4 ms·

When I was in elementary school in the US in the early 90's lunch was made in the school kitchen. Every school in the district did the same. By the time I was

When I was in elementary school in the US in the early 90's lunch was made in the school kitchen. Every school in the district did the same. By the time I was in 7th all of the lunches were Food Service items warmed and shoved in a foil pouch at one school to drive to every other school. It is completely my bias but to me this is the result of cronyism. A couple corporations make an enormous amount of money off shit food sold to schools. The problem is that it is way cheaper to buy prepared food and have a few people warm it than having cooks at each school.

jajko 2y ago
The centralized preparation is a lesser evil from the description. You can still cook well tasting very healthy food that was done early in the morning and then distributed, there is 0 reasons why it should be worse and no need for any bad chemistry to make it last. After all, check what first class is served in airplanes, it often looks and tastes amazing yet it was done 4-15 hours before. The issue I think is way more fundamental - look at general US portions everywhere - at home, restaurants, school. Those ain't normal sizes for any human being to eat sustainably. How much physical effort is paired with that, also how the dinner looks like (cue - it should be lightest meal in both size and content of whole day). Kids eat what they see parents eating and whats available home. Can't expect kids of obese parent(s) to have some healthy habits. And so on
bko 2y ago
> A couple corporations make an enormous amount of money off shit food sold to schools. The problem is that it is way cheaper to buy prepared food and have a few people warm it than having cooks at each school. I don't get it, are the corporations making a shit ton of money or is it cheaper for the school? If both of these things are true, then it's a win-win. I don't think it's necessarily about pre-packaged or not, just the type of food. If anything, having it outsourced would make change a lot easier. No need to install a kitchen and hire cooks, just call up the giant corporations, tell them you want apple slices instead of Takis. They would almost certainly accommodate very quickly, because you know, they're making a shit ton of money. Or others would jump in Unfortunately I think a lot of this is demand driven. It's like the few pieces of rotting fruit in a bodega. They don't stock them because kids don't want to eat them. So I imagine supply side won't do as much as you think. But it still might be worth it because it might be better for the kids to be a little hungrier than stuffing their face with poison and they might eventually come around.
- fny 2y ago
  School lunch is not a free market.
- bodiekane 2y ago
  > I don't get it, are the corporations making a shit ton of money or is it cheaper for the school? If both of these things are true, then it's a win-win It's a win for the corporation, but a loss for the children and the healthcare system. They're selling unhealthy food that causes diseases at a good profit margin. > They would almost certainly accommodate very quickly, because you know, they're making a shit ton of money No they wouldn't. They'd tell you apple slices will raise the price by 50 cents per student per day (or whatever) and then you're back to the school budget issue. The US system has for decades managed agricultural subsidies to ensure massive amounts of corn and soybeans are grown and sold at low prices to food processors and as livestock feed. The outcome is that your high-fructose corn syrup drink, white bread bun made with high fructose corn syrup and hamburger from a cow that got 80% of its lifetime calories from corn is very cheap, but many fruits, vegetables and nuts are expensive. (With occasional carve-outs for things like almonds being cheaper than they should be due to water management in California, but that's a separate issue).

jajko 2y ago

The centralized preparation is a lesser evil from the description. You can still cook well tasting very healthy food that was done early in the morning and then distributed, there is 0 reasons why it should be worse and no need for any bad chemistry to make it last. After all, check what first class is served in airplanes, it often looks and tastes amazing yet it was done 4-15 hours before. The issue I think is way more fundamental - look at general US portions everywhere - at home, restaurants, school. Those ain't normal sizes for any human being to eat sustainably. How much physical effort is paired with that, also how the dinner looks like (cue - it should be lightest meal in both size and content of whole day). Kids eat what they see parents eating and whats available home. Can't expect kids of obese parent(s) to have some healthy habits. And so on

bko 2y ago

> A couple corporations make an enormous amount of money off shit food sold to schools. The problem is that it is way cheaper to buy prepared food and have a few people warm it than having cooks at each school. I don't get it, are the corporations making a shit ton of money or is it cheaper for the school? If both of these things are true, then it's a win-win. I don't think it's necessarily about pre-packaged or not, just the type of food. If anything, having it outsourced would make change a lot easier. No need to install a kitchen and hire cooks, just call up the giant corporations, tell them you want apple slices instead of Takis. They would almost certainly accommodate very quickly, because you know, they're making a shit ton of money. Or others would jump in Unfortunately I think a lot of this is demand driven. It's like the few pieces of rotting fruit in a bodega. They don't stock them because kids don't want to eat them. So I imagine supply side won't do as much as you think. But it still might be worth it because it might be better for the kids to be a little hungrier than stuffing their face with poison and they might eventually come around.

fny 2y ago
School lunch is not a free market.
bodiekane 2y ago
> I don't get it, are the corporations making a shit ton of money or is it cheaper for the school? If both of these things are true, then it's a win-win It's a win for the corporation, but a loss for the children and the healthcare system. They're selling unhealthy food that causes diseases at a good profit margin. > They would almost certainly accommodate very quickly, because you know, they're making a shit ton of money No they wouldn't. They'd tell you apple slices will raise the price by 50 cents per student per day (or whatever) and then you're back to the school budget issue. The US system has for decades managed agricultural subsidies to ensure massive amounts of corn and soybeans are grown and sold at low prices to food processors and as livestock feed. The outcome is that your high-fructose corn syrup drink, white bread bun made with high fructose corn syrup and hamburger from a cow that got 80% of its lifetime calories from corn is very cheap, but many fruits, vegetables and nuts are expensive. (With occasional carve-outs for things like almonds being cheaper than they should be due to water management in California, but that's a separate issue).