North Carolina pre-schooler’s lunch deemed unacceptable by food inspectors – sent home, parent charged for lunch
Photo Beau Wade of New York via wikicommons
From the Carolina Journal:
The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the agent who was inspecting all lunch boxes in her More at Four classroom that day.
The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the 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.
When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.
The girl’s mom is keeping her name out of the press to protect the child.
She states she received a note and a bill for $1.25 – students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.
“I don’t feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County.
The girl’s grandmother, who sometimes helps pack her lunch, told Carolina Journal that she is a petite, picky 4-year-old who eats white whole wheat bread and is not big on vegetables.
“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told CJ. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”
When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste.
“She came home with her whole sandwich I had packed, because she chose to eat the nuggets on the lunch tray, because they put it in front of her,” her mother said. “You’re telling a 4-year-old. ‘oh. you’re lunch isn’t right,’ and she’s thinking there’s something wrong with her food.”
Full story: http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/homemade-lunch-replaced-with-cafeteria-nuggets.html
The Desk of Brian recommends:
The Nanny State Bans Bake Sales
North Carolina bans gay marriage
Beware the Pink Slime
School letter: Wear African American attire or animal prints for Black History Day
New school incentive program for students: Hold your bladder
Mississippi bill could make spanking illegal
VIDEO: Great White Shark filmed off coast of North Carolina
Nebraska homeschool laws spark possible criminal charges for family
Are you kidding me?
Nevermind complaining to the stupid school.. I would remove my child from this program faster than you could say chicken nugget!
It’s not bad enough that schools have become feeding centers – now they are telling children what they can and cannot eat when they bring meals from home!
I am telling you people out there… homeschool your children.
Stop allowing the government school system to decide what is best for your child AND your family!
These early childhood programs are nothing more than intrusive government indoctrination programs which aim to do more than just teach colors, numbers and letters to pre-schoolers.
As far as I am concerned, this little girl’s lunch from home sounded much better and much more nutritious than any tray of institutional crap put together by the USDA food Nazis.
P.S. – The USDA is a bloated Agency and desperately needs to go on a diet. Look at how many people head up stuff. I wonder what THEY eat for lunch.