Screw health, we need the money!
The Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 school board voted Thursday to cut itself loose from the U.S. Department of Agriculture program, even though the decision creates uncertainty for low-income students who rely on the program’s reduced-price meals. The district will also lose a related $900,000 federal subsidy.
That dollar amount is outstripped by the $2.2 million in annual food service revenue that comes from the a la carte menu, which sells things like pizza, fries and Subway sandwiches. The district also said it gets $543,000 in revenue from vending machines.
Both revenue streams would be affected by the so-called Smart Snacks in School policy that goes into effect July 1.
Heavily endorsed by first lady Michelle Obama, the new policy marks the first time the federal food program will directly dictate nutrition for any food sold in schools during the school day — not just the traditional lunches and breakfasts it has long subsidized.
Food from the a la carte menu in the cafeterias, as well as in vending machines and at club fundraisers will soon be subjected to strict guidelines, including restrictions on calorie, sodium, fat and sugar.
Couple things here: Districts are so cash-strapped, even in a wealthy Chicago burb like Arlington Heights, that they need vending machines and pizza to make ends meet. And they can count on parents and constituents not paying any attention to the money situation or the actual health consequences when there are LIE-BERALS and their evil government to fight back against:
George Marquez, a Wheeling High School parent, said it would hurt his family if the reduced-price meal model is significantly changed.
“It would affect me, but I’m for it,” he said. “You must try something because the government can’t control everything.”
Right. The government can’t control everything, which is why the school district, WHICH IS A UNIT OF GOVERNMENT, can offer snack food brands the opportunity to market to a captive audience. Because that’s not control. That’s freedom.
The comments, as you might imagine from a rich Republican suburban paper, are solid gold:
Kids will be obese no matter what the White House has to say. The majority are welfare lechers, whose parents are equally blubber, 4 feet wide by 5 feet tall. It doesn’t matter anymore. This is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR by FAT AND LAZY MOMMA.
I’m curious why our property tax dollars have to be spent on breakfasts and lunches for thousands of kids in every school district. Don’t we already pay for their food stamps? When did the schools become responsible for feeding people for free? If you can’t afford to buy the lunch, do what I did as a kid, bring a baloney sandwich in a paper bag. So sick of this nanny state mentality. If you can’t afford to feed your kids, don’t HAVE them.
Get schools out of feeding kids altogether. Brown bag it. There are literally dozens of welfare programs we pay for now that are supposed to be feeding the poor kids.
If you don’t have money for your lunch, bring your lunch! I just …
A.
Free Enterprise is giving the school lunch program over to private companies, such as McD’s.