of the plan to fail, the obvious answer will be for the central planners to change the policy so that it gives more power to them and leaves less power/control with us! Witness the things K says about Obamacancer. Does she recognize the shortcomings? Yes, it appears so. What is her solution? Well, she's a lib first, an NC citizen somewhere else on the list. K's plan/desire is to increase central planner control of health care delivery & insurance. K's plan also, obviously, includes removing ANY and ALL private businesses from the health care industry. K's plan is called Single Payer. For K and the other libs in Washington, the only solution is MORE intervention by the central planners. Free enterprise, private business is evil; government is good. Just don't look at the NSA or VA medical system. Or the DOJ.
