New Jersey High School Students Hold ‘Lunch Strike’ Over Smaller, Healthier Portions (W/Video)
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Young_Chitlin
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By: Neetzan Zimmerman
High school students around the country are bellyaching that not enough food is being served during lunch following the institution of new limits on portion size.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 sets new federal guidelines concerning the maximum number of calories per meal, and the total amount of protein per serving.
At Parsippany Hills High School, grumbling students are putting their protest where their mouth is, organizing a "lunch strike" over the healthier meals. "This year you're eating lunch and you're like ‘Did I even eat?'," student Brandon Faris told CBS 2. "You're not even full."
The president of the Pomptonian Food Service, which supplies the school with its meals, says every school district they work with has expressed similar complaints. "It's a very dramatic shift and it's being noticed everywhere," Mark Vidovich told Patch.
The fast-growing movement gained a national anthem last week when a group of teachers and students from Wallace County High School in Kansas put together a parody video called "We Are Hungry," which mocks the new rules
The video has been viewed on YouTube over half a million times since it was uploaded on September 17th.
"We didn't do this for political purposes," said English teacher Linda O'Connor, who wrote the lyrics. "We did this for educational purposes. We didn't expect it to hit a nerve like we have. We wanted to teach kids, if there is something they want to speak out against, go ahead and do that. That's part of being here in the great land of the United States of America."
But some suggest there is a definite political undertone to the uproar against the new standards, particularly given First Lady Michelle Obama's direct involvement in their passage.
Margo Wootan, who oversees nutrition police for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, points to a study that showed high schools were serving students an average of 857 calories each day before the new guidelines went into effect.
The new 850-calorie cap placed on lunches, therefore, isn't far removed from what students were already eating.
And the 12-ounce weekly limit on meat or meat alternatives actually brings the amount in-line with what kids should be eating. "It's an outdated idea that kids aren't getting enough protein — most kids are eating twice the recommended amount," Wootan says.
And if students truly wanted more food instead of just more junk, they are invited to help themselves to as many fruits and vegetables as their chubby little fingers can carry.
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LOL@ we are hungy
Chitlin been dropping news articles back 2 back -
I wanna say what a bunch fatties.
Teachin in the CPS has shown me that in many lower income homes,
lunch is really the only decent meal that those kids see that day. -
LOL@ we are hungy
Chitlin been dropping news articles back 2 back
The IC is THE place to read the latest news from around the nation and world.
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michelle obama is responsible
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Dumb kids want to hold on to their poison
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good article, but high school students are making youtube videos with their teachers now? I don't know. I just found that odd. We never did that in high school.Young_Chitlin wrote:Margo Wootan, who oversees nutrition police for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, points to a study that showed high schools were serving students an average of 857 calories each day before the new guidelines went into effect.
The new 850-calorie cap placed on lunches, therefore, isn't far removed from what students were already eating.
And the 12-ounce weekly limit on meat or meat alternatives actually brings the amount in-line with what kids should be eating. "It's an outdated idea that kids aren't getting enough protein — most kids are eating twice the recommended amount," Wootan says.
And if students truly wanted more food instead of just more junk, they are invited to help themselves to as many fruits and vegetables as their chubby little fingers can carry.
^^^ I'm not sure if all that is true, but if it is, then everybody should stop complaining. These fat students (and teachers) are too used to stuffing thier faces. At the most, schools should implement a gradual (as opposed to sudden) transition to their new policies.
smh @ this whole situation getting ugly when politics and parents get involved. -
I'm all for any type of demonstration, strike, protest, boycott, riot etc... but what the ? is a "meat alternative"?
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so you get 800 calories at lunch....maybe another 300-500 at breakfast and 1500 for dinner. add that to snacks 'n ? throughout the day.... that far exceeds what they 'need'....the only active kids in school are athletes...everyone else is laying around getting stone and playing video games. they just saw an opportunity to get some youtube recognition.
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I support this movement.
If the school is charging the same or more for less calories, then ? them. -
The pink stuffI'm all for any type of demonstration, strike, protest, boycott, riot etc... but what the ? is a "meat alternative"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IB7NDUSBOo&feature=player_embedded
