SCHOFIELD, Wis. (WSAU) -- Many political observers say the Obama policies are on the ballot tomorrow. One of those policies won’t be an election topic, but it is generating a large number of unhappy future voters.
It’s the program for school lunches pushed by First Lady Michelle Obama called the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which DC Everest senior Meghan Hellrood says is neither healthy or hunger free. “We have three lunch periods, but we have calorie regulations now on our lunches, so students cannot take as much food as they used to be able to, but the whole Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act put restrictions on calories. The whole point of it was to get healthier foods, but instead of healthier foods, we’re getting smaller portions of more processed foods.”
Hellrood is organizing a Pack-A-Bag day to boycott the DC Everest lunches on November 13th. Since posters are promptly taken down, Hellrood has relied on word of mouth and social media to spread the word.
The national program requires participating schools to regulate how many calories kids consume. Hellrood says the problem is students are getting a lower quality lunch than they used to, and they’re still hungry after lunch. “They have to pack more food themselves to go along with the school food. So, they’re getting two meals. One is from school but they’re bringing the other one.”
The calorie restrictions have changed the way schools serve food, and how they hand out condiment packages. “Now, we’re even getting restricted with our mayo packets and barbeque sauce packets, that we can’t even take two packages of mayo because that’s too many calories, so I’m handing out mayo.”
Hellrood says students appreciate the lunch staff and the administration, but is hoping the school board steps in and dumps the First Lady’s school lunch initiative. “We love our school, but it’s just we realize they’re being told what to serve us, so we know it’s not their fault. (but) The school, like administration, does choose to comply with the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, so we don’t have to but they get government funding for it, too. Every meal that complies with the act, I think it’s like six cents per meal from the government.”
Another problem with the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act menus is waste. Hellrood says some students are choosing to go hungry instead of eating the lower quality processed food, so more of it is being thrown away. She says the pricing of the lunches is an attempt to get students to eat everything offered. “For a meal, to make it a meal cost, you need to get a milk, a fruit, and the main entree, and if you do not choose a fruit, they will charge you more for just the milk and the main entree. If you don’t get the milk, but you still get the main entree and fruit, they’ll still charge you more.”
The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act is also affecting one of the school’s service clubs. DECA students operate a store, and Hellrood says their sales are way down because of restrictions on what they can sell on school grounds. “They’re really upset with it because they used to be able to sell all of these, like chips and sodas after school, but now they can’t. They’ve lost so much money because they can’t sell pretty much anything that they initially started with.”
Several students go to convenience stores or fast food sites after school but before activities so they can fill up, if time permits.
Hellrood says the Obama guidelines might work for elementary age students, but everyone she knows is unhappy with the changes. I’m 4-11 and weigh 90 pounds and I want more food. I can’t image the senior guys on the football team.”
Meghan Hellrood’s father Jim supports her efforts, saying she took on the project by herself. She consulted with her parents, who are aware that Meghan’s effort to promote a November 13th D.C. Everest school lunch boycott is not well received by the school. “The Principal and the lunch people are probably just as frustrated with it as we are, so that’s why it hasn’t surprised me yet that she hasn’t had detention or been suspended for anything.”
Jim Hellrood says from a parent’s perspective, the new lunch guidelines are not only a bad idea that leaves kids hungry, they’re not getting their money’s worth from the lunch program. “Oh, absolutely not, because even though they give them 800 calories, which would seem like a reasonable amount for a smaller child, anyway, it’s not the kind of food that children want to eat.”
Meghan Hellrood says there are about 1,500 students at D.C. Everest, and she estimates that with the number of students eating school lunch, plus the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act bonus and the dollars they receive for free and reduced cost lunches, a successful one-day boycott would impact the district by about $3,000 dollars. Participants in the free and reduced lunch program rely on the school lunches, so Hellrood is offering to make sandwiches for those students that wish to participate in the boycott. She is inviting students to post pictures of their lunches and to spread the word about the boycott on a special Facebook site. She also has a gmail address where she is accepting comments.
D.C. Everest students are not the only ones upset with the Michelle Obama lunch changes. YouTube and social media have many examples from disgruntled students around the nation.