Finally, this school year, 2011-12, the USDA has determined that schools must provide drinkable water to all students with unrestricted access during their lunch periods. This can be in the form of a mass dispense system in the cafeteria, or a drinking fountain in or adjacent to the eating area.
I don’t call this a victory, but it is progress. Some schools will state they have water for sale. That’s great, but that’s a restriction. Not all students can afford to buy said water. Then you have that one teacher who’s on the rag and bitchy during her turn to supervise the kids at lunch. She now can’t tell a kid, “No,” when they ask to use the drinking fountain, no matter how much she wants to do so. At least it’s not in her best interest.
Oh wait, I forgot about the 100% juice substitution. I was told last year that my lactose intolerant child can get 100% juice to drink instead of one of his fruits on his lunch tray. Yes, that means he can forgo food for a drink. They are teaching our kids to consume liquid calories.
Having drinking water available still doesn’t solve the fact that our kids who are lactose intolerant are forced to buy a milk with their lunch, charged for it, but can’t drink it. They also cannot trade it with a friend since there are so many food allergies now, there is no trading at lunch anymore. This is wasted milk. I find this deplorable when so many of these kids are coming to school hungry. You want to know how to save money in the government? Stop reimbursing schools for thrown away milk. Let them offer rice or almond milks instead. No, DO NOT offer soy. Enough ingested soy can mimic estrogen, and I DO NOT want my son drinking soy milk as an alternative to cow’s milk. I’d rather he drink calcium fortified orange juice before soy milk quite frankly. Do your research, but that’s probably asking too much of a government organization like the USDA with such antiquated practices when it comes to school lunches.
This nonrestricted access to drinking water at lunch is indeed a step in the right direction. I do wonder why it took until 2011 for it to happen. Abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting are all enough of a reason that a child should be exempt from drinking milk. It’s not like the child is faking these symptoms, and the symptoms will hamper the child’s learning process if milk is ingested. Just because a child doesn’t need an epi pen doesn’t mean their dietary needs aren’t serious. You would also think the schools would take these intolerances more seriously when family doctors and allergists are filling out the paperwork for the cafeteria saying the child cannot drink milk, but it doesn’t seem to matter.
If more people would take the time to educate themselves rather than shove antiquated policy down our throats (policy that can be changed), we could worry more about what our children are learning in school, and less about if that school lunch will make them too ill to learn due to a government agency’s ignorance.
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I am sorry that you have to fight so hard to get your son the nutrition he deserves and needs. It is ridiculous that they charge a lactose intolerant child for milk just so he can throw it away.
Kathleen´s last [type] ..A Fun Filled Halloween
School lunches scare me. They are so bad! Unfortunately, I tried sending my kids lunch from home but they tossed them away because they wanted to eat what their friends were eating.
I know that lunches have been in the spotlight a lot lately, so I hope that they continue to improve them.
Rhea´s last [type] ..Justin Bieber Baby Daddy
this has to be the stupidest thing I’ve heard! Of course kids should have unrestricted access to water! And why should they forgo a fruit for juice! If the juice is available then they should be able to have it instead of milk…..this just makes my head spin.
Heather´s last [type] ..Yeah, That About Sums it Up…
The presence of dairy products in school lunches is a reason that many children do so poorly in school. It’s also a racial issue considering that 70% of African American children are lactose intolerant. Please tell me how these children are expected to excel in their studies while their stomachs are in extreme pain from the dairy products in the lunches. Even for children that can digest milk, school lunch is problematic. Dairy products also contribute to anemia in menstruating students because it leeches iron from the body.
Most people don’t know that you have to eat fresh fruit before cooked food or it will go rancid in the stomach because the other food (bread, meat, etc) take much longer to digest than fruit. I have met many people that falsely believe they are allergic to fruit. No one is allergic to fruit, but it will cause pain if it’s forced to sit in your stomach while waiting for junk food to digest.
Sarah, much of what you say is true, except that people are not allergic to fruit. People can be allergic to fruit. As proven by allergy testing, my 5yo is allergic to citrus fruit.
I would also send water to school with my child. When I was a kid I used to lug around an old Dukes of Hazzard thermos.
I would put pure drinking water from home in one of those.
I really had no idea the government run schools placed more importance on milk than water. That is weird.
Jeff Wise´s last [type] ..55 Gallon Water Barrel Review
I’m so glad my kids let me send lunches with them to school. They aren’t always perfectly healthy, but they’re pretty good. They do beg for school lunches though, mostly on pizza day. Fortunately that comes with salad bar, so that one isn’t as bad as it could be.
I can’t imagine limiting a child’s access to water. Our school allows water bottles at the desk during class, and it’s an elementary school.
As for the milk thing, just wow. My stepmom is lactose intolerant, and I can’t imagine forcing milk on her, never mind a child who may have more trouble telling an authority figure no.
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