Frustrated with school lunches | Letters

Published 11:07 am Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The state government has changed the school lunch nutrition standards once again. As a sophomore who eats school lunch daily, this really ticks me off.

If you visit their website, ChooseMyPlate.gov, you’ll see that the Orcas Island School District is now required to serve every student a portion of fruit or vegetables equal to the amount of grains and protein we receive. They also must reduce the saturated fat content of their foods, and now they cannot serve trans fats at all. I expect this will result in an elimination of all or most fried foods on the menu in the near future. I find it very depressing that soon, I will no longer be able to enjoy my beloved corn dogs and chicken nuggets. Weekly pizza is already out.

And seriously, a 50 percent fruit and vegetable lunch? Last year, they might constitute a fourth of our total meal. And at that time, they would often be hard, greenish apples or boiled broccoli. Not really fare that children enjoy. I don’t see the vegetable options getting any better, so I assume we will just have to eat twice as much of something that was only palatable because it came in a small amount. I can eat a few bites of something I find unpleasant, but half my lunch? Also, vegetables are much less filling than more high-starch foods. Last year, the lunch portions would be just enough to keep me going to the end of the day. If 25 percent of the filling food is gone, what am I supposed to do? I could supplement my meal with food from Island Market, but the fried burritos and energy drinks I would buy there would be more detrimental to my health if I ate them daily then if the school simply went back to last year’s menu.

And the new regulations are also very wasteful. I’ve seen many small children eat just the “unhealthy” part of their lunch and throw the veggies in the trash. The school is going to be spending twice as much on vegetables, a large percentage of which are going to be wasted. You can’t make the kids eat, so why spend the extra money on them? And you know, these lunches cost parents money. Why should it be mandated that I be served something that I don’t want? I’m 15. I’m responsible with my eating, and I don’t think anyone was really getting fat off of the school lunches. Lunch activists like Michelle Obama and Jamie Oliver don’t understand my plight, yet they still think they can intrude into my food.

Braeden Smith

Eastsound