WASHINGTON — Alabama congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL4) has been trying to roll back Michelle Obama’s school lunch initiative for years, and he now has a large but often overlooked constituency on his side: the children who actually have to eat those lunches.
Politico recently released a video of elementary school students giving their opinions on their school lunches, and while a few of them did have a some positive things to say, the overwhelming majority said the lunches are just not any good.
Many of the students in the video said they brought their lunches because they didn’t like the school’s menu. A few kids were particularly critical of hot dogs, saying they tasted “rubbery,” they “wiggle,” and they even “bounced around a little.” One horrified girl recounted a time when someone found “living, squirming maggots” in a peach cup.
“I have tried a lot of their things, said another child, “and I hate them all”
On the bright side, a lot of the kids loved the chocolate milk, and one kindergartener celebrated having extra ketchup with his hamburger.
The First Lady has been a huge advocate for children’s health and nutrition during her husband’s tenure in the White House.
The Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was part of the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign, which has the stated goal of reducing childhood obesity. It gave the USDA the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools, including vending machines, “a la carte” lunch lines, and school stores. The USDA has since then set limits on the amount of fat, calories, sugar and sodium in school foods. The Act also increased the number of children eligible for free and reduced-price lunch.
But while the Obama Administration and a bi-partisan group of lawmakers saw the program as a positive step toward reducing childhood hunger and obesity, others saw it as another onerous government regulation that would difficult and expensive to implement across the nation.
For over two years, Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt has been leading the charge against the USDA’s regulations, arguing that they have created an unnecessary financial burden on many school systems, causing some to abandon their school meals programs altogether.
“I have been in the school lunchroom, I have sat down with the individuals responsible for preparing student meals, and I have sat down with the students about this,” Aderholt explained. “As well-intended as the people in Washington believe themselves to be, the reality is that from a practical standpoint these regulations are just plain not working out in some individual school districts.”
(Video below: Kids discuss Michelle Obama’s school lunches. Mobile users click here to view)
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