School Lunches

For the first time ever, I'm dealing with school lunches.  Packing them, buying them, figuring out how to keep them cold and hot...oy vey...what a pain.  La Nina mostly takes her lunch, but two days a week, she buys.  Here's the kicker, La Nina comes home from school famished whenever she buys.  

So, I've been quizzing her about what she buys, how much she eats, if she's getting fed at all.  She usually buys a sandwich and a piece of fruit with milk, yes she eats it all, and yes she knows how to pay.  Then today, in the paper, I found the reason my baby's so hungry.  To curb childhood obesity, all school lunches are mandated to serve low calorie, small portion of health food, regardless of the kids' activity levels, weight, etc.  It's one size fits all whether it's a good size or not, and no seconds if you're still hungry.  God forbid, you might make a kid fat.  

Now, here's my beef.  If I'm paying for the school to feed my kid, I want her fed.  And for crying out loud, she's not over weight.  She dances four hours a week, plays soccer, takes PE, jumps on a trampoline and she needs to eat.  Why the hell are they feeding her diet food?  Don't get me wrong, when I pack her lunch, it's healthy:  a sandwich on wheat bread, yogurt, fruit and water with some crackers or a granola bar for a snack. And everyday after school, she munching her snack on the way to the car.   It's healthy, well balanced and enough food.  So why has the school decided if she buys, they know better than me?  

I know, I know, if I don't like it, don't let her buy.  But common on, every kid wants to buy on pizza day.  

What I don't understand is this:  The majority of kids are not obese.  Can we please remember this fact?  Yes, you do see obese kids, and more than I remember than from when I was a kid.  But why the heck is the state legislating for the minority?  Why aren't we outraged that kids show up at school with jumbo sized candy bars and cans of coke tucked in their backpacks from home?  Or lay around all afternoon playing videogames and watching television?

Somehow if the State thinks it knows better than parents--something I suspect they truly believe in the state of California--why don't they create some laws I could use? I hope to they can give me some help when it comes to getting La Nina out of bed in the morning.  Why not establishing a law that she needs to be out of bed 1 hour before school starts because some kids are late?   And while the State Assembly is at it, could they please make up a law about the type of shoes she may wear to school?  Some kids wear flip flops and that's never appropriate, but it would cut down on arguments if I could tell her those kids are criminals.  

Well, I guess I can keep hoping the state will make my life easier, but that is just never the case.