Monday, October 19, 2009
Cara: No Cake For You
Posted by
Cara 
From Hello Cupcake cookbook.Sam and friends spent all day making these over the summer!A school district a few towns away from us has banned homemade snacks in school and they are only allowing pre-packaged snacks that have nutritional values on them, that the "Alliance for a Healthier Generation" (The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a joint venture between the American Heart Association and Clinton Foundation..oooh surprise!!!) is recommending. Apparently after I weeded through the BS on their website I found that the school district will get some kind of award. This whole thing is completely wrong on so many levels.
Don't get me wrong I am not promoting soda and Sour Patch Kids as a healthy midday school snack. Here's why I think it's wrong:
1- Here we go again...now Big Brother is going to tell me what I can put in my kids lunch box? He brings snack to school everyday (in addition to the school lunch he buys everyday). Look, I know my generation didnt get "snack" and we lived. But thinking back some of the wacko kids in school could have maybe had low sugar or something and needed a midday snack to help them chill out. I know I am a cranky ass when I am hungry. I give him a water bottle, or sometimes a juice box, a piece of fruit, and a some cookies or Goldfish or whatever. I give him something balanced and once in awhile a treat. If I made something special the day before for company, I may give him some the next day in the snack. Sometimes I give him the pre-packaged stuff if I bought it that week. I dont usually. It gets expensive. I would rather buy a regular box of cookies and give him a few in a ziploc for snack. But DO NOT tell me what I should give my kid to eat. If I was a moron and needed guidance because I gave him soda and a chocolate bar for snack then OK, maybe. But I don’t, and I really don’t know anyone that does.
2- A little kid really can’t have his mom or dad bake him some awesome cupcakes to bring into school for his birthday? He has to bring in what? Baked chips in a pre-packaged bag with the fat content clearly visible on the back? Really? Whoopee what fun! I have nothing against baked chips mind you. If you looked in his lunch bag you may find them in a ZIPLOC WITH THE CHIPS TAKEN FROM THE LARGER BAG I BOUGHT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!
3- Kids in all grade levels use bake sales to raise money. I have baked for sales to raise money from animal rescues, nuns, choir trips, junior proms to Tibet for crying out loud!! What will they sell now??? Low fat pudding and whole grain crackers?? C’mon!!!!
4- Focus on real problems. This town for example and I am not pointing fingers…had this quoted about it in the local paper “On July 2009 on Q. Street in W.B. 132 bags of heroin were seized when _______ (I removed the dirt bag’s name) was charged with criminal sale and criminal possession of heroin.” That is a problem everywhere these days. That scares the shit out of me, not cupcakes. Figure out a way to rid the towns we live in, behind our white picket fences of the heroin epidemic and then you can have a plaque to hang in your hallway.
There’s got to be more to worry about than cupcakes in first grade. I'll tell ya what school? You provide healthy lunch choices in school. You remove the soda and Gatorade vending machines in the cafeterias. You can even hand out carrots for Healthy Food Week and I will take care of it at home thank you very much.
Don't get me wrong I am not promoting soda and Sour Patch Kids as a healthy midday school snack. Here's why I think it's wrong:
1- Here we go again...now Big Brother is going to tell me what I can put in my kids lunch box? He brings snack to school everyday (in addition to the school lunch he buys everyday). Look, I know my generation didnt get "snack" and we lived. But thinking back some of the wacko kids in school could have maybe had low sugar or something and needed a midday snack to help them chill out. I know I am a cranky ass when I am hungry. I give him a water bottle, or sometimes a juice box, a piece of fruit, and a some cookies or Goldfish or whatever. I give him something balanced and once in awhile a treat. If I made something special the day before for company, I may give him some the next day in the snack. Sometimes I give him the pre-packaged stuff if I bought it that week. I dont usually. It gets expensive. I would rather buy a regular box of cookies and give him a few in a ziploc for snack. But DO NOT tell me what I should give my kid to eat. If I was a moron and needed guidance because I gave him soda and a chocolate bar for snack then OK, maybe. But I don’t, and I really don’t know anyone that does.
2- A little kid really can’t have his mom or dad bake him some awesome cupcakes to bring into school for his birthday? He has to bring in what? Baked chips in a pre-packaged bag with the fat content clearly visible on the back? Really? Whoopee what fun! I have nothing against baked chips mind you. If you looked in his lunch bag you may find them in a ZIPLOC WITH THE CHIPS TAKEN FROM THE LARGER BAG I BOUGHT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!!!!!
3- Kids in all grade levels use bake sales to raise money. I have baked for sales to raise money from animal rescues, nuns, choir trips, junior proms to Tibet for crying out loud!! What will they sell now??? Low fat pudding and whole grain crackers?? C’mon!!!!
4- Focus on real problems. This town for example and I am not pointing fingers…had this quoted about it in the local paper “On July 2009 on Q. Street in W.B. 132 bags of heroin were seized when _______ (I removed the dirt bag’s name) was charged with criminal sale and criminal possession of heroin.” That is a problem everywhere these days. That scares the shit out of me, not cupcakes. Figure out a way to rid the towns we live in, behind our white picket fences of the heroin epidemic and then you can have a plaque to hang in your hallway.
There’s got to be more to worry about than cupcakes in first grade. I'll tell ya what school? You provide healthy lunch choices in school. You remove the soda and Gatorade vending machines in the cafeterias. You can even hand out carrots for Healthy Food Week and I will take care of it at home thank you very much.
You can rest assured at my next community meeting I will find out what my Wellness Committee is up to. I just bought 10 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix for $10, and I am not about to throw them out. Cupcakes anyone?
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5 comments:
Ohhh, I knew I liked you the first time I hit the blog. It drives me crazy the hypocrisy. I send in lunch for my kids (mostly because they are so picky). And I think they are eating healthy. Then they come home with a note that they need more money in their lunch account. Why? You bring lunch almost every day. "I get snacks." What kind of snacks? Ice cream sandwiches, cookies, etc. WHAT!
And all the schools have vending machines in them. Fortunately a year or so ago they decided to stock them with fruit juice and "healthy snacks." But the teachers lounge has the sodas and junk and it is not well policed for keeping kids out.
And the school sells food for fundraisers, cookie dough, pizza, candy tins, etc. !!!
The latest thing that has my panties in a wad is the school wants to "go green." So they've brainwashing (I mean, educated) my children to harp on me about cloth napkins, reusable containers, thermoses and lunch bags instead of paper sacks, paper napkins, and convenience packs. (Which I normally do use containers for the same reason you do, it's more economical. But don't teach my kids to harp on me if I sometimes choose convenience.)
Thanks for letting ME join you in your venting.
Thanks Corrie...you can vent here anytime you want there's enough hot air to go around!!! You go girl!!!
~Cara
Popped in from SITS to say hi! I would have loved to be able to bring a packed lunch in school--after middle school, you had to buy it!
You are so right! As a new public school mom, (former homeschooler) it really gets my goat the amount of control the system has over my kids and really, my whole family. It's insane.
I know there are parents that won't do the right thing, but shouldn't that be their business?? (aside from true criminal action, of course.)
Oh, don't EVEN get me started. lol
Lisa @
All That and a Box of Rocks
I'll decide what my kid takes to snack- is what I say. There is always some agenda to cram. My kids go to a charter school (formerly homeschooled)and they did send a note home recently about not sending energy drinks and soda to the school for lunches (which of course we don't) but other than that I haven't heard anything about snack time. I would be ticked if I were being told it had to be certain kind of snack.
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