Steve’s Soapbox: Are Federal Agents Monitoring Your Kid’s Lunch

Let's just say you are the kind of parent (as I am), who takes great pride in making their child's lunch, so they can enjoy it at school. Making sure it is a lunch that not only has nutritious foods, but food that your child will eat and not throw away (wasting food really gets under my skin).  You send your son or daughter off to school with the pride that they know that you took the time to make them a meal that they like, will enjoy and actually eat. That makes me feel good to know I did my part to make sure my son eats healthy.

So let's go to Hoke County Elementary School in Charlotte, NC and image how you would feel to know that your child's lunch was confiscated by a Federal Agent, while your child was in school and your son or daughter was told that what you made your child wasn't healthy for them.  Then they were served Chicken Nuggets.

This actually happened at that school. A U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector was checking out the lunches of 4-year olds and one child had her lunch confiscated. What was the infraction? Well, let's see if you can figure it out:

- A turkey and cheese sandwich
- A banana
- Apple Juice
- Potato Chips

Seems pretty harmless, right. It also seems pretty nutritious. There isn't even a Hostess Cup Cake in there.

Well, according the agent, the lunch “did not meet USDA guidelines.”

So the agent (notice we don't have a name for this valiant individual who saves the day), made sure to fix the problem by plopping down a plate of Chicken Nuggets!!!!!!  EXCUSE ME!!!!

Here is the government's rationale for this:

"The decision was made under consideration of a regulation put in place by the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services, which requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs to meet USDA guidelines. “When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones." (US Department of Agriculture)

The better part of this, the school, prior to this told parents, if they have their kid's lunches confiscated, the parents would then be billed for the meal that they had to supply the child.

Seems a tab bit over-reaching doesn't it? Well, it gets better, according to a Federal Mandate:

"Kids will see more fruits and vegetables on cafeteria lunch trays as the Department of Agriculture unveils new school meal guidelines. The rules that will be put into effect over the next few years double the amount of produce in school meals. They also increase the amount of whole grains and set maximum levels for calories. Students will still get favorites including French fries and pizza under the new guidelines."
"Lawmakers changed the proposed rules last year to count pizza as a vegetable because it includes a tomato sauce topping. Trade associations lobbied hard to keep fries and pizza on the lunch trays. It will cost more than three-billion dollars to implement the new regulations. They are the first major changes to the meals in more than a decade. "

So what I am reading here, the government can tell parents what to feed their children at school via the US Agriculture Department, Health and Human Service and the Department of Childhood Development.

The last thing any parent want to fear is sending their kids to school. If I was a parent of a child in this school district, you and bet  you back-side I would be their worst nightmare. Parent's shouldn't live in fear of sending their kids to school. Especially, thinking that Child Welfare Services could be called because  you packed a lunch that isn't "up to government standard" and that could be seen as abuse.

I will admit, I am not ignorant that some parent put absolutely no thought into packing their kid's lunch. A baloney and cracker snack-pack isn't nutritious; I think we can all agree to that.

BUT let's be real, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice, and potato chips isn't cruel or wrong to send.

This hasn't happened here in Louisiana, much less in our public schools here in Shreveport-Bossier City. But keep your eyes open.

I may sound paranoid, but this struck me the wrong way. The last thing I want is for my kids to fear me or my wife thinking that I would harm them, especially in what I feed them.