Bill: No snacks for food stamp users

[Grayma]

Maybe the point is to teach kids to look at their own food and see what is good and what is not, and to help kids pressure their parents for healthy lunches.

Welcome to Soviet Russia, then. It is certainly NOT the job of any creature of the state (which state employed teachers are) to meddle in what the family fixes for lunch and it really not their job to encourage kids to pressure their parents. Egad.

maybe the school should focus on reading, writing, math, and science literacy and let the kids and their parents apply that knowledge themselves.

 

[JabberJay]

Sounds like this 8 year old outweighs me and I'm 28!

Well when I move out and apply for assistance, food stamps will be one of them. I have already explained to my DD that we won't be buying junks and snacks to be left around like her grandparents do. We will be buying stuff like vegetables, fruits, lean meats, canned goods, and sandwhich stuff like bread, lunch meat, mayo, cheese, etc., then we buy healthy breakfast cereals like whole grain cheerios, or corn flakes, or something like that.

But here's a question how do you feel about people who purchase bagged salads, mac n' cheese in a box, or ramen noodles as quick sides to a meal?

I have to agree that you shouldn't be allowed to buy candy, sodas, and sweets with food stamps. That's not wise use of the assistance being provided to you. It chapped my rump when I was working at walmart in addition to working two other jobs while going to school when a snotty young black girl came through my line paying for an entire cart load of candy with her food stamp card. I had to bite my tongue on that one!

Bagged salads should be ok, I don't buy them myself due to freshness and price but I have no problem with them at all.

Mac n'cheese I admit not the healthiest in a box but also not the worst, I do usually keep one pack in the back of the pantry somewhere.

Ramen noodles a staple of college living and I would prefer to keep those back in my college days but I won't argue with it because for a cheap side you can also toss some steamed veggies and meats into the mix to make it really delicious and healthy, my fiance loves ramen noodles with peppers, peas, spinach and chicken or beef.

As long as they're not the entire meal every day of the week then I say knock yourself out cause I do it too sometimes. Though from what I've seen people my age do with their kids, it's usually not a sometimes thing, it's an every night thing as an entire meal not the side, which makes me worry about the kids.

 

[rolling7]

Welcome to Soviet Russia, then. It is certainly NOT the job of any creature of the state (which state employed teachers are) to meddle in what the family fixes for lunch and it really not their job to encourage kids to pressure their parents. Egad.

maybe the school should focus on reading, writing, math, and science literacy and let the kids and their parents apply that knowledge themselves.

Amen.........and sex too.

 

[Reba]

My daughter works at the school as a lunch lady and I think she feel uncomfortable saying anything. I would love to call the school and say something but my daughter would not like it. She is not as out spoken as I am.
My daughter think it a bad idea too. It is good to see someone feel the same as me! I am afraid this will setup some kids to be picked on too, you know how kids can be mean about the littlest thing. I feel really bad for kids that come from poor families and can't afford to buy fresh fruits or a snack for their child.
I think this teacher is using very poor judgement.

I agree with you. It's not right to penalize kids for their parents' food choices.

My daughter would be in that teacher's face in a flash. She's, um, very assertive.

 

[Dixie]

Bagged salads should be ok, I don't buy them myself due to freshness and price but I have no problem with them at all.

Mac n'cheese I admit not the healthiest in a box but also not the worst, I do usually keep one pack in the back of the pantry somewhere.

Ramen noodles a staple of college living and I would prefer to keep those back in my college days but I won't argue with it because for a cheap side you can also toss some steamed veggies and meats into the mix to make it really delicious and healthy, my fiance loves ramen noodles with peppers, peas, spinach and chicken or beef.

As long as they're not the entire meal every day of the week then I say knock yourself out cause I do it too sometimes. Though from what I've seen people my age do with their kids, it's usually not a sometimes thing, it's an every night thing as an entire meal not the side, which makes me worry about the kids.

When I cook Mac and cheese, I usually have grilled chicken breast, steamed veggies, and about 1 cup of Mac n cheese.

As for ramen noodles I usually mix in a bag of mixed vegetables, and chopped chicken breast. It's a one-dish meal when I make it. I may or may not cook some type of bread with it, depending on my mood.

Other good but cheap meals I like- elbow macaroni with tomato soup mixed together. Side of one or two garlic chicken tenders or some type of sandwich.

Another I've recently discovered is chili-Mac it's cheap and very easy to make but downside is that it's not the most nutritious. This would be more like a once a week easy meal if I can't be bothered with cooking a full meal.

I also like just cooking some ground beef and throw in some taco mix and have lettuce, tomatoes, onions, Spanish rice, and beans and wheat taco shells and have tacos. One taco will fill you up so this could be used as war overs for 2-3 days. An alternative is exchanging the beef for black beans and rice as filling.

There's lots of meals you can come up with that are cheap yet healthy for you. I want to try grilled fruits and vegetables this summer when it warms up if I can get a small grill. I also think there's nothing better than a burger made off an outdoor grill. Yum. Block party at my place this summer!!

 

[Grayma]

bagged salads are ok. mac and cheese in a box is ok on occasion. ramen noodles is empty calories.

Rice, potatoes and pasta noodles can go a long way on a small budget.

Ramen noodles aren't any more empty in calories than white rice or pasta. It's how they are cooked. If you just make the noodles and nothing else, that's empty calories, but add an egg and or some diced vegetables and you can get a full meal for about .50 cents.

We use them to make vegetable and noodle fritters for lunch.

Of course, the flavor packet is frankenfood, so I prefer to make the fritters from leftover spaghetti noodles.

 

[DeafCaroline]

Most people I know don't add anything to Ramen noodles but the flavouring packet which is full of sodium and MSG. That stuff is really bad for you. So, that's why I don't recommend it. But yeah, of course if you add healthy stuff to it and don't use the flavouring packets, it's fine. If there's a Chinatown wherever you live, get the noodles there, way way cheaper, same for rice and any other Asian ingredients.

 

[TXgolfer]

Steve, the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.3%. Almost 250,000 new jobs were created this month. the stock market is rallying very well, in fact, so well that the Dows had its highest close in 4 years.

The price of gold fell this week, another sign of confidence in the American dollar which is linked to the strength of the US economy.

Right now, the US economy is recovering, not declining.

I see you left out the "real unemployment" figures, the debt and gas prices.... Looks like you are drinking Obama's snake oil flavored Kool aid.

 

[Grayma]

I see you left out the "real unemployment" figures, the debt and gas prices....

I'm encouraged by the drop in gold prices, but there is more to the unemployment figures:

Once again, the civilian labor force participation rate has declined, from 64 percent to 63.7 percent in a single month. Since January 2009, it has declined from 65.7 percent, resulting in approximately 4.7 million people no longer being counted towards the unemployment rate. If they were included, the real rate of unemployed working age adults would be 11.01 percent, and the underemployed would be 17.6 percent.

Overall, that includes the 12.7 million people that BLS says are actually unemployed, and then 4.7 million who have given up looking for work, plus another 10.5 million who can’t find full-time work. All together, there’s 28 million working age adults who simply cannot find work in the Obama economy.

And:

1. If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7 percent then vs. 63.7 percent today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.0 percent.

2. But let’s not go all the way back to January 2009. In January 2011, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent with a participation rate of 64.2 percent. If that were the participation rate today, the unemployment rate would be 8.9 percent, instead of 8.3 percent. As an analysis from Hamilton Place Strategies concludes, “Most of the shift of the past year is due not to the improvement in the labor market, but the continued drop in participation in the labor force.”

3. Now, to be fair, some of the decline in the participation rate is aging Baby Boomers dropping out of the labor force. But taking that into account still doesn’t get us very far, as HPS notes:

Demographic projections expect that participation rate to be at 65.3 percent. If that full participation rate is the goal, our economy is “missing” 3.8 million workers, up from the 3.4 million we noted in the white paper. The unemployment rate in that context has not budged at 10.4 percent.

4. Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate is still a sky-high 15.1 percent.
[...]
Bottom line: The unemployment rate is dropping because economic growth continues to be so anemic that nearly 4 million Americans have quit looking for work and have been disappeared by the Labor Department. This still isn’t much of a recovery.

 

[DeafCaroline]

I see you left out the "real unemployment" figures, the debt and gas prices.... Looks like you are drinking Obama's snake oil flavored Kool aid.

It's yum yum delicious. You must have had some too since you said you're voting for this guy next term.

So, what do you think is the actual unemployment rate?

 

[TXgolfer]

It's yum yum delicious. You must have had some too since you said you're voting for this guy next term.

So, what do you think is the actual unemployment rate?

Only if he is running against Ron Paul.

(Technically that is voting against RP not for Obama)

 

[whatdidyousay!]

bagged salads are ok. mac and cheese in a box is ok on occasion. ramen noodles is empty calories.

Rice, potatoes and pasta noodles can go a long way on a small budget.

You have to be careful with bagged salad a lot of people think you do not have wash the veggies before eating them, and once you cut some veggies they start to lose their vitamins right away. I rather cut my own veggies this way I know they are freshly cut .

 

[whatdidyousay!]

broccoli,califlower and carrots for super bowl snacks.. most of you probably had ice cream and beer

I do not drink beer!

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Honestly, I think the teachers should mind their own business. They have no business looking at what the kids are eating. Let alone talking them into talking to their parents about it. If the child's eating habits is a real concern, then that should be brought to the attention of the school administration and make a decision on whether a social worker should be called in or not.

I do not think the school should get a social worker involved with what a child bring to school. That is worst than the teachers poking their big fat noses into other people business. you have to realize some parents may not be able to afford to buy healthy snacks . I blame the first lady for starting this mass hysteria about what kids are eating.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I agree with you. It's not right to penalize kids for their parents' food choices.

My daughter would be in that teacher's face in a flash. She's, um, very assertive.

That just how I feel . My granddaughter told her mom that a lot of kids get chips and other junk foods for snack. My daughter only give her daugther healthy snacks and lunches just like I did with her. It is up to the parents to teach their kids what to eat not the schools , teachers or the First Lady!
I am getting so sick of the government telling us what we can do or not do!

 

[Cheetah]

If you are trying to address the child obesity problem why not go directly to the source... ie the food. Perhaps an "independent" nutritionist could be brought in to review the lunch bag for each of the kids, and after a week of review create a recommendation sheet to share with the parents. After all, most young kids are not packing their own lunches, and if they are they shouldn't be.

This could be done twice a year with a summary results shared with the public. There is no need to single out any one or group of kids. The health and safety of our kids is everyone's responsibility.

 

[rockin'robin]

Very few kids pack their lunches for school, even parents don't do it....with free lunches for those low-income, they get free lunches at school, or just have to pay a portion.

At my boys school, Breakfast and Lunch for each of them are $2.40, combined it's $4.80 a day.....almost $25 per week....and the way I see it, it's cheaper than having to pack their breakfasts or lunches. They have to leave very early in the AM...and if we packed their breakfasts or lunches, a lot of times they forget them...as the bus leaves at different times. They get to the bus stop 15 minutes early, and even if the bus is "early" it does not wait....I've had to take them to school many times...

As for taking a "snack" to school, graola bars is their choice, but very seldom do they do that. They do have a snack when they come home, and I don't mind chips and a fruit drink. But no sweets, as we eat dinner anytime from 5-6pm

 

[LoveBlue]

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! :roll:


Just food for thought (literally): of all the substances that humans willingly consume, sugar is probably one of the major killers in this country behind alcohol and tobacco. So many diseases and conditions are linked to high sugar intake, from diabetes to obesity to cancer. It is also proven that sugar is addictive. The only difference I see between sugar and alcohol/tobacco is that it is not mind/behavior-altering.

"Regulating" sugar would be an impossible task, since it is a major food ingredient, so I don't see how it would ever fall under complete control of the government. At the same time, a much more stern position needs to be taken on sugar--both from the government and from society in general.

Have you never been around a woman who has been denied her chocolate fix?

 

[Reba]

Things have changed much since I attended school. The only time we had snacks were in kindergarten. We had the little bottles of milk and some Graham crackers that the school provided. That was it.

No other snack times for any other grades. Our schools had only lunch times. No breakfasts were served.

 

[Grayma]

If you are trying to address the child obesity problem why not go directly to the source... ie the food. Perhaps an "independent" nutritionist could be brought in to review the lunch bag for each of the kids, and after a week of review create a recommendation sheet to share with the parents. After all, most young kids are not packing their own lunches, and if they are they shouldn't be.

This could be done twice a year with a summary results shared with the public. There is no need to single out any one or group of kids. The health and safety of our kids is everyone's responsibility.

I would not be okay with that. It's not the business of any creature of the government to inspect what I feed my kids.
And the health and safety of *my* kids is *my* responsibility, not yours or anybody else's.