According to a weekend report by the Los Angeles Times, the city’s “trailblazing introduction of healthful school lunches has been a flop.” In response to the public hectoring and financial inducement of Mrs. Obama’s federally subsidized anti-obesity campaign, the district dropped chicken nuggets, corn dogs and flavored milk from the menu for “beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads.”

Per Ms. Malkin, “Sounds delectable in theory. But in practice, the initiative has been what L.A. Unified’s food services director Dennis Barrett plainly concludes is a “disaster.” While the Obama administration has showered the nation’s second-largest school district with nutrition awards, thousands of students voted with their upset tummies and abandoned the program. A forbidden-food black market — stoked not just by students, but also by teachers — is now thriving. Moreover, “(p)rincipals report massive waste, with unopened milk cartons and uneaten entrees being thrown away.”

Who in the heck thought of  brown rice and lentil cutlets?  To quote a chef friend, “I would have thrown these away.”   Really, where is common sense when you need it.  The Good News is that we are working on a public school lunch solution.  The Bad News, it is going to take a long time to wade through all the issues and create a workable healthier school lunch program.  In the meantime,  please send us your ideas!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

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