Chicago’s Little Village Academy public school plans to ban “brown bag” or homemade lunches. According to principal and amateur nutritionist Elsa Carmona, “Nutrition wise, it is better for the children to eat at the school. It’s about … the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunchroom). It’s milk versus a Coke.” I have never known the government food served in school cafeterias to be of “excellent quality,” but maybe Little Village Academy is different.
(In the interest of full disclosure, our kindergartener brings a homemade lunch to his public elementary school every day. My wife and I have never packed a Coke in his lunch.)
Nutrition aside, there is an important parental involvement angle here. Many parents believe that the “school will take care of everything,” and, therefore, withdraw from their child’s school life. Why would schools conduct themselves in ways that discourage greater parental involvement? Why can’t the issue of nutritional lunches be a learning experience for child and parent?
