First School Lunches....Now School Dinners

A previous post included comments about the school lunch program:
Link Here

As an update, I found this gem about school dinners in DC. Un-freaking-believable how people sluff their kids off onto the state. It just amazes me how this entitlement mentality is embraced by those who can't keep their pants on or legs closed, then have kids that they can't support.

By AUDREY BARNES/myfoxdc

WASHINGTON - Getting kids to eat three healthy meals a day can be a challenge, especially if money is tight. But D.C. Public Schools have found a way to take some of that burden off parents. They are now serving dinner at school.

On the menu are things like salmon salad, a whole grain roll, orange juice, one percent milk and a corn and pepper relish.

"With positive feedback, the kids will enjoy the food," Chef Edward Kwitowski said.

He is in charge of whipping up healthy dinners for D.C. school kids as part of this new program to provide three healthy meals a day at school.

"Our program is from scratch cooking with local produce," said Kwitowski. "And definitely low fat cooking."

It's a far cry from the muffin or bagel and juice kids used to get in the after school program, which was often was the last food some would eat until the next day at school.

"It's good and it's healthy," fourth grader Emanuel Gross said. "So I can stay on task."

D.C. joins 13 states which serve three meals a day at school – and to the tune of $5.7 million. Officials here have embraced the program because they realize healthy, well-fed kids learn better.

“We're reaching 10,000 kids a day at 99 of our 120 schools," said Anthony Tata, Chief Operating Officer of D.C. Public Schools.

That's about 25 percent of the student population. And another big benefit of the after school dinners are that more kids are enrolling in after school programs where they can get some academic help as well.

So the dinners are really serving three purposes - fighting hunger, obesity and offering help with classwork too.

And the best news of all is this is a federally-funded program.

“We're reimbursed on a per meal basis," Tata said. "We can already see the good it's doing for our kids."

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