Federal School Lunch Program + Kids = Failure

A few days ago a student from Chickasha, Oklahoma, shared a picture of her Michelle Obama approved school lunch with local reporters.

This is an acceptable school lunch by the standards set forth by Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama, an attorney by trade with no education in nutrition of which anyone is aware, decided that stopping childhood obesity was her calling. She worked with someone (Who knows who?) to determine what she believed is and is not acceptable for school lunches. 

Chickasha school superintendent David Cash was sympathetic when he was shown the picture. “You’ve got, in some cases, little kids that their only two meals are breakfast and lunch at school and they’re getting, you know, a grand total of 1100 calories," Cash said. "That’s not enough."

Childhood obesity is a problem. Some kids eat too much and some eat all the wrong things. Most kids these days get very little exercise. Obesity is caused by a combination of things, not school lunches. Many kids throw most of their school lunches away because it consists of things they don't want to eat. So how good is a federally mandated school lunch program when the kids won't eat it?

I guess Michelle Obama can look at it favorably if she says "If they're not eating the food they're not getting fat." But that's a ridiculous way of looking at things. Kids need fuel. Their metabolism is higher than the average adult. Kids' brains need sustenance to maintain concentration on school work. They need fuel for playing sports. They need more calories every day than the average adult. But are they getting it?

According to medical statistics, the average male, age 14 to 18, who has an active lifestyle (sports, etc.) needs 2800 to 3200 calories to maintain good health. The school lunch program set up by Michelle Obama serves less than half of that number of calories in two meals. How good could it be?

Michelle Obama needs to take her school lunch program back and allow the school systems to make those decisions. Isn't it better if our kids eat something rather than throwing their food in the trash? Schools can find lower fat, lower calorie meals without having it mandated by the federal government. And even Michelle Obama can't control what kids eat when they're not in school. Much to her disdain, I'm sure.

I think the woman actually means well. I think her desire to end or lessen childhood obesity is genuine. But like many other liberals with causes, she has gone overboard in her zeal to make changes. Her changes are having the opposite effect and she simply won't allow herself to admit she made a mistake. She's like her husband in that respect. I think narcissism runs in the family.

Michelle Obama needs to revise her school lunch program, working with school officials, doctors and nutritionists, to include foods that kids actually will eat. You can serve kids healthy, low calorie stuff all day long but if they don't eat it have you really done them any good?