Pizza Is Not a Vegetable
I know I post about the US National School Lunch Program a lot . . . but like, it’s nightmare fuel for dietitians, despite the good intentions. I just really want to spread the word that food suppliers have been marketing nasty pizza to schools for YEARS because the cheese fulfills the protein requirement and sauce counts as a vegetable technically.
Why do they do this? Because the government gives schools a flat amount per needy student, no matter what the meal costs. A lot of American schools serve really gross food because they haven’t raised that allotted dollar amount *in decades* but some of them also serve gross food because if they get $3.50 from Uncle Sam, but the food only costs $1.50, they just made $2. Now, this does not count labor, but there are a lot of other factors that go into THAT (a primarily female, minority workforce they can underpay until the cows come home).
Am I saying all schools are evil? No. Capitalism does breed capitalism, it’s not necessarily the institution but the system at times. But also, someone somewhere along the line is most definitely making a profit off of our children and their rising obesity rates.
(Also this only sort of belongs here, but I’m always ready to boost the fact that NSLP was sort of started by the Black Panther Party: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/the-black-panthers-revolutionaries-free-breakfast-pioneers)
