I do think unhealthy snacks should not be allowed as an offering on a daily basis. My school tried to take that a little too far by saying we couldn't have cupcakes or birthday cake for birthdays in the classroom. That's just rediculuous.

I think a better solution to banning junk food would be to have plenty of healthy food available. Grapes, bananas, strawberries, etc should be readily available in the classroom as well as granola bars.

I do think school should be a place for healthy eating. It annoys me so much that I don't allow the kids soda very often, only to find out they've been getting it at school every day. Their school doesn't have a lunch room, just a hot food canteen, so if I have to send lunch money instead of packing lunches, the horrors of what they eat is just awful!! Pizza chips and soda. My god.

I don't think higher taxes on bad food is going to solve anything. I know from experience bad food is cheap, and was all I could afford (think Totinos pizza. I could feed all four of us for $4). Fresh veggies and lean meat being more affordable might help, but not making bad food more expensive.

My kids school has healthy lunches and unfortunately my son looks at the menu and says ewwww! I also agree that its unfortunate that junk food is cheaper. I am a big offender of junk food :(

@callieflower82 Farmers get HUGE tax breaks, along with many grants! Unfortunately, that doesn't solve greed. If the farmers aren't over-charging, then the shipping companies, produce distributors, or grocery stores are! And farmers markets are even more expensive than the grocery store where I live.

Oh the portion sizes in the US are reeeally shocking! I noticed this when I went! In some places here they are getting worse.

I think teaching children healthy eating patterns (a little of everything with some indulgences) is the key to a healthy heart and life.  Anytime something is preached endlessly, kids will hit the ignore button after a while.  It has to be fun, it has to be in moderation like food. 

That being said, some people can't afford the costs of constant healthy eating so what do they do?  They have to buy and serve what they can afford.  Make healthy foods more affordable and junk food more expensive. 

Also, there's a difference between affordability and simply not caring.

I use a smaller plate, too, @calliflower82. I helps a lot, and once my stomach shrunk back to normal, I wasn't as hungry.

Like the rest of the ladies above, I think it's pretty shitty that a fresh fruits and veggies are twice as much as a boxed pizza that has 3/4 the daily recommended serving of fat in a slice. I think we go through a pound or more of salad a day in our house, and it's not cheap even if you buy the bagged stuff. The school Sunshine gos to has a regular lunch line, and a soup and salad bar. For the most part she eats the soup and salad but hits the other line when they have something that catches her fancy.

I don't think they should add a tax to any food, It would affect the people who are living paycheck to paycheck the most, and severely screw them over in the end. I know back in Denmark, I have relatives that complain they added a Value Added Tax(VAT) to several types of foods a couple years ago and it spiked the price on a lot of things, baked goods, hot food restaurants, and high fat content items like butters and oils.

I also think one of the fundamental things that has made our country fat is people don't get out enough. This new generation is more about sitting on the couch and doing nothing than getting out and running around. You would have never caught me in the house during the summer, running wild all day, I just had to be home a little after nightfall

My sons school doesnt have a lot of junk food, but being in the PTA we sell it after school so we can help fund things for the school, but we go out and buy healthier snacks as well as the bad stuff and hope the kids make better choices.

I also live out  in a rural area where it is  a mile to get to the nearest grocery store and 2 for a shopping center, restaurants are about 15 miles away, so it seems like we are always driving to get somewhere. Even the parks are not in the community.  Not saying it is a great excuse but walking by a dairy farm in 100+ heat isnt very pleasant  just to walk to a store and back...   

Now I know that this PTA at my sons school is big about health that they are talking about having a running path installed around school and equipment so that who ever run it can do push up, or squats or pull ups every so yards as well as put up exercise equipment in the playgrounds for the kids. 

We are not a rich school at all and there is not enough parent involvement  but they are awesome at trying to give back to the student body and community. 

I think we need to teach more about nutrition  and not just follow the usda recommendations. (which is funded by those industries.....another rant.)


On a separate note. Did you know most of the food grown here in the USA is NOT as nutritious as it once was due to it being changed and bred to produce more and withstand illness.  We as Americans eat OVERLY processed food on top of that.  Even our wheat is different ground than what they use in Europe and else where so it isnt as good as it should be and there has been discussion that the reason there are so many more celiacs now could be due to the way we process our foods (grains).

There is also the whole other fact that we as Americans also dont know how to treat food.  We use food as a comforter or  a treat or a "I am bored and it is something to occupy my hands" rather than food is to help us grow and live.   We live in a society that SKINNY is what is wanted not healthy and we BASH those who say otherwise. And as WOMEN we are shown that the only way to be happy or to be successful  and beautiful is to be thin.  There are not many ( at least when I was growing up) normal size women being role models, different body shapes, body mass  and what not.  Okay, Sorry for Off Topic rant there but I know it has led to depression even in me because I was NEVER like those girls in the magazine so I never had anyone to compare myself I felt like I could never be like them and that men/boys wouldn't like me.

Oh and to add did you know they change the name of SUGAR so it is not in the first spot in ingredients.  Like they will say oats and such and add sugar then further down add the alternate names for
forms of added sugar: corn sweetener, corn syrup, high-fructose corn
syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrates, lactose, maltose, malt syrup,
molasses, cane juice, cane syrup and sucrose.( Any ingredient ending in
"ose" is likely a form of sugar.)   

MammaTeeRoll said:

 And I've noticed garbage food is much cheaper than healthy food. welfare covers all junk food, but there is an allowance on produce.

Truth. It really is. We get SNAP benefits, and if it weren't for those, my WIC covers $10 a month in fresh produce. Thankfully, we live in a farming community, so there are lots of fresh fruit and veggie stands run by local farmers and the Amish where the stock is affordable. But in the wintertime, forget it! There's no way to afford it and cover your food bill for a whole month. Grapes go to like $5 a lb. It's ridiculous.

And the school lunches here are a JOKE! I went to a parent's day where we were invited to eat lunch with our kids. If that food was healthy, then I'm fucking Michelle Obama (either way you read it :-) ).
It's a shame that I can't send a granola bar with chocolate chips in her lunchbox, but the cafeteria can serve her this vile brown, greasy, cheese covered mess every damn day. Makes a lot of sense. It also explains why the less fortunate children whose parents can't pack a lunch for them are the most overweight. Last time I checked, pizza and chicken nuggets weren't listed as a health food.

I think we should be regulating what kids eat at school, they can't be expected to make healthy choices for themselves, it's not in their natures. I don't let my daughter randomly graze in our cupboards and I don't even have junk food in the house.

 When it comes to grocery shopping, I have a few things I always keep on hand: bananas, apples/applesauce, carrots, and celery. They all run <$1/lb. I stopped buying frozen pizzas and whatnot because I realized that produce, even if it costs more, is so much more filling and satisfying. We don't buy salad, the only ones that are affordable anymore are iceburg lettuce mixes. Spinach goes on sale for <$1 a bag and I throw it directly into the freezer for use in casseroles, meatballs, and pizza sauce. You can also get heads of lettuce for <$1 each in season. During the winter it's harder so I try to stock up the freezer ahead of time (we don't like canned vegetables) and we eat in-season things like squash. Meat is much harder. My husband used to have a job where we were paid partly in beef. Keeping meat in the freezer has been a challenge (Didn't ground beef used to be cheap?!). We eat a lot of chicken, which we only buy whole or legs because it's around $.69/lb on sale. We've also started eating a lot of meatless meals such as baked beans and corn bread, grilled cheese and tomato soup, and homemade cheese pizza, things my big rancher-dude husband won't rebel against. I know people have different grocery budgets and the cost of food varies depending on where you live, but usually it's possible to make better choices. We're not perfect, we don't buy organic, and we have never eaten Quinoa, but I swear this works for us.

 Taxing junk food is ridiculous, there are so many better ways to get people eating healthier.

Join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  I agree the crap they serve in schools today is just that: crap:  the school lunchrooms are bound by government regulations and budgets.  Sad but true.  A school district might have one registered dietitian rather than one at every school.

Grow your own. That's all I gotta say. You want lettuce? Buy a pre-sprouted salad mix lettuce, pop it into a pot, put it in the sun and water. You will have more lettuce than you can eat. Same with tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, sweet and hot peppers. It takes a bit of initial investment for pots and dirt, but anyone can grow their own produce. Fruit is more problematic, but veggies are better for you anyway.

Our school has eliminated junk food as far as what kids can purchase beyond their provided lunch, our vending machines are water, milk, flavored water, gatorade and 100% fruit juice. The a'la carte at the high school has granola bars, boxed cereal (cheerios, corn flakes, wheaties and maybe one other) yogurt, string cheese and gogurt. The only questionable thing on it is those pre packaged froze pb and j things.

Obesity is a major issue. It is very hard to buy healthy foods on a budget. I have tried and the cost is astounding. I do make sure to get bananas and this time of year watermelon cause they are affordable and last. The cost of kraft mac a box is 50cents to make the same portion from fresh is 10bucks. If u want cheesy mac n cheese. I think schools should not sell sodas and candy at all. It just provides another source of junk to kids. Also I do believe we should be allowed to eat what we want and the government is big enough. They have there hand in everything why do they think they can control this also. Its all about money to them they don't care if we are 500lbs or 100lbs. This is another example of sin tax. It is a parents responsibility to feed our kids normal portions and healthy foods. As poor as I am and as lil groceries I can swing I feel I provide a decent diet. Cheese puffs for breakfast with jelly donuts are the problem. Wheat toast and a banana costs the same. I don't kbow if I answered the question but I do believe its lunchtime!!