Food Police: Rethinking lunch in Ridgewood schools
TUESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2012, 11:33 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Hungry for change, Ridgewood’s cafeteria service is joining a growing group nationwide that is raising concerns about new school lunch standards implemented this year by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
According to Ridgewood’s Superintendent of Business Angelo DeSimone, a position paper has been drafted that will eventually be presented to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
At last week’s meeting, the Board of Education (BOE) also discussed the possibility of drafting a resolution on the subject that would eventually be presented to federal legislators.
In an interview, DeSimone said that the backers of the current position paper, which urges the USDA to revisit its standards, include the president of Ridgewood’s cafeteria service Pomptonian Food Service; Princeton Food Management, the food service director of Toms River regional school district; the food and nutrition director of the Passaic City Board of Education; the food service director of the East Brunswick school district; and the president of Nutri-Serve Food Management, Inc.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/173303901_Rethinking_lunch_in_Ridgewood_schools.html
My kids have been brown bagging it for the past 15 years. They say the food is nasty, the portions sizes are too small and it takes to long to get (particularly at RHS). I like them to make their lunches because I can control what goes into their lunch boxes (lean, low-sodium protiens, healthy condiments, whole grain flat-breads, etc.). I’ve always wondered why we even have food service offered in the cafeterias. I realize we have families that participate in the subsidized food program but can’t we address their needs without a full scale program. And for other parents, I know it’s convenient but perhaps they should be forced to become more responsible for their kids eating habits. (And just for the record, before anyone beats me up on this, I work full-time).
While the BOE is looking into what the kids eat how about they take a look at where they eat at RHS. Have you ever been inside the HS at lunch time? Kids eating in the halls, on the stairs, basically all over the school. It is a mad house. We have a Board of Health that won’t allow parents to cook hot dogs in a concession stand yet they allow kids to eat on floors in a public building day after day.
#2 – could not agree more. I think “unit lunch” works well because clubs and organizations can meet, teachers/counselors are available, etc. but the cost is that the kids are eating where every they can find an open space. My olders ate outside in fair weather (yeah) and one a staircase in foul weather (yuck).
The lunches in the elementary schools are worse than airline food. They get dropped off early and sit plugged into an outlet “warming”. Brown bag it and don’t worry about portion sizes or food that may be too healthy.
The unit lunch encourages students to go into town or drive to a fast food restaurant. There has never been enough seating. Freshmen eat on the hall floor or in the gym. Maybe they will have lunch seating in the new library.
West Side Bagels delivers great lunches to the schools at a very reasonable price.