We seem so surprised by all this top down government intervention into the pathetic state of local school lunch programs, mainly because it's directly sitting there in the plate to be experienced by the senses. The vast majority of the populace doesn't seem to mind all the other rules, regulations, and mandates that infringe on all other facets of daily life from the 'ones who know better' up on the hill. Trying to control an issue from Washington down to a local lunch level, is like reining a horse with a 100 foot rope. Every possible travesty and mishap is going to occur because the big dogs who think they are in control - really aren't, and the locals who should be in control - won't take control. This gap of common sense is why you see poor quality, and ridiculousness in the lunch program.
28 years ago, my first year of teaching was in a rural school (long ago closed) in Harmon county located in the middle of a cotton field in the middle of nowhere. Two older lunch ladies provided for around 100 children every day. They made their own hamburger and hotdog buns from scratch, spun butter and honey together for hot rolls, and cooked like a visit to grandma's house every day.
28 years later, EVERYTHING out of a school lunchroom is from a can, a box, a sack, or a freezer carton. Nutrition labels and regulations dictate what gets served, paper work and audits must be adhered to. Any enterprising lunch worker wanting to make something 'homemade' is condemned, because it's out of regulation or can't be qualified. I've personally seen local growers turned away when they offered their produce to schools because 'it was too much hassle and paper work' to deal with.
When big gov gets in, so does the crap and silliness.
28 years ago, my first year of teaching was in a rural school (long ago closed) in Harmon county located in the middle of a cotton field in the middle of nowhere. Two older lunch ladies provided for around 100 children every day. They made their own hamburger and hotdog buns from scratch, spun butter and honey together for hot rolls, and cooked like a visit to grandma's house every day.
28 years later, EVERYTHING out of a school lunchroom is from a can, a box, a sack, or a freezer carton. Nutrition labels and regulations dictate what gets served, paper work and audits must be adhered to. Any enterprising lunch worker wanting to make something 'homemade' is condemned, because it's out of regulation or can't be qualified. I've personally seen local growers turned away when they offered their produce to schools because 'it was too much hassle and paper work' to deal with.
When big gov gets in, so does the crap and silliness.
