Little Village Academy bans lunch from home

[JOVE23]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...nch-restrictions-041120110410,0,4567867.story

Chicago school bans some lunches brought from home

To encourage healthful eating, Chicago school doesn't allow kids to bring lunches or certain snacks from home — and some parents, and many students, aren't fans of the policy



By Monica Eng and Joel Hood, Tribune reporters



3:42 AM CDT, April 11, 2011





Fernando Dominguez cut the figure of a young revolutionary leader during a recent lunch period at his elementary school.



"Who thinks the lunch is not good enough?" the seventh-grader shouted to his lunch mates in Spanish and English.



Dozens of hands flew in the air and fellow students shouted along: "We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch! We should bring our own lunch!"



Fernando waved his hand over the crowd and asked a visiting reporter: "Do you see the situation?"



At his public school, Little Village Academy on Chicago's West Side, students are not allowed to pack lunches from home. Unless they have a medical excuse, they must eat the food served in the cafeteria.



Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food choices.



"Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," Carmona said. "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It's milk versus a Coke. But with allergies and any medical issue, of course, we would make an exception."



Carmona said she created the policy six years ago after watching students bring "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" on field trips for their lunch. Although she would not name any other schools that employ such practices, she said it was fairly common.



A Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman said she could not say how many schools prohibit packed lunches and that decision is left to the judgment of the principals.



"While there is no formal policy, principals use common sense judgment based on their individual school environments," Monique Bond wrote in an email. "In this case, this principal is encouraging the healthier choices and attempting to make an impact that extends beyond the classroom."



Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken, and the caterer receives a set fee from the district per lunch.



At Little Village, most students must take the meals served in the cafeteria or go hungry or both. During a recent visit to the school, dozens of students took the lunch but threw most of it in the garbage uneaten. Though CPS has improved the nutritional quality of its meals this year, it also has seen a drop-off in meal participation among students, many of whom say the food tastes bad.



"Some of the kids don't like the food they give at our school for lunch or breakfast," said Little Village parent Erica Martinez. "So it would be a good idea if they could bring their lunch so they could at least eat something."



"(My grandson) is really picky about what he eats," said Anna Torrez, who was picking up the boy from school. "I think they should be able to bring their lunch. Other schools let them. But at this school, they don't."



But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."



At Claremont Academy Elementary School on the South Side, officials allow packed lunches but confiscate any snacks loaded with sugar or salt. (They often are returned after school.) Principal Rebecca Stinson said that though students may not like it, she has yet to hear a parent complain.



"The kids may have money or earn money and (buy junk food) without their parents' knowledge," Stinson said, adding that most parents expect that the school will look out for their children.



Such discussions over school lunches and healthy eating echo a larger national debate about the role government should play in individual food choices.



"This is such a fundamental infringement on parental responsibility," said J. Justin Wilson, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Center for Consumer Freedom, which is partially funded by the food industry.



"Would the school balk if the parent wanted to prepare a healthier meal?" Wilson said. "This is the perfect illustration of how the government's one-size-fits-all mandate on nutrition fails time and time again. Some parents may want to pack a gluten-free meal for a child, and others may have no problem with a child enjoying soda."



For many CPS parents, the idea of forbidding home-packed lunches would be unthinkable. If their children do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals, such a policy would require them to pay $2.25 a day for food they don't necessarily like.



"We don't spend anywhere close to that on my son's daily intake of a sandwich (lovingly cut into the shape of a Star Wars ship), Goldfish crackers and milk," education policy professor Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach wrote in an email. Her son attends Nettelhorst Elementary School in Lakeview. "Not only would mandatory school lunches worsen the dietary quality of most kids' lunches at Nettelhorst, but it would also cost more out of pocket to most parents! There is no chance the parents would stand for that."



Many Little Village students claim that, given the opportunity, they would make sound choices.



"They're afraid that we'll all bring in greasy food instead of healthy food and it won't be as good as what they give us at school," said student Yesenia Gutierrez. "It's really lame. If we could bring in our own lunches, everyone knows what they'd bring. For example, the vegetarians could bring in their own veggie food."



"I would bring a sandwich or a Subway and maybe a juice," said seventh-grader Ashley Valdez.



Second-grader Gerardo Ramos said, "I would bring a banana, orange and some grapes."



"I would bring a juice and like a sandwich," said fourth-grader Eric Sanchez.



"Sometimes I would bring the healthy stuff," second-grader Julian Ruiz said, "but sometimes I would bring Lunchables."

 

[phranchk]

Don't even know what to say. I would be furious if this was my child's school and I would be very vocal about it.

 

[bri]

If the school is making it mandatory then they should provide those lunches free of charge. Just another freedom that is disappearing.

 

[MassHavoc]

Don't even know what to say. I would be furious if this was my child's school and I would be very vocal about it.

I'm just the opposite, fat little diabetic kids, especially in poor communities are costing a boatload now, and will only cost more in the future as their health deteriorates. Again it comes back to the parents fault who let it get this far. If you can't trust the parents to pack a proper lunch and teach their children about nutrition, who else is going to do it?



My question is, if this has been going on for 6 years, why all of a sudden is there a controversy? Is the school lunch program contract coming up for bid?

 

[winos5]

Follow the money.



This is about re-couping as much re-imbursement as they possibly can from the federal government for school lunches.



"Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken,"



I'd bet they give a rat's ass about nutrition.

 

[bri]

Ahhhh, I fondly remember my first school lunch in kindergarten. My mom asked me what I had for lunch that day and I said "cake and mashed potatoes, but I didn't like the cake." My mom talked to my cousin and found out the cake was actually the school's meatloaf.

 

[LordKOTL]

My take on this:



Bri, you're right, it's about cash. the school lunches I had were far more unhealthy than anything my parents, or I ever brought.



Mass: you're also right, a lot of parents don't feed their kids helathy meals.



My take on that aspect is who do you trust more? Some corporation which has the ultimate goal of profit (and would nix cane sugar or honey for HFCS), or n ill-educated parent? Prsonally, I think the parents should get the nod over the corporations.



Also, another aspect of this is the food allergy issue (one i'm mortally familiar with). Yes, there are kids allergic to everything nowadays. Yes, parents often overreact at the depth of the anaphylaxis thir kids might have: I.E. a kid may only go anaphylactic if they ingest the allergen food, not breathe it, but the hypochondriac parents will want ALL traces of the allergen banned rather than teaching their kids to police their own diet. You also may have the parents who won't take fellow classmate's food allergies into consideration. You may also have horribly ill-educated teachers/faculty that think such fatally erroneus things like, "only a little bit won't hurt them". You may have a faculty so worried about a lawsuit that they will try to get ALL allergens banned. And lastly, based on the coroporation fact, how do we know the coproration won't cut costs by a general allergen warning and expect parents/faculty/students to avoid any foods with an allergen, and thus likley severely limiting the food choices a student has?



I personally think this is a shitstorm waiting to happen.

 

[Tater]

"But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."



So basically they have no control over their kids?



Some people shouldn't breed.

 

[CLWolf81]

Follow the money.



This is about re-couping as much re-imbursement as they possibly can from the federal government for school lunches.



"Any school that bans homemade lunches also puts more money in the pockets of the district's food provider, Chartwells-Thompson. The federal government pays the district for each free or reduced-price lunch taken,"



I'd bet they give a rat's ass about nutrition.

The one picture I saw in the Chicago Tribune this morning was of a child having an enchilada on his tray... Ohhh yeah, that's definitely nutritious all right...

"But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."



So basically they have no control over their kids?



Some people shouldn't breed.

I've been preaching this statement for years. No one ever listens to me. But that's a different topic for later on.

 

[LordKOTL]

"But parent Miguel Medina said he thinks the "no home lunch policy" is a good one. "The school food is very healthy," he said, "and when they bring the food from home, there is no control over the food."



So basically they have no control over their kids?



Some people shouldn't breed.

Exactly. You're supposed to be your kids' parent, not their friend. Parents have the right and obligation to say no to their kids.

 

[CLWolf81]

Exactly. You're supposed to be your kids' parent, not their friend. Parents have the right and obligation to say no to their kids.

Except most of these "parents" don't want to be parents. They just think of their kids as toys to play with, and just give them stuff to shut them up so the parents can have their "alone time". They don't think about how much this scars kids when they get older. I'm a case as one of those kids.



Trust me, I have had that unfortunate luck of a "gift-giving" parent when I was a kid and my dad was doing drugs, beer, and such at the time, while at the time maintaining his job as a teacher. I was given the lovely gift of video games just to shut me up, cause I loved them so much.



I've had to do everything on my own pretty much after the age of 9, and trust me, it does make you stronger, but at the same time, you don't trust very many people when you get older. Me and my dad didn't start talking again til I was 27 and just about moved to Chicago as a matter of fact.

 

[supraman]

I'm just the opposite, fat little diabetic kids, especially in poor communities are costing a boatload now, and will only cost more in the future as their health deteriorates. Again it comes back to the parents fault who let it get this far. If you can't trust the parents to pack a proper lunch and teach their children about nutrition, who else is going to do it?



My question is, if this has been going on for 6 years, why all of a sudden is there a controversy? Is the school lunch program contract coming up for bid?

Yeah but what about the kid whose parents make him/her a responsible lunch, why should they be punished and yeah Cafeteria food sucks ass. I still remember it.

 

[CLWolf81]

Yeah but what about the kid whose parents make him/her a responsible lunch, why should they be punished and yeah Cafeteria food sucks ass. I still remember it.

Unfortunately, as they say... "One person ruins it for everyone else".

 

[LordKOTL]

Except most of these "parents" don't want to be parents. They just think of their kids as toys to play with, and just give them stuff to shut them up so the parents can have their "alone time". They don't think about how much this scars kids when they get older. I'm a case as one of those kids.



Trust me, I have had that unfortunate luck of a "gift-giving" parent when I was a kid and my dad was doing drugs, beer, and such at the time, while at the time maintaining his job as a teacher. I was given the lovely gift of video games just to shut me up, cause I loved them so much.



I've had to do everything on my own pretty much after the age of 9, and trust me, it does make you stronger, but at the same time, you don't trust very many people when you get older. Me and my dad didn't start talking again til I was 27 and just about moved to Chicago as a matter of fact.

I hear you on it. My dad didn't take my nut allergy seriously until I literally tore him a new one, even in spite of the fact that he saw me go anaphylactic before, and that my mom had a severe allergy to coconut. It's partially why i take a middle-of-the-road stance with food allergies and kids. On one hand, yes, the schools should provide a fairly safe and non-discriminatory environment for kids that have these allergies, since they sure as hell didn't ask for it. But on the other hand, having a dad and a stepmom that didn't take my nut allergies seriously at all, I know that as soon as your kid is social outside of the home, you have to teach them to police their own food. This is less hard than it seems, because having been a kid, with a major sweet tooth, and a nut allergy with it, I can tell you that the itching of the mouth and the throbbing pain and taste of an allergen will knock out any sweet response there could be and that unless the kid has a death-wish or an IQ lower than olive loaf, they will avoid the food like the plague. That being said, unless a kid can go anaphylactic with just the dust of an allergen, there's no need to ban it from school entirely.

 

[jakobeast]

I'm just the opposite, fat little diabetic kids, especially in poor communities are costing a boatload now, and will only cost more in the future as their health deteriorates. Again it comes back to the parents fault who let it get this far. If you can't trust the parents to pack a proper lunch and teach their children about nutrition, who else is going to do it?



My question is, if this has been going on for 6 years, why all of a sudden is there a controversy? Is the school lunch program contract coming up for bid?

Gotta disagree with you. So just because there are some fat or diabetic or allergic kids means that the majority should bend for the few? Parents should be parents, and if they don't want to send little Johnny to school with a healthy lunch, they shouldn't. Conversely, if little Jenny's parents will make a well rounded and balanced meal, and the little twunt will eat it, why shouldn't she be allowed to do that?



Kotl, what with his allergen, I am sure monitors what he ingests, and probably always has. I wouldn't doubt if he had to use an epi pen at least a few times in his life. am I wrong?



I have a friend who is also allergic to peanuts. She knows to not ingest them, and she also watches what she puts in her mouth(hehehehehehehehehehe), but on a few separate occasions has had to bust out the epi pen. funny story, recently she ate something that had nuts in it that was unbeknownst to her. She let her husband know and he got her epi pen. He went to pop it on his leg, but unfortunately, popped the wrong end. He injected himself. As my friend was slowly choking, she was laughing.



Luckily, she had another pen, and properly used it. They both went to the hospital to be safe, and were ok.

 

[phranchk]

You know, I'm starting to think that maybe some proven parenting techniques need to be taught in schools. It appears to be something that is a lost art these days. I know that's probably not feasible because the arguements over what should be taught would go on forever, but maybe it would something to look at.

 

[supraman]

Unfortunately, as they say... "One person ruins it for everyone else".

punish the parents, make them eat that crap.

 

[supraman]

You know, I'm starting to think that maybe some proven parenting techniques need to be taught in schools. It appears to be something that is a lost art these days. I know that's probably not feasible because the arguements over what should be taught would go on forever, but maybe it would something to look at.

I just think common sense is dead. Also I dont think parents ask their parents about it, maybe because their parents sucked. I blame hippies.

 

[LordKOTL]

....Kotl, what with his allergen, I am sure monitors what he ingests, and probably always has. I wouldn't doubt if he had to use an epi pen at least a few times in his life. am I wrong?...

No, but you do bring something interesting. I had to learn to monitor what I ingest at a very young because no one would do it for me...not even my Dad/Step-mom. Hell, I can't count all of the times I would refuse to eat something with nuts in it, telling them i'm allergic, and they always brushed it off to me being a fussy eater (read: big pain in the ass--which I was), and saying that I *think* I'm allergic to nuts despite the sneezing, bloodshot eyes, and the hives I'd break out in afterwards (I didn't get bad enough to be anaphylactic until my teens).



Now, I'm not saying that to start a pity party, but its a reason why i'm less hell-bent on making the world an allergen-free place. When it comes down to it, you ultimately have to have the responsibility of what you ingest, and it's not too hard to ask a young kid to do so--especially if the allergen in question produces an unpleasant reaction.



And that's the problem. I think that schools, parents, and even adult allergen sufferers themselves have gone way too far. Now, I can see the whole on an airplane refusing to hand out nuts because it's an enclosed space and no hope for proper ventilation, but unless the sufferer goes anaphylactic from the dust itself, there's no reason to ban the food. It's easy to teach your kid--especially after they've had a trip to the hospital, that a certain food is a poison to them that they should avoid like the plague, and, it's pretty damned easy to read a freaking label--I know it's a federal requirement (and even one in the EU as well), that the major allergens are listed on any foodstuff that may contain traces of it. Now, I know that label is slapped on more often than not for fear of a lawsuit, but Christ, Allah, and Odin, there's no reason for banning German Chocolate Cake from the IHN annual banquet just beacuae KOTL happens to be allergic to pecans. He'll just have something else.

 

[LordKOTL]

I just think common sense is dead. Also I dont think parents ask their parents about it, maybe because their parents sucked. I blame hippies.

I actually think it's because there's the idea going around that parents need to be their kids' friend. No, your kid will make plenty of friends...they need you to be parents.