It probably shouldn't be a surprise that forcing students to eat healthier food at school has meant that more of them aren't bothering to buy anything at the cafeteria, as school officials discussed in this story today.
But it's still interesting to see that a la carte sales dropped by 25 percent mostly because the schools stopped selling sports drinks. The drinks themselves didn't make money for the schools, but when kids went through the lines to get one they often also picked up a salad or something. Now many of them get nothing at all.
It's also alarming that Bristol, a city where many families are struggling, is hiking school lunch prices again when they're already among the state's most costly. Perhaps City Hall should just accept the idea that it is going to have to subsidize the school lunch program by $100,000 a year or so rather than pretending the program can be solvent and forcing the prices to rise ever higher.
There are lots of places where money is wasted. But putting good food into students' bellies is not one of them.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
3 comments:
I agree Steve. We seem to subsidize everything else in the city, I think food for our kids in an important one. I never even knew that the BOE made money, or covered their expenses, on the lunch program until last year. By the way, can you still buy a Moon Pie or Funny Bones in school? They used to go good with the meatball grinders on Wednesdays.
There is a tremendous amount of waste in the school lunch program. The Federal Gov't requires that approved subsidized programs like free and reduced lunches contain a balanced meal and rightfully so.
However, often the kids take the whole meal because they have to and throw out everything except the French Fries.
A large number of the students throw out the milk unopened because they are required to take it.
When the sport drinks were available, many kids would buy a sport drink for $1.25 to $1.50 even if they received a free lunch. The sports drinks were also viewed as a status symbol too many and kids this age want to fit in. They would often throw those drinks out too at the end of lunch sometimes nearly full or even unopened.
The breakfast program markets Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes and the like. They do have an option for a bagel but largely the offerings are hardly to be considered a HEALTHY breakfast.
Bottom line - Most children don't necessarily prefer or even eat the healthy alternative when available.
This is true whether they pay for or receive their lunch for little or no cost.
Main reason is some know how to "use the system." No one checks on the applications filled out for free or reduced lunches. Another thing, we are all being used on this lunch program.
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