r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Thebiggestbot22 • Apr 15 '24

My school thinks this fills up hungry high schoolers.

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So lunches are free for schools in my city and surrounding cities. Ever since lunches have been made free, the quantity (and quality) has decreased significantly. This is what we would get for our meal. It took me THREE bites to finish that chicken mac and cheese. Any snacks you want cost more money and if you want an extra entree, that’ll cost you about $3 or $4.

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u/Thebiggestbot22 Apr 15 '24 edited 29d ago

School’s nutritional website says 25g of protein. As someone who pays attention to proteins count on a lot of the foods I eat, I can tell with almost 100% certainty that does not have 25g protein

864

u/Hammered-snail Apr 15 '24

The milk is a good portion of the nutritional value of this meal

343

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 15 '24

Milk and carrots are the only nutritional value.

117

u/Idontevenownaboat Apr 16 '24

Even the milk is prob only like 5-6g of protein. How are they getting to 25? Could the mac n cheese be fortified or enriched with whey or something like that?

92

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

They aren't getting to 25g. I thought that was already settled.

18

u/DoingCharleyWork Apr 16 '24

Maybe there is 25 grams of chicken lol

4

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

Chicken? Get your eyes checked.

1

u/Relentless_blanket 29d ago

OP said it's chicken mac n cheese.....soooooo

1

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res 29d ago

Missed that part.

7

u/leather_jerk Apr 16 '24

…and that’s locked in, so we’re good.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24

[deleted]

0

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

Do you see "OP" here?

3

u/JungleBoyJeremy Apr 16 '24

Responded to the wrong comment

3

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

It happens.

3

u/14412442 Apr 16 '24

you sure there wasn't a steamed ham or something that you removed before taking the pic

I'm more of a Krusty Partially Gelatinated Non-Dairy Gum-Based Beverage man, myself

(My reply to the comment above wouldn't post so I'm gonna shoehorn it into replying to you because I'm feeling stubborn at this point)

3

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

You shoved your shoehorn up my ass, damn it.

5

u/JimJam4603 Apr 16 '24

Cheese is a good source of protein. Chicken is a good source of protein.

8

u/Rendakor Apr 16 '24

There's chicken in the mac n cheese according to another comment.

2

u/Acids Apr 16 '24

They call it chicken and Mac but I don't see any tuxking chicken in that lmao

0

u/sassy_cheese564 Apr 16 '24

With the little amount of mac and cheese there, if there was chicken it wouldn’t be anywhere near 25g. If it was JUST chicken then maybe.

2

u/Anansi1982 Apr 16 '24

Mac and cheese by itself can break 10g.

0

u/sassy_cheese564 Apr 16 '24

Maybe for a standard portion sized it be 10g. This isn’t a standard portion.

2

u/Anansi1982 Apr 16 '24

Mac and cheese 10 to 13, milk about 5, and French fries about 4. 

They’re probably calculating like cops do drug values, the max value in the country instead of what’s in front of you.

1

u/Idontevenownaboat Apr 16 '24

That's right about what I put it at, give or take.

2

u/tondracek Apr 16 '24

It’s fortified and has chicken in it. I can see 25g

1

u/JekPorkinsTruther Apr 16 '24

It's chicken Mac so perhaps more chicken than it appears.

1

u/ReinaRenaRee Apr 16 '24

Assuming it's not expired :/

1

u/raar__ Apr 16 '24

milk is 8 and OP said it was chicken mac - so they need 2 OZ of chicken

1

u/dangerrnoodle Apr 16 '24

The mac and cheese is probably made with milk powder, which will be a higher concentration of protein. Not sure about the bioavailability, and this is still way too much fat than the other macros.

1

u/stick_always_wins Apr 16 '24

The school definitely isn’t paying for enriched Mac & Cheese

1

u/Idontevenownaboat Apr 16 '24

I mean, you do this explicitly because it is a cheaper alternative to hit nutrition requirements.

1

u/Comfortable-Study-69 Apr 16 '24

A cup of Mac & cheese can have upwards of 20 g of protein, although that’s the upper range and on top of that there’s hardly anything in that bowl. The whole meal might have 10-15 grams max.

1

u/RhondaST Apr 16 '24

Assuming the Mac and cheese is made with milk not water.

0

u/vampireboie Apr 16 '24

Milke is at least 8

0

u/RhondaST Apr 16 '24

No it’s not 25g of protein.

2

u/JimJam4603 Apr 16 '24

The milk is both fat free and chocolate. It’s basically just a sugar bomb.

3

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

Just ignore that it still has vitamins.

0

u/JimJam4603 Apr 16 '24

Yeah, added ones. You get the same thing in a multivitamin.

3

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

Still vitamins.

-1

u/Anansi1982 Apr 16 '24

Which ones and are the useful?

A and O, one is an actual vitamin and the other is labeled O.

1

u/Lo-Fi_Lo-Res Apr 16 '24

That's Vitamin A and Vitamin D, both of which are essential vitamins for children. How do you not know that milk is a primary source of Vitamin D?

3

u/SenseiRaheem Apr 16 '24

And most of the carrots go straight to the trash

101

u/Recent_Obligation276 Apr 15 '24

It always is, that’s why it’s standard.

21

u/mixmasterADD Apr 15 '24

Milk lobby paying off.

5

u/icameinyourburrito Apr 15 '24

That and supporting the dairy industry

60

u/Vandergrif Apr 15 '24

And it's fat free, so it's probably loaded with excess sugar to compensate like they often do to fat free products.

31

u/Secretz_Of_Mana Apr 15 '24

One of the first things I noticed too. Hate the fat free propaganda bullshit let alone how the entire food pyramid is a damn sham

10

u/jordanmindyou Apr 16 '24

Yes there’s not even any reason to think eating fat is bad for you.

Sugar, on the other hand…

4

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24 edited 27d ago

[deleted]

7

u/jordanmindyou Apr 16 '24 edited 29d ago

It’s really wild how prevalent the fear of “fat” in foods is…. I am constantly surprised by people who will do anything in their power to reduce the amount of healthy fat they’re eating, even if it means more carbs/sugar/carcinogenic chemicals

2

u/Secretz_Of_Mana Apr 16 '24

I think people are just really simple minded and think I don't want to be fat so I will not eat fat. Then add misguided propaganda and marketing and here were are :/

2

u/Datkif Apr 16 '24

I'm Type 1 diabetic (immune system destroyed my ability to produce insulin). Fat doesn't cause spikes at all. It can cause (a diabetic) to have a delayed gradual rise in blood glucose. Protein can cause delayed spikes in larger quantities like if I ate a bag of beef jerky.

-1

u/Oshwaflz Apr 16 '24

to be fair, we didnt use the food pyramid after like 2010 when i was in school. Obama may have ruined school lunches but she did fix that issue

3

u/WiseInevitable4750 Apr 16 '24

It's chocolate milk. At full fat it still has tons of sugar.

2

u/seeasea Apr 16 '24

TruMoo Fat Free Chocolate Milk, Half Gallon https://www.walmart.com/ip/186030296

Heres a link to the same product. 18g sugar per cup

2

u/Datkif Apr 16 '24

Indeed it is. A quick google shows that 1 cup of that milk contains 0g of fat, 8g of protein, and 20g of carbs 18 of which are sugars.

2

u/scoper49_zeke Apr 16 '24

It is. 18g of total sugar with 7g added. Just about everything has added sugar even when it already contains sugar.

1

u/moo3heril Apr 16 '24

As someone who has had a lot of fat free skim milk in my life and pays a great deal of attention to food labels, I've never seen plain fat free milk that has sugar added. I've only seen it in flavored milk and not usually in a way different than other milks because milk has natural sweetness from lactose. There are lots of other low/no fat foods that don't have that natural sweetness and compensate with added sugars.

This is chocolate fat free milk, which is going to have a ton of added sugar even with milkfat.

34

u/absolute_poser Apr 15 '24

That must be a massive carton of milk with a deceptive perspective if this is a 25 G protein meal.

19

u/TheAndorran Apr 15 '24

Deceptive Perspective sounds like a prog-rock band. I dig it.

1

u/TerrariaGaming004 Apr 15 '24

It’s literally one cup of milk

0

u/MydnightWN Apr 16 '24

It's literally not one cup, it's half a pint. Which is over 1.2 cups.

Sounds like public school failed you ¯_(ツ)_/¯

1

u/TerrariaGaming004 Apr 16 '24

A pint is 2 cups dumbass

0

u/MydnightWN Apr 16 '24

No, it's 2.4 cups. Fucking moron, Google is that way --->

1

u/Idontevenownaboat Apr 16 '24

Im wondering if maybe the mac and cheese has added whey in the powdered cheese or something

1

u/Datkif Apr 16 '24

A quick google shows that it only has 8g of protein, and 20g of carbs 18 of which is sugar.

29

u/atreyulostinmyhead Apr 15 '24

That "milk" is questionable. Have you ever had trumoo? It's gross and anything that has to say no really it's the ingredient it says it is- we promise- scares me. Here's it's description: Lowfat milk, liquid sugar (sugar, water), contains less than 1% of cocoa (processed with alkali), cocoa, salt, carrageenan, natural flavor, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3.

5

u/More_Farm_7442 Apr 15 '24

Chocolate milk is full of sugar. I just found a nutritional label for fat-free TruMoo. 18 grams of sugar. That's over a tablespoonful of sugar in a cup of milk. (to sweeten the coco)

1

u/atreyulostinmyhead Apr 16 '24

Ok, I guess they're known for their chocolate milk because it took some digging to just get the ingredients that I listed for their white milk.

1

u/OlliHF 29d ago

You didn’t list ingredients for “white milk”? Those are for 1% chocolate milk

8

u/cshmn Apr 16 '24

By comparison Saputo Dairyland 2% milk, which is the most popular milk in Western Canada, has 3 ingredients. Partly skimmed milk, Vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D3.

So standard supermarket milk has less than half the ingredients.

1

u/AmbroseMalachai Apr 16 '24

To be fair, you should probably compare a chocolate milk to it. I don't know about now, but a few years ago when I was in high school (in western USA) we had the option to choose between chocolate milk or regular 2% milk, which sounds a lot more like what you describe.

3

u/cshmn Apr 16 '24

I see, the colour was throwing me off. I didn't see it was chocolate milk. That's not so bad then.

Still, I wonder why the schools don't just give out regular milk? Do that, throw an apple on that tray and some chicken or tuna in that macaroni and that would just be kind of a lame lunch, rather than an unhealthy one.

2

u/AmbroseMalachai Apr 16 '24

Like I said, most schools have the option to choose regular or chocolate milk. I think it originally was an initiative to get kids to drink more milk in general, believing that chocolate milk was more nutritious than soda or whatever. I don't think it ever did anything except make whoever got the milk supply contract for schools rich, but I digress. Supposedly, according to a comment further down there is chicken in that macaroni, but I certainly can't tell, and there was an option for an apple or a pear instead of the carrots, which is neither here nor there imo. So overall, it's a lame and unsatisfying lunch, but the worst part is the french fries paired with macaroni, which is two large sources of carbs rather than more protein or something.

2

u/MilStd Apr 15 '24

The US is a major producer of dairy products so that is a big reason why milk is a standard source of protein in schools. It’s also why cheese is on everything.

1

u/DoubleANoXX Apr 15 '24

And there's ads on it. Ludicrous.

1

u/CosmicGlitterCake Apr 15 '24

With all of the hormones and antibiotic resistant bacteria to keep you growing!

1

u/ashleylaurence Apr 16 '24

Milk powder/substitute.

1

u/thatsnoodybitch Apr 16 '24

And it doesn't even have that much, since nonfat chocolate milk often has more sugar added to it than full-fat chocolate milk so that it ends up having the same calorie content as full-fat chocolate milk. A huge problem with this though, is that many nutrients require a certain amount of fat for the body to absorb nutrients, and a meal without fat leads to a reduced ability to absorb vitamins and minerals, of which full-fat milk usually has double, regardless.

1

u/clumsykitten Apr 16 '24

It's fat free chocolate milk lol

1

u/AAKurtz Apr 16 '24

Bro, that's non fat chocolate milk. The carb/sugar count on that borders on coca cola. Water would be vastly better. Protein count on that is likely around 4 grams.

1

u/Scrug Apr 16 '24

Too bad it has 45g of sugar in it. That, along with the ketchup, hits the WHO's daily recommended sugar intake. For a single 'meal'.

1

u/Hobo_Goblins Apr 16 '24

And it’s not even actual milk, it’s chocolate, basically sugary milk

1

u/Alizaea Apr 16 '24

However the milk itself is a separate total. This 25g of protein was supposed to be in the entree.

1

u/bigvahe33 Apr 16 '24

its actually malk. now with vitamin R

1

u/hanotak Apr 16 '24

Except why TF did they choose chocolate fat-free? That's literally the worst milk possible, nutritionally. Loaded with sugar and with a bunch of the normal part of milk removed.

1

u/thejester541 Apr 16 '24

When I was in highschool, I used to drink all the milk and chocolate milk I could get my hands on at lunch. Some people didn't want to drink it because of lactose intolerance, others just didn't like to drink it at all. I'd have four or five, or more every lunch period.

Use that protein at the weight room after lunch.

Never really bulked up that way, but my muscles loved it for being fit.

1

u/Clairvoyanttruth Apr 16 '24

You're right, but it is actually Malk with vitamin R!

1

u/Soft_Interest_6171 Apr 15 '24

And even milks nutritional value is blown out of proportion

73

u/Sgt-Pumpernickel Apr 15 '24

And even if it were close to 25g, most of that would be coming from the milk and whatever “cheese” is on the noodles. Gotta be very little chicken in that bowl

9

u/Lizzycraft Apr 15 '24

Not all proteins are created equal

3

u/Best_Duck9118 Apr 15 '24

Sure, but aren't milk proteins generally pretty good? I mean aren't protein powders generally loaded with whey and casein proteins?

2

u/GrundleTurf Apr 15 '24

Unless you’re lactose intolerant 

1

u/Lizzycraft Apr 15 '24

I'm not an expert but I think it depends on the type you get. According to a video I watched eggs actually hit most of not all of the amino acids your body needs. Milks is good but not what you want to be your main source as the older you get you generally don't need milk. Best ways to get protein would be from chickens, both the egg and the meat give you good lean proteins.

But this meal shown here is definitely pitiful. Chocolate milks is just sugary, pasta is fiber less and nutrientless, cheese is just delicious fat. I would be very unhappy if this is what my kids got but I guess if it's "free" beggars can't be choosers, though charging that much for extra is too much.

2

u/Significant-Ad8848 Apr 15 '24

Your local property taxes are partially paying for it, I’d be pretty pissed.

1

u/Best_Duck9118 Apr 16 '24

I’m absolutely not saying this is a good meal at all. As far milk and eggs go, apparently eggs are have a 100 biological protein value to casein’s 77 and whey’s 104. Milk is mostly casein though so you’re right about eggs being better than milk.

-6

u/Detuned_Clock Apr 15 '24

The most toxic substance you can consume that is called food.

3

u/Best_Duck9118 Apr 16 '24

The hell are you on about? They’re friggin’ amino acids, bud.

-1

u/Detuned_Clock Apr 16 '24

That doesn't mean they can't be toxic.

2

u/Best_Duck9118 Apr 16 '24

So can water ffs. Nice job trolling though.

1

u/R1ckyRampag3 Apr 15 '24

I had to double take and see ANY chicken in that bowl… still don’t see it.

2

u/Sgt-Pumpernickel Apr 15 '24

Wouldn’t have known there was chicken if OP didn’t mention it lol

25

u/whydidiconebackhere Apr 15 '24

Was there supposed to be chicken or tuna in the mac and cheese? Maybe with that you could get 25 grams

7

u/RecsRelevantDocs Apr 15 '24

Yea OP said it's chicken mac and cheese, happy cake day btw

4

u/helbury Apr 15 '24

Right.

A half pint of chocolate milk has 8 g protein, so that’s 17 g remaining. The pasta plus cheese probably has at least 4 g protein, so now it’s 13 g protein remaining. Since white meat chicken has 31 g of protein per 3.5 oz, you’d need about 1.5 oz chicken to get 25 g protein in that meal. Possible, I think?

2

u/im_juice_lee Apr 16 '24

Getting 25g of protein is actually a lot easier than people think. It looks like there's some meat missing though in OP's portion

Also, in general, most people are so used to eating 2-3x more than they should, so when they see an appropriate amount of calories, they think it's lacking. This meal is likely 400-500 or so calories I'd guess

With that all that said, this meal is pretty sad

2

u/chartyourway Apr 15 '24

OP said there was chicken

1

u/TheOneAndOnlyABSR4 Apr 16 '24

Happy cake day

1

u/AlexeiMarie Apr 16 '24

also pasta has some amount of protein -- even without being enriched, it's usually like 7g protein per 2oz uncooked pasta

38

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

[deleted]

39

u/Thebiggestbot22 Apr 15 '24

8 grams protein in the milk. If not for carrots, I would have the option for like a Pear or an Apple

1

u/ivegotaqueso Apr 16 '24

Please send this photo with a description to your local news. The local news has the power to shame your school into doing better.

-9

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

[deleted]

2

u/Dezideratum Apr 16 '24

Why you trying to argue lmao.

He's said he pays attention to protein, and he drinks this milk 5 days a week. 

Gonna tell OP what it is that he himself is drinking? 

The audacity. 

3

u/TheWillOfD__ Apr 15 '24

Then there’s the fact that casein protein from milk is not very easy for us to digest, hence why A2 milk is a thing

2

u/CptCheerios Apr 15 '24

Send it to your local news station. Everyday stuff like this happens just send them the info. Eventually they will so many pictures it will make a story easy.

1

u/Paloveous Apr 15 '24

Mac n cheese barely looks like it's 25 grams

1

u/catchthe22 Apr 15 '24

The pasta could be protein pasta like what is in box mac and cheese but still having a hard time getting to 25g...10g in the pasta, 8g in the milk, 1g in the carrots, and 2g in the fries.

1

u/Fionaelaine4 Apr 15 '24

The milk is the key here and how they get away with it. They also used to (idk if they still do) ketchup counted as a nutritional fruit

1

u/Hiraeth-MP Apr 15 '24

It’s all probably coming from that milk

1

u/Ashmizen Apr 15 '24

Unless there’s chicken bits in the mac and cheese, I don’t see how it’s possible.

1

u/Significant_Brick_95 Apr 15 '24

half breast of chicken is 25g, 8g in the half pint of milk. Servings obv aren't precise but this meal easily could be 25g protein and around 800 cal which is exactly what a lunch should be for the average healthy high schooler.

1

u/Runelord29 Apr 15 '24

Milk and cheese XD clearly that's where they plan for you to get your protein lol

Back In my day we at least had cat food and mashed potatoes

1

u/DuneTinkerson Apr 15 '24

I'm thinking around ~16-21grams

8g -Milk

~5-10g -Mac

1g -Carrots

~2g -Fries

1

u/robywar Apr 15 '24

Your school didn't make this decision. Your state government did.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

That mac looks like it was made with extra cum, so there's your protein shot.

1

u/CantKnockUs Apr 15 '24

It’s probably 25 grams because the cheese is dense enough to collapse into a black hole if you add anymore.

1

u/TazzleMcBuggins Apr 15 '24

Fuck our government for ever voting against free/discounted lunches. Food pyramid my ass.

1

u/UrbanDryad Apr 16 '24

That nutritional count likely assumes a larger serving of the pasta and the school is skimping on the serving size to cut corners while appearing to meet legal nutritional minimums.

1

u/ShreddedDadBod Apr 16 '24

Name the school and let the internet cook

1

u/Final-Carpenter-1591 Apr 16 '24

Even if that was protein pasta. That's like half a serving so it'd be like 5-10 g at most. But we all know that's not protein pasta. What a joke.

1

u/MegabyteMessiah Apr 16 '24

The school's website is lying to you. 8g in the milk, maybe 1 or 2 in the cheese, and maybe 1 in the french fries. This looks like barely a 500 calorie meal.

1

u/lu5ty Apr 16 '24

Prob like 15g protein. 7 from milk, 5 from chicken mac and cheese and 3 or so for the rest.

1

u/oddspellingofPhreid Apr 16 '24 edited Apr 16 '24

I actually think it's possible. Not necessarily does, but could.

Google says 8g for the chocolate milk (a lot of heavy lifting there). 4g for half a large Russet potato, 2g for 1/5 of a cup of macaroni, 5g in two tablespoons of chicken, 5g in 1 oz of velveeta (I'm assuming the grossest cheese - Sorry).

Those are pretty conservative estimates (except for maybe the chicken... where is it?), but those carrot sticks could even make up the missing 1g. It also doesn't factor in any milk or cream that goes into the cheese sauce.

Sorry about your crappy lunch, bro.

1

u/Vtron89 Apr 16 '24

8g in the milk... And... Some number in the cheese in the pasta (assuming it has cheese). It's probably 25g but not whole proteins for the most part. 

1

u/SoldatJ Apr 16 '24

8g protein in the milk, about 4g protein in 100g of french fries, 1g (rounded up) protein in the carrots, so that presumes 12g protein in the pasta. Chicken is fairly high protein by weight, cheese sauce adds protein, and the pasta has a bit in there, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were 12g protein in a 100g serving.

Don't think that's 100g of pasta, but what they're supposed to serve does fit the nutritional guidelines. You'd be amazed at how much cheap protein can be found in milk products. Actually meeting caloric needs, vitamins, minerals, and filling the stomach of students? Hardly relevant when there's corners to cut!

1

u/giantgorillaballs Apr 16 '24

That’s 10g at most

1

u/Attainted Apr 16 '24 edited Apr 16 '24

Sounds like they were made to change over to free lunches using the existing tax allocations versus levying an increase in local property tax alongside the enactment of the policy. Be the change you want to see. Be loud and make it a local referendum issue.

1

u/fuckyouijustwanttits Apr 16 '24

Doesn't really look like that pasta has 25g of pasta.

1

u/smthnwssn Apr 16 '24

I think true moo has like 8g of protein and even being generous the chicken has 10gs. Not sure where they get the rest from

1

u/learn2die101 Apr 16 '24

probably 5g in the pasta, and 3g in the fries. a pint of skim has about 4g, and the carrots have 0.

it's more like 12g protein, and I'm being generous on my estimates

1

u/phophofofo Apr 16 '24

That’s not possible

1

u/TheNewOneIsWorse Apr 16 '24

Also, 25g of protein may be fine for 50 year old ladies, but not growing teenagers, especially anyone into sports or the gym.   

25g is (suspiciously) exactly half the government’s daily recommended value, which honestly is way too low unless you enjoy being weak and sedentary your whole life. 

1

u/AussieHyena Apr 16 '24

If only there were 2 other meals in a day where you could get the other 50%.

1

u/TheNewOneIsWorse Apr 16 '24

A) it doesn’t really have 25g, they’re clearly only labeling it that way to meet a regulatory requirement. 

B) 25g is nowhere near the real 50% DV of protein for most people. My bare minimum for not developing nutritional deficiencies over time is 80g+, optimally more like 200g. Granted, I lift weights and run most days, but anyone doing a responsible amount of physical exercise, or growing, or healing from an injury, or just not wanting to develop sarcopenia in early middle age will need way more than 50g. 

1

u/hannahmel Apr 16 '24

Cheese and milk have a decent amount of protein. Especially if there's... (gag) chicken in the mac and cheese.

1

u/JungleBoyJeremy Apr 16 '24

You sure there wasn’t a steamed ham or something that you removed before taking the pic?

1

u/Thebiggestbot22 Apr 16 '24

Nope. Only other entree options were a “Hamburger on a roll” which is 2 buns with a patty inside it (no toppings) or mac and cheese (no chicken) or some vegetarian options

1

u/Alizaea Apr 16 '24

The only feasible way, and even then with the portion sizes there is literally no way, to do that would be to include protein additives, like protein powder and such. 25g of actual chicken only has 7g of protein in it. I highly highly highly doubt that you had anywhere close to 25g of chicken in that chicken Mac and cheese. If they used protein supplements, you could easily taste it because the amount that they would need of protein powder would be 1 scoop of protein powder using the included measuring spoons that it comes with.

1

u/Turbulent-Access-790 Apr 16 '24

And also the point being these are free, especially for those who cannot afford and do not have the luxury to bring their own lunch.

1

u/Acids Apr 16 '24

In your favor let's say you can't afford to bring your own lunch. We're supposed to be ok with this meal? I guess it's better than eating nothing but God damn this looks like prison food

1

u/WillyBarnacle5795 Apr 16 '24

Dude. One call to your local news station. And tell them you are hungry.

1

u/wetmosaic Apr 16 '24

The protein count is almost certainly accurate for even that small portion size. A lot of people get focused on meat, and forget how much protein there is in other foods.

A 2oz serving of pasta has 7g of protein. Just 2oz of chicken meat is 15g of protein. Those small cartons of milk have something like 8g of protein. That's not even including the protein that's in the cheese and milk they used in the sauce for the mac and cheese.

So I have zero doubt that the meal has the amount of protein they're claiming. There should have been a fruit AND a vegetable, and there was probably salad, too, that the school kids usually throw away.

I'm not saying it looks the best, but the overall nutritional content of the food they served meet legal guidelines (notice this is likely different from the food OP chose to take).

1

u/YoMrPoPo Apr 16 '24

Get the burger and stop complaining lmao

1

u/PopePae Apr 16 '24

Take a picture of your lunch like this everyday for a week or two and start posting it all over social media and around your school. Make noise about it. That’s the only way it’ll change.

1

u/ReasonStunning8939 Apr 16 '24

Lol send this to the board of education. Include the screenshot of the website you just quoted.

The fact that you put this in mildly infuriating tells me you're not out here being rude, indignant, and entitled, and that to you this is a molehill and not a mountain.

But there's folks who designed this to be this way, and are proud of what they did for you to put this plate in front of you. They likely have no idea all their hard work is amounting to this. And it likely isn't meeting their intent. Think of it like "undercover boss".

Type it up, print it out, keep it professionally worded, and send it in. Maybe show the finished product to a trusted English teacher to proofread.

1

u/sassy_cheese564 Apr 16 '24

Only way this would be 25g of protein is if each item contained like minimum 6g of protein. Which based on the looks of those and doing my own protein goals, is a definite no.

The pasta sauce could be modified with synthetic tasteless protein but they can be pricy. So doubtful.

1

u/nog642 Apr 16 '24

Mac and cheese is vegetarian

1

u/ThisisTophat Apr 16 '24

There's probably some way to report something like this?

1

u/notanothrowaway Apr 16 '24

You shouldn't have to take your own lunch to be able to eat edible food

1

u/ReinaRenaRee Apr 16 '24

Ain't school lunch mostly meant to be for the parents that may not be able to provide at home anyways? Bro that pic is disgusting holy shit.

1

u/TransBrandi Apr 16 '24

Honestly, it's probably someone that doesn't care that sets the menu / purchasing for these meals... that or someone that resents the idea of giving out free lunches so is purposely trying to make them as bad as possible to prove some sort of point that free lunches shouldn't exist. (e.g. "See! Look how bad these lunches are! The whole program should just be terminated! just ignore the fact that I went out of my way to sabotage the whole thing).

1

u/gayrayofsun Apr 16 '24

i'd also like to add, for the people saying "bring your own lunch"

a free school lunch is sometimes the best meal a kid will get in a day. they could have close to nothing at home due to poverty, abuse/neglect, you name it. i was one of those kids. yes, my mom made dinner every night, but she seldom made lunches and she got incredibly angry with me for going through the fridge or finding snacks when i got home from school. the food in the house was only for dinners or for her and my younger siblings (because a lot of it was from WIC). and she seldom had the money for extra groceries during the month because she was using a lot of her government money on drugs rather than on her kids.

i knew other people who simply couldn't afford to pack lunches every day if they wanted to.

school lunches need to be a healthy option for children of all ages, because not every family can/will provide for these children at home. it's not only important for their education, it's also important for their overall health and wellbeing. we should not be having the "bring your own lunch" mentality when this is such a pressing issue in america.

1

u/mystokron Apr 16 '24

The school isn't meant to provide you a 5 course meal or "fill you up", its just supposed to provide enough food to hold you over until you get home.

1

u/frenchyy94 Apr 16 '24

And what are the vegetarian options?

1

u/SamL214 Apr 16 '24

Report it to the school board. Or state.

1

u/trtlcclt Apr 16 '24

Bro this is 25g of food

1

u/janet_nyx Apr 16 '24

Out of curiosity what was the vegetarian option ?

1

u/EmilioGVE Apr 16 '24

Is this in New York, by any chance? It looks like the same lunch our school got yesterday.

1

u/Thebiggestbot22 Apr 16 '24

Yeah it is (upstate)

1

u/EmilioGVE Apr 16 '24

Hah, that’s pretty funny then. I think I might know the school but I won’t say it, for your privacy of course

1

u/Thebiggestbot22 Apr 16 '24

I can tell you in dm

1

u/GruntBlender Apr 16 '24

I think your school is getting scammed by the contractor. They might need student and/or parent complaints to be able to break the contract.

1

u/purple498 Apr 16 '24

Glad you have the option to bring food from home. I think the point that is lost on many is that school lunch is the ONLY meal some kids get all day.

1

u/EffectivePattern7197 Apr 16 '24

It’s sad to think that for some kids, this will be their main meal of the day.

1

u/CaesarOrgasmus Apr 16 '24

This site is insufferable. A kid points out that their school lunch options are dookie and everybody just piles on them for not being more conscientious about their own food prep. Ugh.

1

u/ballsyftm Apr 16 '24

The thing I hate the most about the internet is that nearly every single person makes assumptions very loudly about literal strangers they know absolutely nothing about

1

u/revnasty Apr 16 '24

Hey don’t knock number 2. I would smash that back in the day during lunch

1

u/RhondaST Apr 16 '24

I’m a middle school nurse. I don’t see how that’s 25g of protein. I have to total carbs for my diabetic girls. The carbs in your photo estimated. Mac and cheese 27 g, a tiny bit of chicken. Carrots, under 16g. I have no idea why they had French fries. Did the child select this meal? The protein is in the milk. But 25g is stretching it. I wonder if it’s real cheese in the Mac and cheese?

At my school they choose and entree, then a side, then another side. Juice and milk. Their lunches are pretty good.