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Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Feds Ban Packed Lunches Without a Doctor’s Note!

118 Comments

*Amazon or other affiliate links may be included, see full disclosure after the post. I'm not a medical professional, so use anything you read here only as a starting point for your own research.

no bagged lunch

You're not going to believe this one.

“A school in Richmond, Virginia is following federal government instructions by telling parents that they need to have a doctor’s note in order for their children to be allowed to bring packed lunches to school, another example of how the nanny state is encroaching via the public education system.”

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Comments

  2. Commenter via Facebook says

    This is an outrage. I wonder how long before they start making kids recite Neocon slogans to take home with!

    Reply

  9. Yolanda says

    So, apparently, this is a “local” problem. I’m glad. At first I thought that this would be nation-wide! :-0 A couple of things I want to mention. Although I have, through the years (my oldest child is 40) done my best to cook and serve nutritious meals to our family, I also realize that a lot of what has made this possible is that I had a mother who was health and nutrition conscious. She did her very best with what was known at the time. We always had real butter. 🙂 She cooked. We didn’t eat very many sweets and never had soda. We did have Koolaide occasionally! She was quite weight conscious and always kept fairly trim and talked about these things enough that it became important to me as well. So many people do not grow up with that example, and example is critically important in shaping our lives. Not that we can’t rise above (or sink below, for that matter) the example set before us, of course we can, but many people eat poorly in blissful ignorance. Another thing is that we need to remember that even on the SAD, our citizens are much better off than the millions of our brothers and sisters in the world who have very little to eat of any kind and struggle to survive. Thousands die every day from starvation and preventable diseases. I think it’s good to keep things in perspective. To me, the most alarming thing about this topic is the potential erosion of our liberty in the USA, not so much the nutritional aspects, although that is troubling as well.

    Reply

    • KitchenKop says

      Hi Yolanda,

      That’s a good point. I spend a lot of time here on my blog complaining about the junk the government tries to push on us through schools, hospitals, “nutrition” programs, etc., but as you said, I should keep in mind those who would love *anything* to eat.

      But still, it’s sad the way so many here in the land of the plenty are starving for nutrients.

      Kelly

      Reply

      • Yolanda says

        Thank you, Kelly. I agree with you. I have seen reports on people living here in “food deserts.” Those are areas where folks have no transportation in cities and only can eat what is available at a small nearby “grocery” store. Fortunately for some of us, it is getting easier to access really nice food. I used to have an aunt, a very nice aunt, who was very obese her whole adult life. She really truly never made the connection between her diet and her weight. I have a friend who was very heavy until a few years ago. She once told me that her excess weight felt like emotional protection to her. There is so much to be known that we don’t understand that drives people’s food choices. I think the best I can do it try to set a good example and share what I have learned when it’s appropriate. As Dale Carnegie wrote, “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”

        Reply

  10. Commenter via Facebook says

    I work at my kids school, and do see a surprising amount of kids with crap lunches. Doughnuts for snack, one girl had cookies for snack today. However judging what the FEd’s support I can only think it’s a different form of crap. I’ll take the doc note thanks.

    Reply

  12. Commenter via Facebook says

    Home school and make sure I get in the political process by starting out not being ignorant of what is going on Federally and local then voting in elections to begin with. We must see the taking over in this country that has happened. It will become worse if good people do nothing.

    Reply

  14. Commenter via Facebook says

    My response would b take my kid out of school! They try to say they serve balance meals that are healthy! Thats a joke! Pizza and chocolate milk and pudding is not a healthy meal!

    Reply

  15. Commenter via Facebook says

    This is just terrible. So many of us will be up in arms when the shit hits the fan. Preparing is nice but has become completely illegal in the United States. Look at the defense authorization act, do you honestly feel safe in the United States? Using the excuse that one is a “taxpayer” and a “US citizen”, doesn’t mean a thing and has not for nearly a decade now. The rights that you feel you are entitled to have not existed for quite some time now. Posse comitatus and habeas corpus have been completely redacted and eminent domain has been handed to foreign countries. If you think that this school lunch scenario is the worst of it, you are mistaken.

    Reply

  16. Patty J. says

    Yet one more reason to validate why I homeschool and have done so since my high school senior started in kindergarten. What’s worse is that the food offered is highly processed to keep awhile and “because that’s what the kids will eat”. And yet, if you sent a lunch that has a bag of potato chips (I know, not the best of foods) it will be confiscated. Here in Virginia, they finally changed the law a year or so ago allowing kids to walk to school with some caveats. No wonder I would see moms waiting with their children at a bus stop A BLOCK FROM THE SCHOOL! It had never occurred to me that would be illegal to walk the kids a block! It’s funny how now I’m the abuser because I feed my kids good food, teach them to love God, and to be a good citizen. And our tax $ pay for that. OK, there’s my rant for the day.

    Reply

  17. Commenter via Facebook says

    Continue to send lunches with him – and be there to supervise lunch to make sure he ate them and it wasn’t replaced with a “nutritious” school lunch.

    Reply

  18. Commenter via Facebook says

    Go to the doctor and get a note. I know all I have to do is tell my doctor I don’t want my kids eating “crap” that I am sending fresh fruit/veggies (of course with my real fats, but he doesn’t need to know) and he will write me a note.

    Reply

  20. Commenter via Facebook says

    This is completely unconstitutional, and that would be my major issue, BUT, what about those of us who eat certain diets for religious reasons? A dr has no right giving a note about that, and I have every right to feed my child in that way.

    Reply

  26. Commenter via Facebook says

    We homeschool, but I would be up in arms with any parent in the district we live in if I found out about that… I’m a tax payer. I think the government forgets who FUNDS the public schools!

    Reply

  27. Commenter via Facebook says

    Fight it all the way…nobody tells me what to feed my kids or how to feed them….Nobody…If this was their rule then I would pull my child out of the program…period, end of subject!

    Reply

  28. Commenter via Facebook says

    People, you are all seemingly missing the point of this. I like one other poster below sees the problem in a totally different light: I bet parents are sending kids in with Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes and Twinkies and other “foods” that do nothing but cause the kids to be hyper or totally out-of-it. All the while there is a lunch provided that, although it might not be an organic, totally balanced meal, is far better than what parents are sending kids in with (and you all know what I am talking about on that: candy bars, sugary juice boxes, chips…you name it). Some kids are so picky they will ONLY eat one thing everyday for lunch, I know one kid who ONLY eats leftover pizza and that is IT. How do they deal with that? Apparently they could lose their funding to serve lunch at all if all the kids are bringing in their own food, which again, I would bet is NOT organic celery sticks with organic cheese and homemade sandwiches on whole wheat bread, etc.

    Reply

  31. Commenter via Facebook says

    Does that mean you can’t give them breakfast or dinner dince it comes from the same kitchen that lunch would. How dumb

    Reply

  34. Gina says

    I dont want to start an argument but I do want to share another side of the story. I worked in preschools for a very long time and occasionally had to limit lunches brought in from homes. For parents like the ones commenting on this post that pack healthy lunches? No. And in my 15+ years working in child care centers the parents were packing healthy lunches were far out numbered by the parents packing junk. I honestly had parents that would bring in their child with powdered doughnuts and a chocolate flavored drink for breakfast and then lunch might be a bag of corn chips, a full sized candy bar and a 20oz soda for lunch.

    This happened far more often than you would think.

    If a program receives federal funds to provide lunches, they have to meet certain guidelines for each meal. I don’t know if this school was referring to those guidelines or not. When we did have a problem with lunches from home, we only required a doctor’s note if the lunches from home met none of the nutritional requirements at all.

    Reply

    • IC says

      If bringing a lunch broke a policy, they would have said so in the note. More likely, bringing a lunch from home brings less money to the school which I suspect is the main motivating factor here.
      I get what you’re saying about junk food lunches but school lunches are no better than a candy bar. If a teacher truly has bothing but candy bars coming in for lunch, why not meet with the parent and find out the root of the problem? Probably some unimaginable stress that would help the teacher to know in general. Note that I’m not advocating a teacher tell a parent what he or she should pack for their child.
      What if teachers called all parents who did not send lunches that followed to the food pyramid guidelines? My parents would have been called! We don’t need government food police! The government has done nothing but help destroy the health of this country. I am so glad I homeschool, nearly all homeschoolers I know would never eat the likes of a school lunch.
      One last thing – most older kids can buy a soda, candy bar and chips for their lunch. At school. Why is that not okay for younger kids but available as an option for our teens?

      Reply

  35. Commenter via Facebook says

    It’s a shame!!!! I would have starved if my mom couldn’t have sent me a lunch. I remember a teacher in the third grade that use to eat an ice cream on a stick in front of the class everyday and I for one didn’t have a nickel to buy one.

    Reply

  36. Commenter via Facebook says

    Again….once you start taking all the government funding for schools/ businesses/etc.—-yes, you may have more money to work with, but you are sacrificing ownership. I think it is time for us to wise up about grant and Federal funding…..it comes with a price! I just spoke with an older friend yesterday who was telling how back when he was in school, they would have cake walks, contests, etc. to earn money to buy balls to play with at recess. If they wanted it…..they had to rely on themselves and their ingenuity There’s your difference.

    Reply

  37. Commenter via Facebook says

    You are all missing the point of this letter. We foodies are the exception in society NOT the rule. If this is a federally funded preschool, it is more than likely serving head-start type kids in need of early intervention. I have worked in the school systems and I have seen what 95% of kids bring to school for lunch–CRAP. I seriously doubt we are talking about kids who are bringing in soaked granola bars and organic string cheese or homemade pastured chicken soup! If this school is receiving funding to provide hot, balanced lunches for kids (yes, yes…I am well aware they are probably serving GMO-laden, non-organic, toxic food) and kids are opting to bring in Lunchables and Oreos because they don’t want to eat hot green beans or grilled cheese sandwiches then the school is going to lose their food funding. If that happens, it will penalize those children who really NEED whatever the school is passing off as food because they may not get anything to eat otherwise. And I homeschool too, but that is completely irrelevant to this letter because I am certainly not homeschooling just to oversee my child’s lunch.

    Reply

  40. Commenter via Facebook says

    There is no way I put my kids on public education, I can cut on dinning out less personal shopping and I can invest in education with less children in class and I can pack their lunches I am fortunate to have an organic hot lunch services at my kids school, I get 2 days a week the other 3 days I pack a lunches 🙂

    Reply

  41. Commenter via Facebook says

    Not everyone can homeschool, I would go to the principal and tell them that my child will eat what I send with them and if you don’t like it you will be hearing from my lawyer

    Reply

  42. Commenter via Facebook says

    I would give this note to my child to give to the teacher:
    Dear Ms (Teacher),
    Please do not harass my child nor interfere with his lunch nor make him uncomfortable in any way. I take full responsibility for his health and nutrition and have decided as his parent and legal guardian that he will eat what I send with him. If you have any questions, please call, write, or email me directly.
    Sincerely,
    Ms Brooks
    AKA “Dr. Mom”

    Reply

  49. Commenter via Facebook says

    I clicked through from Kelly’s post to the InfoWars post…I love how the school sells ice cream and nachos _during P.E._. During P.E.

    Reply

  51. Commenter via Facebook says

    5 second scream — then just get doctor’s note. if time, write letter to local representative and learn about farm bill.

    Reply

  52. Commenter via Facebook says

    I’d send a note back. My child’s medical condition is hunger. I want him to actually EAT his lunch and not go hungry all day.

    Reply

  53. Kristi says

    I do not agree with this at all. At my school, pre-k has to eat the breakfast but can bring their own lunch. It is part of the Gov. Program. This is not a school’s choice. Gov. does not listen to schools. If parents speak up maybe things will change. Keep up the fight. Your kids are worth it! BTW, I pack my child’s lunch every day 🙂

    Reply

  54. Commenter via Facebook says

    And I know my organic lunches are much better than anything they would serve in their chemically laden fast food world

    Reply

  55. Dragon says

    I remember year ago when the school was giving me trouble about my childs lunches, I just told them to teach her, and I would feed her.

    Just this week a local school had maggots in the rice. gag me

    Reply

  58. Commenter via Facebook says

    Did you watch the video at the bottom … srry but they are my kids !! they don’t belong to the Borg collective !!

    Reply

  60. Commenter via Facebook says

    If they have issues there can be rules about what food is or is not allowed. Re. No nuts. Nothing needing heating, etc,.. It does not need to be complicated.

    Reply

  71. Commenter via Facebook says

    All hell would break loose. Nobody messes with my child and there’s no government big enough to take me on when it comes to the people I love. The fact that inmates eat better than school children is infuriating enough. If they think that poison is good for anything other than to be thrown in their corrupt faces, they can eat it themselves… Sorry I’m just fed up with all the crap the “elite” gets away with because most people couldn’t care less…

    Reply

  72. Commenter via Facebook says

    Just ONE more reason I educated my children at home….seriously people….stop letting the school tell you how and what to do!

    Reply

  74. Commenter via Facebook says

    not an issue in Oz. Lunch is parents’ choice .. home made or tuckshop bought or preordered with the lunch shop … or delivered hot home made … we have choice

    Reply

  75. Commenter via Facebook says

    Yes, this is just VA, and they define it like so: “Federal Programs Preschool –braided funding from VA Preschool Initiative, Head Start and Title I Four Year Old Program”

    It looks like the reasons are predominantly health and nutrition, allergies, storage and preparation, and liability.

    They also require vaccinations.
    https://webapps.henrico.k12.va.us/policy/#

    Reply

  76. Commenter via Facebook says

    When I looked into this, it turned out to be misinformation. It was not banned by the government, but by the school itself, and it was only one school.

    Reply

  77. Commenter via Facebook says

    A – Don’t have that issue and homeschool to avoid it. But, B – Would go straight to my doctor, who would be more than happy to write us a note. She’s awesome (part of our local food-buying club to boot!)!

    Reply

  78. Commenter via Facebook says

    I don’t have kids, but if I did I would continue to send my kid to school with the lunches I choose for them. I defy anyone to do a damn thing about it and if they had the audacity to try, they would see the fury of hell rain down on them, regardless of the type of school this is. This letter is ludicrous.

    Reply

  81. Commenter via Facebook says

    shouldn’t make one bit of difference what kind of school it is…my kids eat what I send with them… this is ridiculous.

    Reply

  82. Commenter via Facebook says

    With my son’s allergies and gluten intolerance, I’d have no problem getting a doctor’s note. I would feel the need to take it further and provide information that what they consider healthy is not at all!

    Reply

  90. Commenter via Facebook says

    Does not matter what Kind of school it is. Parents should have the final say in their children’s lives.

    Reply

  92. Commenter via Facebook says

    Remember its not a public school… its a federally funded preschool (likely a head start type situation that serves meals) so that makes somewhat more sense. In a public school setting, I would flip my lid. That’s why we homeschool 😀

    Reply

  93. Commenter via Facebook says

    I’d take my child out of that school. Sounds like they want everyone to only eat their food. Creepy.

    Reply

  95. Commenter via Facebook says

    This is not correct, and the parent that received this note should contact the district immediately. Note that Alex Jones never actually cites any federal statute…because it doesn’t exist.

    Reply

  96. Marie Marsden says

    I was able to share your information on FB by actually copying the web address, but trying to share it by selecting the FB link, the blocked message show up.

    Reply

    • KitchenKop says

      @Marie, thank you for your persistence!

      I have no idea what to do about this, anyone have an idea of what to try????

      Thanks for letting me know!
      Kel

      Reply

  97. Marie Marsden says

    I tried sharing your site on FB today and it was blocked. They said it was an abusive site. I left them a message telling them this is not an abusive site and has quality information. Just thought you may want to know that someone is working against you getting this information out. I am sure this is no surprise to you.

    Reply

  98. DS says

    Okay, let me get this straight. In the land of the free, a woman is allowed to KILL her child before it is born, but the government will decide what it will eat unless she has a note from a doctor? I always sent lunches for my children (and husband), from K through 12 for the kids. If someone had tried to tell me I couldn’t, I think I’d have tried to organize all the mothers to send bag lunches.

    Reply

  99. Jennifer says

    After doing a bit more research on this, it sounds like the school providing the food is part of the program for which the parents signed up for. It’s the same thing with local daycares, as part of the fee parents pay meals and snacks are provided. The food provided is based on national guidelines. Centers often do not have the space to store, get out, and prepare meals for these young children. Most preschoolers are unable to open their own containers and get their own lunch ready even if they could bring their own lunches and their aren’t enough teachers in the classroom to help all if those students in the allotted lunch time.

    I am not promoting the school lunch programs, I just think we end to know all the facts before condemning someone/something. Shame on you Kelly for not vetting this story appropriately. I expected more of you.

    Reply

    • Susan says

      You chastise Kelly for not having all the facts, yet the facts you share are so weak they don’t even hold water. Stating that preschoolers are unable to open their own containers at mealtime? Really? This is the best you can come up with in order support your view?

      Or, that the schools don’t have space to prepare or store food? Give me a break! First off, I guarantee you at 3 YO my daughter was well able to open a container with her lunch inside, and not because she had the strength of Hercules, but because -and here’s a novel concept- I put her lunch in an age-appropriate container. The gun safe just became too much for her to carry. And then you suggest these schools don’t have room to store and prepare food? Nobody asked them to, and that was never implied, suggested or mentioned in the article. Since I started school in 1970, there was always a place to put my lunch until mealtime. Then, lo and behold, when my daughter started school in 2000, she did too!!

      I’m surprised, after doing the research you mentioned, that you didn’t find exactly what so many of us already know: The government is sticking their nose into too many places and our kids needing a note to bring a lunch to school instead of eating their government GMO laden crap, is not only ridiculous, but is down-right Orwellian.

      I admire Kelly and the things she shares with us; whether it be food knowledge, tips, recipes, or government intrusion stories. One little mention of the NDAA last year on her blog sent me into some deep research that gave me an understanding of the bigger world picture in a way no other “tip” has. Once you see through the smoke and mirrors, you realize that there is something very disconcerting going on in our world, and this lunch story is only one piece of the very scary puzzle.

      Reply

      • Amber Starr says

        I think the first statement in Jennifer’s response is the real reason for the confusion here. The parents “signed up” for a preschool program that provides lunch. These types of programs are usually available (sometimes only available) for families that are on Free and Reduced Meals (FARM). Whereas, I do not agree with any child eating the ‘school lunch’ (if it can be called that), there is something to be said for understanding what you are taking part in.
        In this situation, the answer is quite simple: home school the child. There are plenty of resources available to help. If I could afford to stop working my full-time job, I would already be home-schooling my child. I don’t qualify for FARMs; my child takes her own lunch. However, since my child’s school is considered ‘Title One’ (more than 50% FARMs families), my child is offered ‘free breakfast’ and the teachers have to LOG whether she eats it or not. I tell her not to eat it and explain what it is. It is a similar, less severe example of government being involved in meals, but it runs along the same lines.
        Additionally, there is more at work here than government wanting kids to eat certain foods. Government is paying farmers to stay in business and providing subsidized food. It is big government controlling many factors.

        Reply

    • Jill says

      Man alive, I don’t care what the explanation is behind this, no parent should ever get a note like this from the school. Any school or other who tries to circumvent the parents’ responsibility and right to raise up their children (that includes what their kids eat) is way out of line and should not be submitted to. Period.

      Thanks for posting this, Kelly! Parents should be fired up about it and more determined than ever to fulfill their calling as parents and never relinquish their role to the government or any institution.

      Reply

      • IC says

        I agree. I did know this class was part of a federal program but it doesn’t change anything in my thinking. Where did they store food prior to the doctor’s note requirement? Total BS. The kids in other classes who are not in the program have no problem bringing their lunches. For now.

        Reply

    • rachel says

      Shame? Thats a bit harsh. This is an important article. The “food based on national guidelines” is worth crap, in case you hadnt noticed. The FDA has not protected children! Hence the skyrocketing epidemics of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, allergies and asthma in young children, more than ever seen in any other time in history. National guidelines, are abysmal.
      Condemnation of this program approved! And not Kelly the Kitchen Kop..go Kelly!

      Reply

  100. Beth says

    I guess they would also not allow a parent to pick their child up for lunch every day (and lunch in the car if need be). Few would be able to do that, unfortunately.

    This is monstrous. Unbelievable.

    Reply

    • Oregon Chris says

      Yup we need to stand up for our kids’ rights and not allow this to happen. If it is in your schools FIGHT them!

      Reply

      • KitchenKop says

        YES!!!!! And also, if it’s in your school and you’re planning a fight, TELL ME about it and I’ll help get the word out!

        Reply

  101. Oregon Chris says

    I am just gonna say it, that’s BULLSHIT! I can’t believe the feds would do that for PRESCHOOL or any other school for that matter. Most likely the food we bring from home would be more healthy then that served at school.

    Reply

  102. Amanda Y says

    Wow. This is both disgusting and shameful on the part of that school and our gov’t officials. I hope we can start a petition for the FDA to take note that this has gone WAY TOO FAR. It’s bad enough they push totally backward standards for healthy meals or nutrition, but more importantly, even if they had it right, every parent/child should be able to make alternate decisions if they want!

    Reply

  103. Yolanda says

    That is so wrong!!! :-0 One of our daughters, her husband and two children are living with us right now, temporarily. Her little girl is in 6th grade at the local elementary school. She eats the school lunch. She says she is always still hungry after she eats. The feds have dictated how many calories can be in the lunches. Good grief. The little boy is home schooled. He gets to eat as much as he needs, of course. 🙂 I can tell from the things the girl has told me that the cooks at the school are NOT happy about it, but it is out of their hands. So, I suppose “someone” thinks that this will help with childhood obesity. Oh, yeah… non fat milk… mouth thinks, “Yay! Yummy milk!” Body replies, “Where’s the cream?” Tummy says, “I’m still hungry!” Then the child returns home starving, and immediately eats AGAIN and has ANOTHER dinner later. “Like” this is going to do any good… I am disgusted with all this interference.

    Reply

  104. Jennifer @ 20 something allergies says

    “Health Coordinator” Baloney! There has not been a single day that goes by that I don’t find another reason to homeschool.

    Reply

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