lunch programs

I am not an Obama fan.  The First Lady just rubs me the wrong way- so sue me.  But, being the Libra that I am, I must see good in everyone and will give credit where it is due.  I feel the need to commend Michelle Obama for her decision to include a kitchen garden at the White House.  Hopefully she has an idea about the crap we Americans eat.  And I hope she realizes the power she has to help share that with fellow Americans.  Healthy food is not for the elite.  Ironically, when I was growing up such healthy foods were "poor people" food (my brothers words, not mine).  We ate from a garden and rarely had processed foods.  I don't even really remember having much cheese around until I was in middle school.  

Which brings me to another point.  I would love to see a high profile parent (are you listening Mrs. First Lady) make school lunches a priority.  We are so insistent that kids will only eat nuggest and pizza that all we are willing to give them is the crap we know they will eat.  We will have a generation of adults that do not know what a real piece of food looks like.  Are we doing this because it is easier or cheaper?  It is certainly NOT because it is healthier or the only things children will eat.  

Other cultures do not share this mentality and their children eat fish, seaweed, beans, veggies, fresh fruit........  I have officially decided that I will no longer order of the kids' menu for my kids (as much as possible any way- if they cannot share, adult portions are too large and expensive for little guys).  I have been fighting a battle all their lives to get my kids to appreciate real food.  I am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  If I could go back, I would have kept giving Helen what we were eating even though she threw it on the floor.  She would have eventually eaten what she was given.  I also wish I had never given them anything but water and milk to drink.  Zachary will drink water, but Helen would rather dehydrate than drink it.

Maybe following their trip to Europe, Mrs. Obama will recognize the need for this country to stop buying into big agriculture and the determination that children need such processed foods in their every day lives.  It needs to begin in the home, but school is  setting a terrible example.  I taught in a headstart type program in Georgia.  Our food funding really had no room for all processed foods.  We may have had the occasional nugget or pizza bagel, but we had more real chicken and dumplings, beans, home made meatloaf, fresh baked bread, fresh fruit......  And the kids ate it, especially the ones who told me "my grandma cooks like this".  Food for thought, people.  Feed your kids well.