This Just In

Oh my God.  I am so angry about this issue.  It’s no secret to those who know me that I think our government at every level is corrupt as the day is long.  Not only are they corrupt, but they are entirely too over-reaching in their scope of relevance.  The latest bunch of crap a governing entity is trying to pull is banning home made lunches from schools.  This is taking place in Chicago.  Read the article here.

In an ultimate “nanny state” move,  Chicago’s Little Village Academy has banned home made lunches.  If a student will not eat the supposedly “higher quality” lunch served in the cafeteria, they go hungry. “Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school,” principal Elsa Carmona told the paper. “It’s about … the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It’s milk versus a Coke.”

Really?! How about letting the parents decide for their kids?  You know…the parents?  Remember them?  The ones that gave birth to and take care of the child before and after school hours?  Since when has a school board or any other governing entity superceded parental authority over what goes in our children’s bodies?!  Honestly, as much screaming and crying that goes on about schools being underfunded, you’d think they have other things to worry about, for instance teacher/student ratios or being able to afford upkeep on a laminating machine essential for classroom functions.

I speak from experience in telling you that many schools serve shredded iceberg lettuce (read: no nutrional value) and call it SALAD.  Some kids eat it, smothered in lowcal ranch…others just throw it out.  The sheer amount of waste in a school cafeteria is staggering, especially by those who ‘eat’ the cafeteria food.  More kids eat more of their lunch when it’s sent from home.  I see it every day.  They aren’t sent to school with Coke, or any other pop.  They’re sent with Juicy Juice, Capri Sun and KoolAid coolers.  I don’t want to hear about sugar content.  Schools do NOT offer only healthy, nonfat skim white milk.  They offer full fat chocolate too.  Ever get a gander at the sugar content in that?  If you really think the majority of kids take white milk, you need a reality check.  Come observe sometime.  It’s an eye opener.  They try to take chocolate milk when they’re having CEREAL for the love of God.

To be fair, perhaps their cafeteria does serve gourmet meals.  But before students are forced to eat it, full disclosure of every pantry item and every preperation method should be made available to the parents. Are they serving grilled,  boneless, skinless chicken breast? Romaine lettuce with baby carrots and snap peas?  I highly doubt it.

  This wholesale bully tactic should not be tolerated.  What kills me is that they think they can get away with it because they think the parents (86% of which are at or below the poverty line for income) are stupid, don’t care and won’t fight back.  I sincerely hope they do fight back.   I can just see the psychological wheels turning here…”Oh, these parents can’t get above Maslow’s Stage One much less make a decision in the best interest of their children.” How utterly insulting, degrading and fundamentally WRONG.  Just because someone is low income doesn’t mean they’re stupid, or they don’t care about their kids.  Their basic RIGHTS as parents shouldn’t be stripped away from them either, just because they are low income.  By taking this right away from the parents, it opens the door for school boards/government entities to take away even more. 

Where will it stop?  They already have our kids riding in car seats until they’re nearly teenagers (I am NOT kidding here.  It gets more ridiculous by the day.)  How many more rules and regulations will we allow to be foisted on us, all in the name of keeping us safe from ourselves?

S.