Should the Federal Government Regulate Your Child's Bagged Lunch?

If you've watched any episodes of the recent reality TV hit, Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution", you're probably aware of the poor federal standards of our public school's lunch menus. And while I applaud the efforts being made to revolutionize school lunch menus across the country, an interesting question was raised in the latest episode: should schools be allowed to regulate the contents of a student's bagged lunch from home according to the federal school lunch standards? In this episode, Jamie Oliver revisits the elementary school lunch room in which he started his Food Revolution, and he and the principal go around to the tables, checking to see what's in the packed lunches. What he found broke my heart: potato chips (sometimes 2 or 3 bags!), candy, salty corn chips with processed cheese, sugary cereal, soda & sugary drinks and fluorescent Jello®.

As they looked as these less-than-healthy foods, Jamie raised the possibility of trying to implement healthy standards to bagged lunches. I understood his frustrations immediately, yet wondered as a parent if this was even a valid restriction. Jamie cited that feeding your child nothing but potato chips and candy (the sole contents of one little girl's lunch) for lunch every day is child abuse, which I agree with. But allowing the federal government to tell me how to pack my child's lunch? That's probably going too far. How would these standards be implemented and how far would they go? Moreover, how would these standards be enforced? Would I be banned from packing if I didn't follow certain guidelines, or would my child go hungry with no lunch to eat? The questions are complex, and in the world we live in, full of choice and personal freedoms, this type of school lunch regulation doesn't seem likely. However, I do think there are reasonable measures schools can take to make sure bagged lunches at school promote health in students, especially if the school is revamping its school lunch program overall.

Ban Certain Foods
Growing up, my school district banned soda from being sold or consumed in any school, from elementary through high school. Even vending machines in the high school were on a timer and would not operate until after school hours. This meant that even kids who packed a lunch could not bring soda; if a lunch monitor saw soda, he was allowed to confiscate it. That student would be able to drink water from the water fountain instead. Limiting or banning foods like soda and candy is a way to promote health without going too far. Kids don't benefit from lots of sugar; it disrupts their learning and behavior. Therefore, limiting these things would help students stay focused without putting too many limits on what they are allowed to have (i.e. cookies and brownies packed in a lunch would be acceptable).

Give Rewards for Healthy Eating
Sometimes all it takes for kids to be motivated is some encouragement from adults, like teachers and staff. Rewarding kids who have something healthy in their lunch with stickers or raffle tickets for prize drawings is a great way to get kids excited about bringing nutritious foods to school. The school could even have a contest between classes or grades, keeping track of which group packs the most healthy foods and reward that group with a special prize or privilege. If teachers or lunch monitors gave out these reward incentives when spotting an item like an apple, whole wheat bread, carrot sticks, or white milk, kids would get excited and ask parents to include these items in their lunches.

Educate the Parents
Most parents want what's best for their child, but don't always know what that is. If your school is striving to be healthier, host a night when parents can come to the school and learn about the school's health guidelines and preferences, as well as what simple healthy choices the parents can make when packing their children's lunches. Explaining why certain choices are better than others and what the effects of these food are on children in relation to how they learn can be a great way to get a school community on the same page when it comes to healthy eating and initiatives.

It will be interesting to see how this debate takes shape over the coming years in our public schools and if this Food Revolution affects school lunch government regulations across the country. I would love to hear your opinions and suggestions on this subject; just leave your thoughts in the comments section below.