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Politics & Government

Moms Talk: School Lunches

With the recent controversy over potatoes in school lunches, we want to know what you think about the quality of meals being served in our public schools.

I read an interesting article from the Associated Press this morning.

The phrase that hooked me was this one: “The Senate threw its weight behind the potato Tuesday.”

Huh?

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Here’s the story in a nutshell: On Tuesday, the senate voted to block the Obama administration’s proposed U.S. Department of Agriculture rules that would limit school lunchrooms to two servings a week of potatoes and other starchy vegetables.

The proposal was aimed at reducing the number of French fries served in , but a lot of folks were outraged by this tactic—specifically potato growers (duh), school districts and parents who feel that the government shouldn’t dictate what kids eat.

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Their point? Potatoes, when cooked in a healthy way, are a great source of fiber and potassium. They’re also an affordable way to get nutrients into school lunches.

Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Mark Udall wrote an amendment to the proposal that would prevent the USDA from limiting potatoes or any vegetable in school lunches.

"This proposed rule would have imposed significant and needless costs on our nation's school districts at a time when they can least afford it," Senator Collins said.

Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been in any school that still fries anything—much less a potato. So I can see their point here. Also, school lunches are a federally subsidized meal, so let’s keep affordable and nutritious vegetables in rotation. The last time I checked, we weren’t exactly flush with dough.

Maybe the point here should be diversity in our foods, not exclusion.

I realize that a lot of kids don’t get much more to eat than the foods they get at school. I went to school in a poor district, and it breaks my heart now to realize how many of my friends probably relied on the school breakfasts and lunches to keep them nourished.

There are grassroots organizations popping up all over the country with an aim The most notable advocate for better, more nutritious school lunches is celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Things are slowly improving, and I hear of more and more public schools that are making changes for the better when it comes to healthy meals.

Do your kids eat lunch at school? How do you feel about the quality of the meals they receive? Do you have ideas (or even dreams) about how schools can offer more nutritious foods to our children?

Or on the flip side, do your children brown bag it like mine? If they do, why did you make that choice?

Let’s talk it out.

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