If you live in Texas and are at all involved in your child's school, you probably have heard by now that we have a new POLICE in our state, it's the FOOD POLICE. Texas has now passed a law that went into effect on August 1st. The revised Texas Public School Nutrition Policy significantly restricts the foods availabe on school grounds and in the cafeterias. To see the policy in full, please visit
www.agr.state.tx.us/foodnutrition/policy...nutrition_policy.pdf.
But the policy in a nutshell states that "an elementary school campus may not serve competitive foods (or provide access to them through direct or indirect sales) to students anywhere on school premises throughout the school day until the end of the last scheduled class. Elementary classrooms may allow one nutritious snack per day under the teacher's supervision." Nutritious snacks include but are not limited to 100% fruit juices, milk, pretzels, animal crackers, graham crackers, fruit or grain muffins, fresh fruit or vegetables, fat-free popcorn, etc. You can get the complete list at
www.squaremeals.org. This restrictive policy ends the days of pizza parties, ice cream parties, donut parties or just bringing the class a cupcake to help celebrate your child's birthday. We can't even give the kids a piece of gum or a sucker under this new policy. While I would be the first to agree that we have an obesity problem in America, I do not believe this new strict policy is going to solve that problem. Our PTO has enjoyed offering different types of parties for different things throughout the year such as PTO membership, boxtop rewards, meeting AR goals, etc. and now that has all been taken away from us. I beleive, as many of our PTO members believe that this is something that should be handled at the local level, not the state level. There is no simple solution to childhood obesity, but what our children need is a common-sense approach that calls for more physical activity and better nutrition eduction, not FOOD POLICE! We are the taxpayers and we are the ones that have a relationship with our teachers, staff and kids, not the state. This "solution" that our state has come up with does nothing to teach children about enjoying food in moderation; it only adds to the already LENGTHY LIST OF WHAT THE SCHOOLS CONSIDER CONTRABAND, OFTEN MAKING THE FORBIDDEN OBJECTS ONLY MORE DESIRABLE. This policy is doing nothing but setting up a new generation of Americans who will graduate from high school having been taught how to point the finger at others and avoid taking personal responsibility.
Let's not sit back and let them do this. This is now, what will be next? What will they restrict or outlaw or require us to do next? We as Americans (land of the FREE) and concerned parents for our children's future need to stop and think about how many regulations the government has already imposed on us and will continue to impose on us in the future if we sit back and do nothing. The more we say "well, there's nothing we can do" the more rights the government is going to take away from us.
If you disagree with this new policy, please post here and email the Texas Department of Agriculture at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and also contact Mrs. Susan Combs, our Agricultural Commissioner, at
www.susancombs.com
and let her know that Texas has crossed the line and we will not stand for it.
I would love to hear your comments. Thanks for your time!
Christy
