Seven words I never thought I’d hear my 8-year-old son say: “Mommy, I’m getting sick of Cocoa Puffs.”
I don’t buy Cocoa Puffs. My son has been eating them at school as part of the free breakfast program. I am not happy about this.
For months, I have wrestled with what to do about school breakfast. At his school, children can arrive up to 30 minutes before classes begins and eat breakfast in the cafeteria for free. This is a half hour my son cherishes. He can sit with his friends and gab about Minecraft and Percy Jackson before all the being still and following directions begins.
I don’t mind getting him to school early for breakfast. It’s the food I have a problem with.
Kids can’t just come in and grab a carton of milk and a piece of fruit. According to regulations, each child in the breakfast line must take at least three food groups–that means a milk, yogurt, or cheese stick AND juice or a piece of fruit AND cold cereal or the hot item. On paper, this sounds okay.
I’ve seen some decent items, like scrambled eggs in tortillas. But in heavy rotation are also Trix yogurt and Cookie Crisp. The hot item is individually-packaged: sausage biscuit sandwiches, fruit pastries, and “strawberry splash” pancakes. The fruit is frequently whole oranges, which the kids used to throw away until we began the Fruit Ninja program earlier in the school year (read “Fruit Ninjas: A Simple School Wellness Program.“)
In short, it’s not a breakfast I feel good about–especially five days a week, every week, for nine months out of the year.
My son knows this. We talk about it. And I wrestle with it. Should I…
- not feed him a healthy breakfast at home if he’s going to eat a school breakfast, even though he’s hungry when he wakes up?
- ask that he take the sugary cereal and then throw it away uneaten?
- limit the added sugar he gets the rest of the day to make up for the load he gets in the morning?
- allow him to make his own choices and hope (as with the Cocoa Puffs) he grows tired of it?
- refuse to let him eat school breakfast entirely and take away one of his favorite social scenes of the day?
I’ve tried nearly all of these things. And finally, we brokered a deal: He can eat school breakfast two mornings a week.
As I was deciding on a compromise I could live with, I was struck by something: When parents feel like they have to protect their child from school food, something is wrong with our system.
I understand the value of free school breakfast. For some children in our school district, it may be the only breakfast they ever get. But for others, it’s an additional breakfast they simply don’t need. (The Lunch Tray wrote a good post about that here: “Universal Free Breakfast: Can We Feed Hungry Kids Without Overfeeding Affluent Kids?”.) And I think it’s safe to say that neither group of kids benefits from eating bowls of miniature cookies.
To be fair, the breakfast foods seem to be formulated to meet school stricter food guidelines: The pancakes are made with whole wheat flour, the Cookie Crisp is actually lower in sugar (7 grams per serving) than the same cereal on store shelves (9 grams), and some items contain natural food colors. But as I pore over the labels I’ve nabbed from my son’s tray after dropping him off, I also see Yellow 6, partially hydrogenated oils, and 29 ingredients in the “Real Fruit Apple Turnover”.
I have a meeting scheduled with our district’s food service director to find out if our school has any options, but I’ve already been warned: Make the offerings “less desirable”–like unsweetened cereal–and even hungry kids won’t take it. And of course there are big obstacles like budget. And only one employee to prepare and serve the food. And the lack of a full operating kitchen at the school, so food has to brought in prepackaged.
I will keep you posted on the results of my upcoming meeting. But in the meantime, I’d love to hear from you: Does your school offer free breakfast–and if so, what do they serve? And how do you handle it?
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Stef says
Our school doesn’t have it. But I’m dismayed by the offering you showed…..cookie crisps with less sugar than the store version is an improvement? Sad. Can Cheerios or kashi hearts be a choice? That’s what we have at home right now. Along with oatmeal squares and …apple jacks and regular oatmeal. These are all cereals my girls chose themselves. Kids do like them. We allow one sugar cereal into the rotation too. But they chose the other ones too on a regular basis. I think if they offered less sugary, dyed choices, kids might pick them over time. It should at least be available.
Sally says
Stef, I would like to see less sugary cereal provided–and really, cereal that looks like cereal. Not cereal that looks like chocolate or cookies! And I agree with you about balance. I wouldn’t mind my child having some of these sweeter cereals once in a while. But not every day. Thanks for your comment!
Stacy@School-Bites.com says
Sally — Thanks so much for all you’re doing to draw attention to these issues. As a parent, it is really hard to know what to do in these scenarios (which seem to happen almost every day). I find it interesting that a registered dietitian struggles with the same kinds of feeding dilemmas, because we tend to think that you guys have all the answers. But I guess that’s the idea behind Real Mom Nutrition. Raising kids in our toxic food culture isn’t easy for anyone!
Sally says
Stacy–nobody has all the answers, even if they claim that they do! 🙂
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
i’ll be interested to hear why your director says. i just did my food service rotation at a school district and noticed this same thing. breakfast has improved, but there’s still a lot of packaged items. since they do it for free, they battle a very small budget…and you’re right- the ongoing problem is that the majority of kids just don’t take the healthier items. it’s frustrating!
Sally says
Lindsay, yes I remember that food service rotation–it’s a great way to see this issue from the other side. I agree that breakfast has improved–there is fruit, milk, cheese sticks. And I understand the need for packaged items since we don’t have a kitchen, but it’s so hard to have quality food in individual packages. Thanks so much for your comment!
K says
All of these food issues are one major reason I am strongly considering homeschooling both of my kids next year. I have been appalled at all of the processed food my daughter gets in Kindergarten (and they are not allowed any homemade food). Luckily, she doesn’t like most of it and so she just puts it in her backpack (if she didn’t I would have no idea how much she is actually offered). However, her younger brother loves anything sweet and processed and also has problems with regular tummy aches because of it (we are still in the middle of trying to pinpoint the exact cause). It just isn’t worth it!
Sally says
K–you’re the third parent to mention to me that school food is factoring in to your decision on what school to choose–private, public, or homeschooling. My hope is that this concern will grow so big that school districts will have to address it and make some big changes. Though for that to happen, schools will need to be funded better than they are now! Thanks for your comment.
Robin Jingjit says
Can they sit in the cafeteria if they don’t take the food? Like pack a breakfast from home?
I do understand the policy requiring variety so they don’t all skip the fruit or whatever, but how funny to say, No to fruit and yogurt if they don’t take the sugar cereal too.
Sally says
Robin–thanks for your comment. There’s a section for just kids who are eating breakfast, and that’s where my son’s friends are. And no breakfasts from home, just school breakfast. I agree that the policy is silly–I understand that it’s meant to give kids a balanced meal (grain-dairy-fruit) but it leads to so much waste and some needless consumption.
Gayle Casey says
I am a worker in a school district meal program. My guess is that the district receives some reimbursement from the government for each “meal” served. Federal guidelines require that at least 3 food items be taken for each “meal”. Less than that would not be considered a meal, and the district would have to charge for that as ala carte items.
Dina Rose says
Sally,
I agree that the rules are silly (well intentioned, but still silly). However…
This situation seems perfect for a discussion about proportion: eating foods in the right ratio. If this were my situation I would work with my daughter to establish how often it would be OK to eat the sugary cereal (2 times per week?) and then how choosing the cereal impacts other choices during the day. In my experience, not only is this one of the most valuable lessons kids need to learn but kids stick with the agreements they make. It’s a win-win.
Dina (www.itsnotaboutnutrition.com)
Sally says
Thanks for your comment Dina. These are all things I talk about with my son–but he’d rather go every day and be with his friends (he can’t sit in the breakfast area, where all of his friends are, without taking breakfast). We also talk about how if he has sugary cereal in the morning, that we should rethink what kind of sugary foods he has the rest of the day, like the Hershey Kiss in his lunch or a popsicle after dinner. I think he gets it, but it also bums him out. That’s why I feel like the school breakfast is failing him. Wish he could eat the school breakfast without feeling like it uses up his sugar allowance all before 9am!
Julie norton says
I am a registered dietitian also and a director in a school district. We don’t offer those cereals but we have full kitchens. We have kix, raisin bran, honey nut Cheerios and cinnamon toast crunch, we offer oatmeal daily. We offer whole grain only breads and tortillas with eggs and great protein sources daily. But the higher sugar cereals and grains bring the kids in. Without it we’d not have participation and it isn’t nutrition if they don’t come. It is a difficult balance. The packaged items are necessary in many environments due to volume and time allowed. We are big and there are 8 of us yet it is a constant balance between budget, participation and regulations. Listen while you are there and know most of us are trying our best everyday!
Sally says
Thanks Julie. I really appreciate your perspective. Your offerings sound a whole lot better than ours do, though it sounds like you have better facilities and more hands to help (our school only has one employee who handles food). You are right–it is a difficult balance. And school breakfast won’t help anyone if it’s not eaten. I talk with our cafeteria manager regularly about my concerns and it’s always very enlightening hearing about the obstacles that school districts face when it comes to food. And I’m sure my meeting next month with the foodservice director will be enlightening too. Thanks again–I hope you’ll continue to chime in!
Catherine says
My kids’ school offers breakfast. My kids don’t typically eat it, but I am in the cafeteria two mornings a week during breakfast (setting up the room to be used for music class). The offerings are a lot like the ones you are seeing – almost all pre-packaged, highly processed stuff. Whole fruit is rare. Once a week they do have a hot breakfast which is mostly prepared there at school. At lunchtime, there is a very nice fruit/vegetable bar with probably 8 different options every day. The standards seem to be really different for breakfast vs. lunch.
Jacqueline says
Great topic! Food for thought, I am curious as to what data school districts are using when they talk about obstacles they face when it comes to serving healthy food. One common statement that I often hear is “kids won’t eat healthy foods so therefore we can’t regularly offer them”. How is it that some schools, private or public are able to offer healthier choices when compared to others-what are they doing in order to accomplish this. For a good example of healthier food offered to kids while they attend school, check out “Wholesome Tummies”, http://www.wholesometummies.com , this food is brought in pre-packaged. I think School Food Services need to be more innovative and it is great that parent’s are speaking out about the importance of serving children healthier food at school.
Golda Smith says
THANK YOU for writing this! I’ve wanted to allow my children to go to school and eat breakfast with their friends too however, I couldn’t get over the food choices…which were very similar to yours.
I explained to them how I felt and why I wasn’t in favor of them eating at school. They agreed with me (they were 8 & 10) at the time…that was just last year. Anyway, now they have a nice healthy bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice before heading of for a day of learning. I figure the school lunch is more than enough!
Sally says
Golda–yes, it’s so tough when they want to share that fun time with their friends but it involves food you are not thrilled about. I’m glad you found a way to work it out that your boys were happy with. Let’s hope the food improves so we don’t have to fret about these choices!
Mindi says
You wrote this post a while ago, but I am interested to see how things turned out and if you found any solutions. I am facing some similar issues Thanks!
Sally says
Unfortunately, no. There don’t appear to be any regulations about total sugar in breakfast. In the past, we have tried to ask our foodservice director to limit sugary cereals and flavored milk at breakfast (it’s already served at lunch) but didn’t have any luck.
Owen says
I have the same concerns, my youngest loves to go, I try and limit what he eats but it’s out of my control, I cannot force him not to go, his friends go so he wants to go and hang out, he walks thru the school doors and its his own choice if he wants to eat the food, he is only 6 and I feel like I should make the decision that he does not eat this food, he is to young to make this decision, :-(((
Sally says
Owen–I know, it can be tough. If you feel like you can’t control how often he eats the breakfast and you’re not happy with the choices, I’d suggest two things: As part of the school’s Wellness Committee, I worked with our district’s foodservice director to make some small improvements to the offerings. Now most days the kids are getting Cheerios vs. Cookie Crisp and similar cereals. Maybe you could inquire about options at your school as well. I’m sure there are other parents at your child’s school who would agree and support those kinds of changes. And also: Talk to you child about the kinds of choices at breakfast and how those impact his day. He’s old enough to think about how sugary cereal might affect how well he can learn and focus in class, or how a very sugary breakfast impacts the kinds of foods he eats the rest of the day. For instance, if I know my kids are going to breakfast and eating lots of sugary things, we’ll talk about that later in the day if they ask for something sweet.
Rebecca Stone says
Hi! I just stumbled across your post and found it really thought-provoking. As a mom of a soon-to-be-kindergartner, I am worried about the choices she and I will both have to make. As someone who works on health & sustainability issues, I’m dismayed that these are still the choices in many school cafeterias.
I also wanted to share a link to one resource to help find alternatives. Vermont FEED (www.vtfeed.org) collaborated with school cooks and several other organizations to produce a cookbook called “New School Cuisine.” It’s full of healthy, kid-tested recipes that meet school food guidelines and were developed by actual food service staff members. It’s available for free download online… we hope you share and that many more cafeterias around the country will start cooking healthier meals for their students! http://www.vtfeed.org/materials/new-school-cuisine-cookbook
Sally says
Rebecca–that is very cool! Sounds like a fantastic resource. I’m going to check it out and pass it along to others who might be interested. Thanks so much for letting me know!