School refuses to allow preschooler to eat ‘non-nutritious’ lunch from home

posted at 11:36 am on February 15, 2012 by Howard Portnoy

It’s hard to say which aspect of the story out of Raeford, North Carolina, is the most exasperating. Is it that a 4-year-old was denied permission to eat the lunch she had brought from home because it was declared “non-nutritious” by lunchroom staff? Is it that she was forced to eat a “healthy” school lunch of chicken nuggets instead? Is it that the administration has threatened to pass the cost of the substitute lunch on to the child’s parents who plied her with food that fails to meet “government standards” in the first place? Or is that the government believes its purview includes dictating to citizens what they can and can’t feed their children?

Before you vote, consider the contents of the lunchbox (aka contraband) that the child (whose name has been withheld) attempted to smuggle past food police at West Hoke Elementary School on January 30: A turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, a container of apple juice, and potato chips.

The Carolina Journal Online, which broke the story, reports:

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the [State] Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs—including in-home day care centers—to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

But according to the USDA’s MyPlate.gov, the child’s lunch met all of those requirements. Turkey constitutes a serving of protein, cheese one of dairy, the bread slices two of grain, the apple and juice together two of fruit. As for the lone renegade item, the potato chips, state guidelines contain no clear restrictions against including such food in preschoolers’ lunch boxes.

According to Jani Kozlowski, fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division, “If a parent sends their child with a Coke and a Twinkie, the child care provider is going to need to provide a balanced lunch for the child.” She hastens to add that ultimately the provider has no authority to confiscate these items.

Which raises yet another possible source of exasperation in this tale—that the school administrators misapplied USDA guidelines in a manner that could potentially traumatize a young child. The girl’s mother told the Carolina Journal, “You’re telling a 4-year-old, ‘Oh, your lunch isn’t right,’ and she’s thinking there’s something wrong with her food.”

The mother was also irked by the note she received from the school informing her that she might be required to cover the cost of the lunch the school provided her daughter, which in this case was $1.25. She has written a letter of complaint to her state representative, G.L. Pridgen.

Policy Manager Kozlowski believes the policy of charging parents is wrong, adding, “It sounds like maybe a technical assistance need for that school.” If technical assistance is governmentspeak for replacing the food service staff at the school with sentient beings, then I concur.

Related Articles

• UK Teens given birth control without parental consent
• New argument for regulating sugar: What could be bad?
• LA school district lunch program spawns thriving junk food black market
• School disciplines 10-year-old for gun-shaped pizza slice (Video)
  Study: No link between junk food in schools and childhood obesity
• Michelle Obama’s MyPlate food guide a spectacular failure
• TX schools to install cafeteria “cams” to monitor student food choices
• Study suggests “food stamps” contribute to childhood obesity
• First Lady: Childhood obesity is a “national security threat”
• New poll: Most Americans oppose First Lady’s new childhood nutrition law
• Is more government intervention the answer to the problem of childhood obesity?
• White House kid indoctrination video contains dangerous nutritional advice
• Federal nutrition bill would curb school bake sales
• Government wants to ban potatoes from school lunches

Follow me on Twitter or join me at Facebook. You can reach me at howard.portnoy@gmail.com or by posting a comment below.

Blowback