Free the PB-and-J!

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away--like the Chicago of my childhood--"home-made" almost always meant "superior," both nutritionally and gustatorily.  In fact, most food-industry mavens still seem to agree, judging from the plethora of putative "home-made" claims plastered all over seemingly factory-made products.  (Sometimes the more honest among them simply suggest, "Tastes like home-made!")

One school in Chicago, however, has bucked this tradition: the Little Village Academy, a K-through-8th-grade public school, now bans home-packed lunches.  Students must eat the food served in the cafeteria, Principal Elsa Carmona told "The Chicago Tribune," because "nutrition-wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school."  When kids brought their own goods, she went on, she saw lots of "bottles of soda and flaming hot chips" being unpacked for lunch.

So...does this mean cafeteria lunches have somehow metamorphosed from
the brownish "s--t on a shingle" we used to get at my unmemorable school lunchroom to some kind of fruit-and-vegetable-packed utopian fare, at least at Little Village?  Not
according to the seventh graders who shouted in front of the Tribune reporter "The lunch here is not good enough!  We should bring our own lunch!"  Many admitted to dumping it in the garbage after one bite.

The last thing we need in these days of convenience-packed-everything is to discourage people--parents and children alike--from planning, making, and packing their own food.  Every year Americans consume fewer made-from-scratch dishes and more food made by others, either in a factory or a take-out joint, moving us ever-further from a place of truly knowing and honoring the things we put (or often, cram) into our mouths.  And any nutritional expert will tell you the result: we end up eating more fat, sugar, and salt (ingredients that "pump up" the taste of not-so-fresh foods); larger portions; and fewer fruits and vegetables.  Not at all coincidentally, as a nation we are fatter than ever before.

Now, if our school lunches were like those in France (mussels-and-frites; fresh artichoke; roast chicken with lentils), Italy (organic ingredients; risotto), Finland (vegetables must cover half the plate, by government decree), Japan (fish and rice; or home-made bento boxes full of delights), or many other countries around the world--as detailed in this recent report--that would be another story.  But in the land of microwave nuggets and boxed mac-and-cheese, no such luck.  Until we get there: long live Mom's sandwiches and an apple!