School Lunches May Be Returning To Casseroles - Yuk!

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As parents, we get our children up and send them off to school most of the time never asking during the harried morning crunch what is on the menu. A few parents pack their kids a brown bag style lunch, with chips, sandwich, sugar juice boxes and cookies. Not the most nutritiously balanced lunch by far.

Even still, fewer parents pack their children healthy choices such as yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat breads, lean proteins and reduced fat or soy milk choices. A rare trend likely to decrease in months to come.

The fact is the majority of parents send their children off to school with a reliance on the school's lunch system. Albeit, the system itself is graded and nutritionally sound, requiring low fat dairy, fruits and vegetables, baked breaded proteins and breads all of which serve to provide a balance in the food pyramid.

In many locations across the nation, over half, or more, of the student population is being fed by the federal government's free and reduced breakfast and lunch program.

As the price of living is skyrocketing and basic living expenses are under attack, the once reliable an inexpensive school lunch now seems to be the target of the next wave of problems.

In a news article out of Beaumont, Texas, one district's lunch program is feeling the crunch in more ways than one.

"We don't want to cut back," said Patricia Barker, director of Food and Nutrition Services for BISD, "but prices are going nowhere but up. We've trained our kids to eat more and more nutritious, and they're used to that, so it's going to be a challenge."

Do they cut nutrition? Do they raise prices beyond what parents can pay so they can purchase the foods to meet nutritional needs? It is quite a conundrum for those having to make these decisions.

Out of roughly 20,000 students, Barker's district funds over half of those children as free breakfast and lunch recipients. Just under 1,500 receive reduced lunches at a cost of .40 each. The remaining students pay for their own at a full price of between $1.50 and $1.80 a lunch.

Having to raise that cost, even a few cents, can have an enormous impact on families who are barely getting by now. Take into consideration those who have multiple children in schools and whose income does not qualify them for a reduced lunch program. Rising costs at home, including electricity rates, food rates, healthcare and gas costs can create a problem not only financially, but in the health and well being of these children.

A family who might have had a nutritionally balanced school lunch could be forced into eating home prepared lunches of much lesser nutritional value, leading to an increase in health problems, mental alertness and a myriad of other issues that fall under basic hunger and nutritional needs.

As for those on free and reduced lunches, they will continue to receive their food. However, with costs still escalating, there is no telling where the money will come from for these children's meals.

Cost cuts have been an ongoing process for this particular district, who has diligently employed portion sizing, precooking and job elimination as a means of streamlining costs.
Unless MREs (Meals Ready To Eat) are an option, and at an inhumanly amount of calories and fat per package it is highly unlikely, the only viable option would be to begin cutting nutrition or raising lunch prices.

The amount of money that will be given to schools by the Federal Government is still in the air. Currently, this particular district receives from the Federal Government just under $2.50 per free lunch student; just over $2 per reduced lunch student; and .23 for regular lunch student. This could change as the rate is set every July:

The federal school lunch program either could be helped or hurt by Congress as well.

The 2007 Farm Bill might funnel $3.2 billion into federal school lunch programs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But elected officials still are tinkering with it and the amount of money available for school lunches isn't set.

So as school's across the country try to plan as best they can for children next year while submitting budget numbers, they are keeping in their minds:

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can corn
1 can chicken pieces
1 cup instant rice

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Top with fried onions.
Serve warm with a glass of flavor-aide over ice. Enjoy.