Education Week 4/6/2011 Reflection

School Meals Makeover Stirs Pot:  I'll begin by first saying that I absolutely love food.  Food is one of the many things I truly enjoy in life.  A really good meal just can't be beat.  That being said, I did not grow up eating meals provided by the schools until about Jr High.  I took a bag lunch to school almost every single day but I think that was largely due to the cost of school lunches as opposed to buying groceries and taking a sack lunch (however it should be noted that not all families are in the same situation financially and must buy school lunch at reduced rates).  In fifth and sixth grade I was waking up early in the morning to pack lunches for myself and my little brother.  I also have to say that I am also a big fan of Jamie Oliver.  If you have not already seen his miniseries special  Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, you absolutely have to see it.  It will dramatically change the way you look at food provided by the schools.  You will also be shocked at what these kids end up getting served.  The chicken nuggets are absolutely disgusting.  He does an experiment in which he brings kids into his cooking shop and grinds up a chicken that just bones and crap meat, breads and cooks them, and the kids want to eat the chicken nuggets.  It is apparent from that scene that many of these kids are not going to want to change the way they eat, regardless of what the food they like is currently made of.
This article is slightly misleading because of some of what is included about the Potatoes council and their being upset about cutting down potatoes from the meals.  The advocate for the potatoes say that "many fries are baked in the oven" but really there are no numbers to back that up.  Many schools could just be an indication of the number of schools that do it and not the percentage of schools that do it.  Who really cares if 10,000 schools bake their fries in the oven but thats only 1% of the schools in the country?  I also thought it was interesting that they mentioned that many of the kids started avoiding whole grain pizza.  Perhaps that is still a good thing though.  Most pizza really isn't that good for you.  As much as I love pizza, changing the bread to whole grain probably isn't going to do too much to increase the total healthiness of that food.  By the time I was in high school I was eating nothing soups and sandwiches for lunch every single day and sometimes an extra donut because those were the most filling things.  Kids mostly want to eat what tastes good and if the school are able to make things healthier without them noticing that much that is great.  In reality though, there needs to be a dramatic change and it doesn't matter whether or not the kids are super happy about it.