Land Of The Free No More

This always sends shivers down my spine.

Though not quite as bad here (yet), monitors do look at what we pack in our daughter's lunch.

And it pisses me off to no end.

The involvement of the state in these matters is excessive.

"The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the person who was inspecting all lunch boxes in the More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.

“I don't feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County.

The girl’s grandmother, who sometimes helps pack her lunch, told Carolina Journal that she is a petite, picky 4-year-old who eats white whole wheat bread and is not big on vegetables."

The last sentence is KEY. The FAMILY knows their child best.

Not the government. Not the monitor. Nobody but YOUR FAMILY.

"What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told CJ. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”

When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste. "

Again. The mother knows the child best. We do the EXACT same thing. We know what she won't eat. So we pack a lunch she'll eat and make up everything else at breakfast and supper.

What makes me laugh is they replaced a turkey sandwich with CHICKEN NUGGETS. I'm willing to bet they're not the high-end ones. Moreover, they allowed perfectly good food go to waste. Waste and the state are mutually inclusive as we know.
This shit angers me and it should you too.

There's way too much interference.