[...] Is This Girl’s Food Fight With the Obamas Fair? [...]

I think bringing attention to the horrible state of school lunches in many public schools is really important. And worth whatever risk there is in referencing the President’s daughters. Besides, it makes a big difference to me that the ad mentions his daughters in a nameless way so as to point to the position one has when related to power. The ad doesn’t mention them by name. To me, that’s far less personal.

Comments
It is because you are not rich Jasmine, and that is just how it is in America, moreover the Presidents enemies would make it worse, so if your effort hurts him it will probably hurt you.

Here’s an idea: Pack your own vegetarian lunch. Is “vegetarian school lunch” now a human right?

Totally agree with Madeline on the finger snap thing. So, so obvious.

I am in awe of how President Obama is expected to fix EVERYTHING. NOW. Federally, it would be a really difficult thing to manage. School lunches ought to be state and community issue, not a national one.

Maybe I’m pulling one of those annoying “back in my day”isms, but at least half the schools I attended did not provide any lunch at all. You brought it in. That was normal. I feel like it should still be the norm.

Maybe if Jasmine could have gotten a school voucher from the program that President Obama decided to kill simply to appease his buddies in the NEA and AFT she could get not only the healthier school lunches but the superior education that Malia and Sasha receive.

Maybe if Jasmine could have gotten a school voucher from the program that President Obama decided to kill simply to appease his buddies in the NEA and AFT she could get not only the healthier school lunches but the superior education that Malia and Sasha receive.

Sorry, Jasmine, but school lunches in Miami-Dade were disgusting when I was a kid, too. This was almost 20 years ago, but some of the older schools may still have “satellite” kitchens that get their food from a central kitchen and reheat it for the students at lunchtime. I ate the french bread pizza and chicken nuggets, but quit altogether when I found something that looked like either a boil or a 3-inch scab on my hamburger (I swear).

After teaching in South Florida and moving to North Carolina, I was appalled at the differences in the quality of school meals between the two districts I’ve worked in. Turns out, cafeteria managers have about 30 cents to spend per kid from the federal school lunch program every day. They count on the students who don’t receive free or reduced price meals to buy their food in the cafeteria and supplement the budget. More broke kids at a school = less nutritious, nastier food.

And actually, I DO believe there’s a federal requirement to provide a vegetarian lunch option every day. However, in some schools, that might be American cheese on a hamburger bun with a side of corn and applesauce. Tasty!

If Obama’s daughters went to public school, she would have a point. But it’s just ridiculous. Why stop there? Why not whine about why you don’t get to live in a bigger house or wear better clothes?

Take some responsibility and pack your own damn lunch. I found this incredibly annoying.

Ok, yeah, finger snap is way out of line, but how hard is it to pack a bag of carrots and a cheese sandwich. School lunches are gross anyway.

School lunches are as important in providing a learning enviroment as a well trained instructor. If a child gets garbage to eat, his/her education is just so much garbage. ‘Leave No Child Behind, is as important during breaks, “lunch breaks”, as classroom time.
i.e., try focusing your thoughts with an upset or hungry stomach.

HY this is to grolo who the heck are u to say who can by whatin america a free country!!?? who died and left u king or queen. This is america if ppl want junk they get junk if they want health they get that. It is their choice, and if that is taken away , and they’re being told what they can abd can not buy, athen we’re not being a free country!! You are way out of line there, and hate me if you want I dont care!! I know what it is like to work hard for what I got . It is not easy out there. And I hear everyone talking about bringing own lunches to school. Not everyone has that luxury to do. Some ppl are so poor they rely on those free lunches to sustain them for that day maby. So I think Jasmine is right, and a very brave girl to stand up, and do whats right, and for what she believes in!! True it is the school’s fault. But maby the presedent will finally see the horrors that go on in there, and finally fix it!! Harsh reality, but we need it!!

Comments
Stop picking at those two girls. Take some of your veggies to school.Seems to be a crime to be the Obama’s children. Leave them alone

CommentsVegetables don’t cost more unless:

Veggies get dumped in the trash because lazy sleazy FATHERS and mothers don’t teach their kids BY EXAMPLE the importance of eating them.

Veggies are not served at schools because lazy sleazy FATHERS and mothers don’t attend PTA and take an active role in schools.

Veggies get less shelf space because lazy sleazy FATHERS and mothers buy more booze and snack foods so business stock what sells and what’s easy.

I have to add that I am so proud of my fellow Americans as I read some of these comments…. it is so reassuring to know that there are so many people that recognize their responsibility to themselves and their family, and who see the problem in relying on the government or others to fix our personal/social problems. It is so refreshing to see this. Keep it up!!!!

Just because people are financially disadvantaged does not mean they are “sleazy fathers and mothers” as Pat said. I work in a very poor school and the parents would like to be more involved but they can’t because they are working 3 jobs to provide for their family. Why would they spend 3x as much money on veggies when they can get more for their money by buying less healthy options?

Comments I read all of these comments and I must say as a child in public school I was so thankful for school lunches I didnt know if it was a privilege or a right I couldnt wait to go to school to have lunch because for me that was my meal for that day I’d even beg other children for their lunch I went to school hunger almost everyday people had apple trees, rubarbs, growing that was nurishment for me and yes I stole them! And gardens with tomatoes and cucumbers, they didnt have a breakfast at school when I was growing up wish they did what I did have is exactly what was said prior a sorry lazy no work ethic father that did not take care of his responsibilities to say that they are all working 3jobs is so past my believeing I won’t even comment so vegetarian girl be glad U are getting fed at school for some that’s all they will C for a meal sometimes days at a time. STOP complaining!

Comments California has done healthy lunches for years. So should every state !! When my children were in school, I made their lunches so that they would get a meal that they liked and was good for them. My daughter remembers being carted around our local organic co-op as we picked out what she wanted to go into her lunches for the week. I was happy and she was happy as we made our choices together. Most public schools are way behind in the food issue, so I can sympathize w/ Jasmine. We’re with you 100%, Jasmine !!!!!! signed, Organic for 45 years.

This is a very good argument about school lunches and their nutrition.All my kids went to public schools, and these schools provided vegetable, but there was a price to pay. Move to a good school district and pay more taxes in that district all that accompanies it, your kids will have the best of everything those schools could provide starting with teachers.Having done that I had to cut back on what i thought was unnecessary, so that my kids could get the best, and i never complained now they are in very good public collages which are also giving the best of everything a student is supposed to get.Stop asking why the president’s kids are having health lunches, even if they were not president’s kids, they will be having health lunches because they had the money before they lived in the white house.That is even why the president was talking about recently to students, work hard, stay in school,focus and all that, instead of thinking about free stuff always coming your way, the fact that he was like some of those kids who are complaining about their lunch but he looked beyond that and now see where he is.

What about when the parents “choose” to buy crap and the kid knows that it’s not healthy and they can’t even get a healthy meal at school, regardless of whether it’s vegetarian or not? Are these young children supposed to go out and steal their food or just eat the crap that their parents and schools feed them? Beyond providing healthy lunches for those children whose parents can’t afford to provide them lunches, schools need to provide healthy lunches for those children whose parents make bad food decisions for them. There are many children out there who are smarter than their parents, but are forced to eat crap, either because that’s all their parents buy and/or because that’s all the school provides. Are these children supposed to just suffer? It’s no wonder or schools are failing in so many places and our children are falling behind so many other countries…. we just keep blaming each other and saying “it’s the parents fault” or “it’s the school’s fault”, instead of realizing that there’s a problem that just needs to be fixed. The only easy answer is, and it’s still not easy, is to quit forcing our kids, who can’t do much about it on their own, to choose between one crappy thing and another. There should be at least some healthy food options, at reasonable prices, in all of our schools, regardless of race, location, age, or sex.

Cost ISN’T the issue if you factor in farming subsidies handed out by the government artificially driving the price of certain cheap foods low. It’s interesting that people get all in a huff about “welfare” and government programs and handouts, but they don’t realize assistance to actual people is >2% and
CORPORATE WELFARE is so much more of a problem.