Insanity is a dish best served microwaved

I attended the CADA conference last week.  As an exhibitor, I spent a ton of time in the exhibit hall.  Before SB 12/965, schools were allowed to sell pretty much anything they would like.  I used to LOVE going to the exhibit hall to see what fun and exciting products I might be able to introduce as fundraisers at my school the following year. This year, I was so disappointed because most of the exhibits dealt with photos, shirts, or trips.  No more fun candies or unique food items.  Bye, bye sandy candy and eatable rats… gone, gone, gone.

Don’t get me wrong, I think there needs to be some limits on what can be sold. But really there’s got to be a line somewhere.  I feel the worst for our school cafeteria staff who now have turned into the fat wardens.  They have to make sure teachers aren’t sneaking in cupcakes and pizza to class parties.  Their job is already hard enough trying to prepare hundreds of meals a day.  Now, they have to deal with whiny activities directors to why they can’t sell this or that. 

The law leaves very little room for schools to serve what students will eat.  The argument is that students will become accustom to healthier food doesn’t fly with me.  If you don’t believe me, walk onto a high school campus after lunch and see the literally masses of bagged carrots, sliced apples, and milks on the ground or in the garbage.  I am not saying we should send our children in a sugar coma every day for the sake of the all mighty dollar.  Not in the least. However we have to be realistic.  This goes back to my previous post regarding parents education their children.  If we are trying to serve food to them at lunch that is good for them and then they go home and have a cup of noodles (loaded in sodium), where is the lesson learned?  There is nothing at home reinforcing the “idea” (because we aren’t educating on healthy eating, just telling them what to eat/not eat) at home, is it going to stick?

Here’s what works for me. Post the amount of calories,  fat, and other important details RIGHT next to the food they are consuming.  Then, take it one step further… post how many minutes of regular exercise its going to take to burn that off.  It might stop Ms. Suzie or Mr. Bobby for reaching for those fries or hamburger.  We, when it comes to school law, just lay down these rules and no rationale to the people they are affecting.  If we wish to have a rule be successful, especially with teenagers, we must discuss with them the reason for the rule and the ways it will benefit them.

Because trust me, I sampled some “compliant” Nabisco Gingerbread cookies at CADA and spit them out.  They were terrible.  I would rather not eat than eat those.  So if that’s what the great State of California wishes their children to get healthy, then by all means, make things taste poorly.  They will be thin in no time.

Link to an article:

http://www.acsa.org/publications/pub_detail.cfm?&edcalID=2278