Poll: Who should be responsible for making sure students are eating a healthy lunch? / LJWorld.com

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Note: This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

Discussion

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21 October 2009
at 5:18 a.m.

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appleaday (Anonymous) says…

Or maybe the correct answer is “all of the above.”
21 October 2009
at 6:30 a.m.

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Anonymous) says…

This is all Obama's fault,
Nine months in office and he can not ensure students are eating healthy.
One could conceive and birth a child in that amount of time.
He has his arugula, what do the nation's students have.
21 October 2009
at 6:41 a.m.

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Lonestar1 (Anonymous) says…

Why is everything Obama's fault. Those who are so quick to point a finger and blame the new administration are the same ones who kept the old administration in office for 8 years, wrecked the economy, sunk our youth into two loosing wars, were poor stewards of the environment and only worry about how much money big business is loosing by giving employees heath care benefits. Or could it be that the blamer's just don't want to take any personal responsibility for the world?
21 October 2009
at 6:59 a.m.

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ozzynbn (Anonymous) says…

The obvious answer is the “student”. Even in 1st grade I knew that I needed to eat lunch every day. The poll to me seems to insinuate that the student is too stupid to know that they need a lunch. I think the poll was badly worded.
21 October 2009
at 7:52 a.m.

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KansasTwister (Anonymous) says…

I am for less government interference. I strongly believe it should be the responsibility of the parents!!!
21 October 2009
at 7:54 a.m.

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appleaday (Anonymous) says…

The key word, Ozz, is “healthy.” When you were in first grade did you magically know how to eat right or did your parents and maybe a teacher or two give you some information and guidance?
21 October 2009
at 8:05 a.m.

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snap_pop_no_crackle (Anonymous) says…

The President. Hey, he wants to run eveything else……

21 October 2009
at 8:11 a.m.

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appleaday (Anonymous) says…

And responsibility doesn't have to translate to mandates. Being responsible means telling the truth about what's healthy, providing healthy choices, and encouraging children to learn about nutrition. When I was in school we didn't have a choice. it was all pretty much unhealthy — lots of fats and starches, very few vegetables and fruits.
21 October 2009
at 8:29 a.m.

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puddleglum (Anonymous) says…

danggit. 3 of you already beat me to the punch.
Obama should serve up lunch for all children.
he could mix up the mashed potatoes and take the gravy away from the republicans and give it to the turkey. He's on a roll! maybe nancy and harry could join in peas in a pod.
or 'eat your vegetables-or you could end up like heart-attack Chaney' what about 'cash for chicken crispers?' diversity-pizza? al gore green-beans? man, I can do better, I just can't think straight right now.
21 October 2009
at 8:40 a.m.

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charliejohnson (Anonymous) says…

Of course the parent should be more involved from the start. Teaching children healthy choices instead of the EAST and favored Mc D''''s. I encourage my granddaughter to take her lunch everyday. Unfortunately, she has to be responsible for that when she does take it. The school lunches at my school are sparse and nothing but carbs. They do get a fruit and some vegie's but only a LITTLE protein and tons of carbs. Lets face it a carb diet is a lot cheaper to do than one with healthy foods.
21 October 2009
at 8:44 a.m.

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ozzynbn (Anonymous) says…

To appleaday:

My father bought “healthy” food, so that's what was available to me. And the school offered up a good healthy menu so that too was put before me. I could have opted to cheat and found unhealthy snacks and foods, but I knew at a young age between right and wrong. So it was up to ME to decide whether or not I wanted to grow up healthy. To this day my body craves veggies and fruits much more than meats and sugars. I took charge of my well being, that's my point to this thread. Self control. Taking responsibility for oneself. Get it now?
21 October 2009
at 8:47 a.m.

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brianjay1 (Anonymous) says…

I agree it is all 3. Parents if they are preparing lunch should make it healthy, The school district if they are cooking, and their should be some minimum health requirements for food quality. Nice and simple. besides… when was the last time kids didn't pick through their lunch and eat what they want and throw away the rest. I think that is part of being a kid!
21 October 2009
at 8:54 a.m.

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mjwgoku (Anonymous) says…

Hurricane Katrina was Bush's fault, now the lunches are Obama's fault…
It is the parents responsiblity and whomever tax money is going to to provide the lunches.
21 October 2009
at 9:08 a.m.

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Fixed_Asset (Anonymous) says…

Agreed - all three.
21 October 2009
at 9:09 a.m.

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appleaday (Anonymous) says…

Ozz — I, too, took responsibility, but also thanks to my mother who taught me the difference. I chose to bring my lunch to school and to this day I still crave fruits and vegetables more than sweets as you do. Just saying that we all contribute to how kids think and what they learn. In no way am I suggesting that we lay down more rules and laws.

21 October 2009
at 9:35 a.m.

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trinity (Anonymous) says…

i wonder if the potato boats that were popular back in my grade school days were healthy…i'd only eat the mashed taters and the cheese on top, left the slab of bologna on the bottom! yuk.
21 October 2009
at 9:43 a.m.

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Practicality (Anonymous) says…

This is a good question. I believe it is the parents even though that responsibility is usually left to the school.

I would also like to see a poll that asked:

“Who is responsible for paying for the lunch a child eats at school? (Healthy or Not)
21 October 2009
at 9:48 a.m.

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parrothead8 (Anonymous) says…

When you make the decision to have children, you make the decision to bring them up in the healthiest, most responsible manner you can. If having children here was regulated like it is in China, I'd say let the government decide how to feed them, but this ain't China.

Parents need to make sure their kids are eating healthy. We do this by packing them healthy meals to take to school or by taking action within their school districts to ensure that lunches we buy from the schools are healthy. It's called “being involved,” and it's what makes this country great, no matter your political leanings.

Ultimately, what our children eat on a regular basis comes back on us…not the government, whether it be Democrat or Republican.
21 October 2009
at 10:29 a.m.

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radiohawk (Anonymous) says…

If the schools are going to provide a lunch at all, it should be food worth calling food. No more “Catsup is a vegetable”. Actual fresh ingredients prepared by people that do food for a living. I'm not saying the cafeteria should get a Michelin rating, but stop using our kids as garbage dumps because “they'll eat anything you put in front of them”.
21 October 2009
at 10:31 a.m.

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BABBOY (Anonymous) says…

I think this is loaded question. I am awesome with loaded questions. The poll is really about tax dollars.

Here is my version of possible contra loaded responses reflecting my position;

1. Should funds we use for education also include funds to make sure a student who must spend all day in school recieve nutrition food to allow a proper education?

2. Should we instead further strip the school system of funds, stop providing school meals, so that we can further prove to anyone watching that education in Kansas is far less important then saving tax dollars for old near dead Republicans without any kids?
21 October 2009
at 10:32 a.m.

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vicblthndr (Anonymous) says…

You people wanted this A..hole now you got him. I'll bet his kids don't have to eat school lunches. Besides don't blame the cooks, blame the ki8ds, who won't eat their healthy lunched anyway.
21 October 2009
at 11:27 a.m.

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Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Elementary school children can only reasonably be expected to handle so much responsibility. If you give kids a choice between a healthy meal and an unhealthy one, what will they most likely choose? This sets kids up for failure. Most adults don't even make rational eating choices most of the time, and kids are even less rational.

Rather than the default school lunch choices being unhealthy, and forcing parents who want their kids to eat healthy to pack a lunch; it makes a lot more sense for the school to provide healthy meals and then parents can opt-out by packing a different lunch.

Another reason the responsibility should primarily (not solely) fall on the school is because many school children receive free or reduced priced lunches, so they are not able to choose a healthy lunch unless the school provides one.
21 October 2009
at 11:29 a.m.

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1029 (Anonymous) says…

I agree that Obama needs to step up and take responsibility for this. A lot of people like to blame Bush for this school lunch situation, but Obama's been in office for 9 months and it's about time that he mans up and explains to the people why he hasn't done something about them lunches yet.

21 October 2009
at 11:34 a.m.

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billbodiggens (Anonymous) says…

I seem to remember Regan’s administration attempting to upgrade the school food systems many years ago. I recall that administration was trying, among other things, to have catsup listed as a serving of a vegetable in order to comply with a need to cover all of the major food groups in some of the menus. Does that mean that Regan was also an “a….h.l.” as vicblthndr seems to be want to tell the world.

It would appear that we all are responsbile for the welfare of our children. It does no good for the parents to teach their children to eat properly if the school lunch is junk food. It does no good for the school to teach a child to eat properly if the parents do not feel it has any importants. But, to call somebody an “a….h.l.” just because you are given a public forum regarding child neutrition does not seem productive, to say the least.

Unless a person has lived their entire life in a cave, it should be apparent that both Republican and Democratic administrations have been concerned with child neutrition. But, “a…h.l.?” That makes no sense whatsoever.
21 October 2009
at 12:34 p.m.

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dudedog12 (Anonymous) says…

lonestar1, thats what they get payed for, to take responsibility ,even if it was not their doings…
21 October 2009
at 12:35 p.m.

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dudedog12 (Anonymous) says…

If they can't run with the big dogs, they need to get back on the porch…..
21 October 2009
at 12:47 p.m.

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lmb (Anonymous) says…

No one should be involved with making sure they are EATING a healthy lunch, but the schools need to ensure that the school lunch program is offering healthy lunches. Then it's up to the parents to either pack a lunch or choose a healthy school lunch. What the kids acutally put in their mouths isn't the issue.
21 October 2009
at 12:59 p.m.

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Ceallach (Anonymous) says…

Probably me. I seem to be responsible for everything else today! *end of pity party*
21 October 2009
at 1:03 p.m.

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justbegintowrite (Ronda Miller) says…

It is the combination of all listed. Kids can't eat healthy if it isn't being provided…or if they have 'bad' choices. Educate children, make all choices healthy choices and parent involvement should include eating lunch with your child (if you can) and seeing that healthy guidelines are being followed. Of course the down side to this is that the parent then has to eat healthy! ;)

We put the proper nutritionally balanced food in front of our children…it is up to them to eat it. I still see a lot of over feeding of children…trying to get them to finish everything on their plates only ensures their obesity later in life. Let them pick from healthy choices and eat until they are full.
21 October 2009
at 1:18 p.m.

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Practicality (Anonymous) says…

The cost of school lunches help determine how healthy they will be. Healthier lunches will require a HUGE influx in money. Where will this funding come from? That is the main problem with this ideal.
21 October 2009
at 1:19 p.m.

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jimincountry (Anonymous) says…

WTH……….Peanut butter and jelly or bologna sandwiches were good enough in my opinion with a half pint of milk to wash it down and a piece of fruit kicker!

21 October 2009
at 1:58 p.m.

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Machiavelli_mania (Anonymous) says…

If the Fed decides Kids need to be IN school longer, then it stands to reason they are responsible for serving quality foods.
21 October 2009
at 2:19 p.m.

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domino (Anonymous) says…

When I was a kid, our school cooks fixed homemade meals that were nutritionally balanced and tasted great. I think since then, school meal programs have probably gone down-hill. When my older kids were in school, in a small school district, their meals were still great - health-wise and taste-wise. But by the time my youngest was in high school, and in a bigger district, the meals were very poor in both quality & taste.

A few years ago, after my kids were all out of school, our local school district, at the request of a large number of parents, decided to offer a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, piece of fruit & carrot stick type lunch that the kids could choose once a week, instead of the regularly scheduled lunch. It was a pretty good idea that had quite a few kids choosing this, gave them what they needed and they would eat it. The problem came in from the kitchen staff saying that it was causing too much work for them, so they wanted to go with a pre-made, frozen PBJ sandwich that they could just thaw out and serve to the kids. Give me a break!! How hard is it to slap some PB&J on a couple pieces of bread and serve the kids! I think it was a problem with lazy cooks! All they want to do is heat up, warm over, thaw out or something along those lines. They are supposed to be “cooks” - apparently something they don't do much of!

As a parent, I always made my kids eat school lunches because they were much more reasonable as far as cost, than packing a lunch. I didn't have to worry about keeping hot/cold items the proper temperature, and I knew they were getting healthy meals. Not sure parents these days have that assurance.
21 October 2009
at 2:37 p.m.

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tonymontana (Anonymous) says…

this is god's fault for not providing the wisdom and foresight to make healthy lunch decisions.
21 October 2009
at 2:41 p.m.

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Liberty_One (Anonymous) says…

The responsibility should be placed on the person(s) who are most affected, i.e. the children and their parents. The government will not adequately ensure healthy meals since they will bow to food lobbies that sell huge quantities of food to schools. We are talking millions of dollars at stake if your food product is declared unhealthy and taken off the menu.
21 October 2009
at 2:47 p.m.

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mr_right_wing (Anonymous) says…

Why not all of us? If ObamaCare passes, we'll all be paying the literal price for childhood obesity. Make all 'junk food' just as illegal as heroine!!
21 October 2009
at 3:15 p.m.

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Clickker (Anonymous) says…

The Teachers at the school should make sure the kids are all eating right when they are at school.
21 October 2009
at 4:13 p.m.

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merrill (Anonymous) says…

What is a healthy lunch?

How about something lite yet energy packed and nutritious?

Granola and/or a variety of whole grain cereals with fresh fruit
daily. For the most part students sit around for a few hours after lunch. Not only that I've read that cereal twice a day with fruit is quite healthy. AND it helps keep weight down.
21 October 2009
at 4:35 p.m.

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Liberty_One (Anonymous) says…

merrill—that high carb lunch would not be healthy for me. People are unique and one-size-fits-all diets don't work for all.

21 October 2009
at 4:56 p.m.

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jumpin_catfish (Anonymous) says…

Obama, of course!
21 October 2009
at 6:20 p.m.

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Bladerunner (Anonymous) says…

Wow! Only 41% of poll answerers believe the parent should be responsible for the child. 51% believe the district or the government should have that responsibility. What a pathetic society we have become.
21 October 2009
at 8:57 p.m.

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RETICENT_IRREVERENT (Anonymous) says…

“Why is everything Obama's fault.”

Because Al Gore had a bye.
22 October 2009
at 1:11 a.m.

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Solomon (Anonymous) says…

Blade, I agree. The only two choices should be, the parents or your friends and neighbors (taxpayers).