Hoke County Schools Assistant Superintendent Bob Barnes is now telling the media a state inspector was at West Hoke Elementary School when some children’s home made lunches were inspected and supplemented with school meals. Barnes is quoted by the Burlington Times News as saying an “agent” from the state Division of Childhood Development and Early Education was at the school January 30th and examined lunches brought from home by students in a pre-K program. Barnes claims that “agent” found a girl’s lunch did not meet USDA meal standards. It was then the girl was given a school lunch with chicken nuggets. She ate a few nuggets and didn’t touch her turkey and cheese sandwich brought from home.
If that account is correct then it raises serious questions about statements from the Director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education, Deborah Cassidy. Her division released a statement not longer after the incident claiming no division representative was at West Hoke Elementay that day. Director Cassidy repeated that claim in a phone conversation with Rep. G.L. Pridgen (R-Robeson), who represents Hoke County. She told Pridgen division staff was there the previous Thursday, January 26th talking to school leaders about lunch standards. Cassidy and a staff repeatedly told Pridgen they were not at the school Monday, January 30th.
So the blame game continues to go round and round.
This is just Democrat nanny State actions. This is the kind of thing Pedue wants more money for not educating kids, indoctranation is the game with Democrats. State knows better than mom, so says our Govenor.
Wow … whoever the buck ends up with needs a better understanding of healthy eating and USDA guidelines.
A school lunch isn’t designed as a model lunch for everyone or anyone. It’s designed to provide a third of the nutritional needs of a generalized target population. Individuals within the polulation may have greater or less needs, and the variance may be significant. A regulation compliant school meal may be a formula for obesity for some and a formula for malnutrition for others. Holding it up as an ideal model is like insisting that everyone wear a size 8 shoe.
USDA guidelines are also based on daily consumption, not necessarily every meal. So the relative healthiness of an individual meal is determined in part on what else is consumed that day. If the school had no idea what the child had for breakfast or what the parents intended to feed the kid for snacks and supper it made a mistake in forcing milk on the child.
This begs the question: How much has government intrusion contributed to childhood obesity? The disadvantaged part of America sees WIC payments stacked on top of food stamps on top of free school lunches. That’s enough food all together to super-size an entire generation.
I have a father in my life… but it seems as if Republicans are searching for a father figure to mandate everything we do in our personal lives… give me a break who is taking away my rights? REpublicans.– there is no nanny state but if we elect anymore conservatives into politics they will be inside our homes, our churches, our bedrooms everywhere imposing their laws on us and taking away our freedom!! I am a patriot with a father so I will vote Democrat to save America from religous hypocrisy and corporate fascism.