State Agent Tells Preschooler She Can't Eat Home-packed Lunch

[lonestar]

Preschooler’s Homemade Lunch Replaced with Cafeteria “Nuggets”
State agent inspects sack lunches, forces preschoolers to purchase cafeteria food instead
By Sara Burrows
Feb. 14th, 2012
|

RAEFORD - A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because a state employee told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

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 mother - who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation - said she received a note from the school stating that 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. your lunch isn't right,' and she's thinking there's something wrong with her food."

While the mother and grandmother thought the potato chips and lack of vegetable were what disqualified the lunch, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child Development said that should not have been a problem.

"With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that's the dairy," said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. "It sounds like the lunch itself would've met all of the standard." The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said.

There are no clear restrictions about what additional items - like potato chips - can be included in preschoolers' lunch boxes.

"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," Kozlowski said.

Ultimately, the child care provider can't take the Coke and Twinkie away from the child, but Kozlowski said she "would think the Pre-K provider would talk with the parent about that not being a healthy choice for their child."

It is unclear whether the school was allowed to charge for the cafeteria lunches they gave to every preschooler in the class that day.

The state regulation reads:

"Sites must provide breakfast and/or snacks and lunch meeting USDA requirements during the regular school day. The partial/full cost of meals may be charged when families do not qualify for free/reduced price meals.

"When children bring their own food for meals and snacks to the center, if the food does not meet the specified nutritional requirements, the center must provide additional food necessary to meet those requirements."

Still, Kozlowski said, the parents shouldn't have been charged.

"The school may have interpreted [the rule] to mean they felt like the lunch wasn't meeting the nutritional requirements and so they wanted the child to have the school lunch and then charged the parent," she said. "It sounds like maybe a technical assistance need for that school."

The school principal, Jackie Samuels, said he didn't "know anything about" parents being charged for the meals that day. "I know they eat in the cafeteria. Whether they pay or not, they eat in the cafeteria."

Pridgen's office is looking into the issue.

Sara Burrows is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.


http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclu...a-nuggets.html




NOBAMA and his morons strike again..

[lonestar]

State Agent Tells Preschooler She Can't Eat Home-packed Lunch
By Bobby Eberle February 15, 2012 7:13 am


Talk about government run amok, get a load of this. A preschooler in North Carolina was told by a state official that the lunch that was packed by her mother was unacceptable, because it did not meet USDA guidelines. The official then made the preschooler purchase a lunch provided by the school, and the girl later went home with her uneaten sack lunch AND a bill for $1.25. Talk about Big Brother watching you!

As reported in the Carolina Journal Online, the girl's mother packed her a " turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice." However, this meal "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."

Lunch box inspection? Are you serious? I'm pretty sure there are better uses of state funds than inspecting preschoolers' lunch boxes.

The girl's mother -- who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation -- said she received a note from the school stating that 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 mother was angry for a number of reasons:

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.

Fox News' Trace Galllagher also reported on the story of the state messing with the preschoolers lunch box:

According to the Fox report, school officials later apologized. Why? For a stupid "big brother" invasion of privacy? No. They apologized, because they now deem that the girls lunch did meet USDA requirements. So... the lunch had the government's blessing. Big deal. They should scrap this program and return the money to the taxpayers.

Please share this information with your friends and let us know what you think. Should the government (state, local, or federal) be inspecting children's lunch boxes?

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/2012/0.../?subscriber=1

[Smiling Assassin27]

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

[Pony Boy]

Tina you fat lard come eat some chicken nuggets

[Rohirrim]

This is what happens when you let McDonald's run the FDA.

You vill eat your nuggets, you little schwienhund!

[Garcia Bronco]

...I would ask as a kid. "Do you have a warrant? No? Then you can't search my lunch."

[Bronco Yoda]

Now that's funny.

Home school your kids people. Not only can they eat what you want, they can learn what you want also.

Enough kids get pulled out of school, the system will be forced into changes.

[baja]

You US residents are in big trouble if you don't take action soon.

[Pony Boy]

nutritious, and delicious

lunch-box.jpg

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Bronco Yoda

Now that's funny.

Home school your kids people. Not only can they eat what you want, they can learn what you want also.

Enough kids get pulled out of school, the system will be forced into changes.

The bolded part is not a plus of home schooling.

If you want your kids to have a good education -- the best thing to do is be involved with their education. Help them with their homework, do science projects with them, challenge them to learn more.

Walling them off from things you don't want them to learn is counter productive.

There's isn't a huge problem with public schools (in general) -- there's a huge problem with parenting.

[Bronco Yoda]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

The bolded part is not a plus of home schooling.

If you want your kids to have a good education -- the best thing to do is be involved with their education. Help them with their homework, do science projects with them, challenge them to learn more.

Walling them off from things you don't want them to learn is counter productive.

There's isn't a huge problem with public schools (in general) -- there's a huge problem with parenting.

You must be a teacher (they get pissed about losing their jobs)

Walling them off my ass. You're a fool.

You obviously know nothing about home schooling these days. As if they stay at home inside all day. You must still be thinking little house on the prairie or something.

We're not keeping anything from them. FYI, the majority of home schoolers these days are not for Religious reasons or Religious based.

Educate yourself Fedaykin
times have changed.

My kids get more interaction, more social time, more P.E. ART, social studies (all of which are barely taught in school anymore). I'm in a network of parents who trade off their skills. Think of Private school on steroids.

Public Schools these days are nothing more than babysitters who push some sort of fund raiser every other day.

The kids are undisciplined and unmotivated. The teachers are unskilled and unmotivated. The curriculum is geared to the lowest common denominator. The learning is set for testing instead of learning...etc...etc...etc.

We're going to let them go to High School. By then they'll pretty much have already learned what they'll need to anyway. They can take honors classes, play sports and pad their GPA against the retards.

[Rigs11]

Isn't this a state regulation?and you're blaming Obama?

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Bronco Yoda

You must be a teacher (they get pissed about losing their jobs)

Walling them off my ass. You're a fool.

You obviously know nothing about home schooling these days. As if they stay at home inside all day. You must still be thinking little house on the prairie or something.

We're not keeping anything from them. FYI, the majority of home schoolers these days are not for Religious reasons or Religious based.

Educate yourself Fedaykin
times have changed.

Don't put words in my mouth. I'm quite well aware that there are successful home schooling efforts. I was only responding to the implication of "teaching them what you want them to learn" which is usually the euphemism used by nutcases that want to prevent their children from learning anything but creationism, abstinence only and white washed history (etc.).

My kids get more interaction, more social time, more P.E. ART, social studies (all of which are barely taught in school anymore). I'm in a network of parents who trade off their skills. Think of Private school on steroids.

Public Schools these days are nothing more than babysitters who push some sort of fund raiser every other day.

The kids are undisciplined and unmotivated. The teachers are unskilled and unmotivated. The curriculum is geared to the lowest common denominator. The learning is set for testing instead of learning...etc...etc...etc.

All of those problems are solved by parents who are motivated and involved in their children's education. Like I said before, the failings of public schools are not about the schools themselves, but the failings of the parents.

Schools are becoming babysitting organizations -- because that's the way the parents are treating them.

[Fedaykin]

This thread is full of epic fail stupidity:

* Stupid *red state* policy
* Stupid "meal inspector" who doesn't understand basic nutrition.
* Stupid OP for blaming it on the wrong entity.

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by Rigs11

Isn't this a state regulation?and you're blaming Obama?

Yah, but I think its based on USDA guidelines. IMHO, this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. Yes, this public employee is an idiot and overstepped his/her boundaries and yes, the parent has a right to be upset. That being said, the program is in place because there is a huge problem with kids coming to school with either no lunch food, our lousy lunch food (like a bag of doritos and a coke).

So really, its a good program that was poorly enforced by a person with bad training.

[baja]

Read about what has happened to your education system, go here:

http://www.americandeception.com/ind...sercat&catid=9

[Bronco Yoda]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

Don't put words in my mouth. I'm quite well aware that there are successful home schooling efforts. I was only responding to the implication of "teaching them what you want them to learn" which is usually the euphemism used by nutcases that want to prevent their children from learning anything but creationism, abstinence only and white washed history (etc.).



All of those problems are solved by parents who are motivated and involved in their children's education. Like I said before, the failings of public schools are not about the schools themselves, but the failings of the parents.

Schools are becoming babysitting organizations -- because that's the way the parents are treating them.

This isn't the first time you've came at me like this.

We cross paths with Religious Studies (alpha/Omega) families during P.E. at the local gymnastics studio and music and art classes offered by the city center. Sadly the public schools here have canceled or cut way back on all these activities.

History and Social Studies are not even covered in Grade School these days. Middle school only slightly so I'm not sure how the Religious studies would alter their education at this age. High School I could see that. But they seem well educated and adjusted to me. Maybe not as thorough as our kids but still better than the public school kids.

Blame and Responsibility for today's Public school mess? I'd give parenting an arbitrary number of 75%. That's why we home school. It's not as if we can control other parents out there. Just like the teachers can't control their kids.

The school system gets the other 25% IMO. Over half the teachers today in the U.S have graduated in the bottom 3rd of their class. An ever changing curriculum fueled by school book publishing dollars. Teachers Unions protecting bad teachers and not rewarding bright young teachers during layoffs. Bullying, no child left behind....on and on and on.

Now there's talk of public schools dropping cursive writing altogether. Some have already started! Imagine that for a moment.

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Bronco Yoda

This isn't the first time you've came at me like this.
\

Come at you how? Explaining my opinion and perspective? This is not allowed or perhaps just frowned upon on a discussion board?

We cross paths with Religious Studies (alpha/Omega) families during P.E. at the local gymnastics studio and music and art classes offered by the city center. Sadly the public schools here have canceled or cut way back on all these activities.

History and Social Studies are not even covered in Grade School these days. Middle school only slightly so I'm not sure how the Religious studies would alter their education at this age. High School I could see that. But they seem well educated and adjusted to me. Maybe not as thorough as our kids but still better than the public school kids.

Like I said, homeschooling can be effective. But there is also a very significant portion that is entirely focused on making sure that kids don't learn about anything that might offend Jesus. Their "science curriculum" is taken from the propaganda of "Answers in Genesis" where young earth creationism is taught as fact and real biology, geology, physics, etc. are ignored at best but more often than that simply lied about. Oh, and their "history curriculum" comes from "The Christian History Institute" where the kids learn that nothing important in history every happened except that which the Bible talks about.

Or, kids taught that HIV is only spread by homosexual contact (including simply touching someone infected) and that condoms are useless at protecting you from disease (so when the kids eventually do have sex they forgo the "useless" protection!). There's a reason sexual disease and pregnancy is more prevalent among kids taught in "abstinence only" classes -- it's because kids are being denied information by their parents/teachers/community.

These are the problems (and others less severe problems) that are usually hidden under the guise of "making sure my kids learn what I want them to learn". And, it's not just the religious nutcases, there's other nutcases that want to keep their children ignorant of various things.

Sounds like you don't subscribe to that, at least not intentionally. Good for you.

Blame and Responsibility for today's Public school mess? I'd give parenting an arbitrary number of 75%. That's why we home school. It's not as if we can control other parents out there. Just like the teachers can't control their kids.

The school system gets the other 25% IMO. Over half the teachers today in the U.S have graduated in the bottom 3rd of their class. An ever changing curriculum fueled by school book publishing dollars. Teachers Unions protecting bad teachers and not rewarding bright young teachers during layoffs. Bullying, no child left behind....on and on and on.

Now there's talk of public schools dropping cursive writing altogether. Some have already started! Imagine that for a moment.

We pretty much agree here -- which we've already covered. Why are you going on a tangent like this?