Penn Schools Might Ban Fast-Food Lunches
On June 15, Pennsylvania’s Palmyra Area School District will vote on whether or not parents who visit their children during lunchtime would have to eat school food, rather than bring the children fast-food lunches.
The Associated Press quotes one parent, Lori Swisher, as saying she has occasionally brought pizza or a sub to her kids at school. Swisher told the AP: "I like to think I serve mostly healthy meals, but when all three have sports, sometimes fast food is the option." She labels the proposal “one more government restriction.”
But this restriction would apply during school hours, right, not after school?
I do agree with Swisher on one point: If I had three kids all in after-school programs, I’d probably need to let quick-serve meals figure into our schedule sometimes, too. That’s what this blog is all about, anyway—how to do that in a smart, relatively healthy way.
The school district says this decision is part of a new wellness program....
But there are issues of fairness and school-day disruption here, too. I would’ve been very jealous of kids whose parents brought them special lunches. (It was bad enough watching other kids unwrap Ho-Ho’s, right?) And just imagine all the trades that a special lunch would set in motion. “I’ll do your homework for a week if you’ll give me the Subway sandwich you mom brought you.”
What do you think? As a parent, do you feel you should be able to bring anything onto campus for your kids? Or do you think schools ought to be able to set some limits? Use the Comments link to let me know.