Food Police Ban Preschooler's Lunch packed by Mom

Are chicken nuggets healthier than a turkey sandwich

Raeford NC, Feb 15, 2012. This story may sound strange, but it is absolutely true. You cannot make up things this bizarre.

Two weeks ago a 4 year old  preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School had her lunch bag inspected  by a government inspector.  

The lunch her mother packed for her did not meet the government nutritional guidelines, so she was given three chicken nuggets instead, and her mother was billed $1.25.

The girl’s mother had packed a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, a banana, some potato chips, and apple juice. According to the inspector this did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional guidelines.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs - including in-home day care centers - to meet USDA guidelines. 

Preschoolers eating lunch

That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home. According to federal regulations, whenever home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

The girl's mother, who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation, said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a "healthy lunch" would be offered the missing portions.

If you needed any further proof that we have too many government regulations, than this is it right here. The Nanny State has finally arrived. The government is now inspecting the lunches packed by mothers to make sure they have the right number of fruits and vegetables in them!

You really have to wonder why chicken nuggets were considered more nutritious than the lunch that mother packed for her child. No one is actually certain what chicken nuggets are made of. They probably contain some chicken byproducts, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, and food coloring. A turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread is probably healthier.

This incident is still being investigated. and hopefully this was just a case of an overzealous inspector going too far.

But it still raises the question of why we even have lunch bag inspectors in the first place. Is it really necessary for the government to assign people to inspect school lunches? Isn't this going too far?

Parents have been feeding their children without government oversight for millions of years. Government is overstepping it's bounds.