Thanks!!!

Some communities (like mine) are trying to move in this direction. This video covers our farm-to-school initiative:

https://webapps.fayar.net/fps/FPSVid...choolVideo.mp4

French people walk a lot. Driving is expensive and the cities aren't really built for them, so they walk a lot more than Americans. They also exercise a lot more for recreation. But portion size is a big deal, since a lot of french food isn't really low in fat or calories

Do they get mc'rib knockoffs?

Sometimes I go to my kids school for lunch - the American kids that bring have processed foods and sandwiches generally. Crackers, breakfast bars, etc.
And then you'll see some kids that look like they have an Indian or Asian background and they'll pull out a tupperware or thermos with some sort of rice or noodle dish mixed with vegetables.

I would have started a riot if my school tried to feed me some of that stuf. :jester:

There was no use in going to my kids' lunch. They got 15 minutes to eat. You can barely get through the line, let alone sit down and eat.

You think that doesn't contribute to obesity? Or the epidemic of GERD?

Public schools are horrible.

Notice the very first paragraph of the article - outside of fresh food, the French kids get NINETY minutes of recess. In our schools system, they get the aforementioned 15-minute lunch and two TEN minute recesses. That's right, a total of 20 minutes.

I lived in Germany and it's true there too.

They walk and they bike. Hell, the majority of cities don't even allow auto traffic in the main downtown areas. You HAVE to walk or take the bus.

Depending on the region in Germany.

Some yellow mustard. Some white mustard. Some no mustard at all.

In Nürnberg, the potato salad I ate was a bit of vinegar and sugar, with a little crisped ham (bacon), over browned (rather than boiled) potatoes...

DaKCMan AP's menu while at work today:

First course: mixed unsalted cashews, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, and walnuts served with dried apricots

Second course: yogurt and cheese

Third course: salad of kale and tomatoes with multigrain bread

Fourth course: red grapes and a black plum

Fifth course: banana

Only beverages served throughout the day are loose-leaf tea and water.

That is definitely true. If a kid is in the back of the line for paid lunch he sits down, eats for a few minutes and then the teacher starts telling them to finish up. And for little kids like kindergarteners and first graders they just can't physically eat that fast. Plus they talk a little because they're kids and don't really understand time the way an older kid does.
And if they forget to get a spoon or something they have to hold their hand up and wait for a teacher to tell them to go which takes several minutes.

Goddamn hippies!

Yet people talk shit when someone tries to implement a similar school diet here in the States...
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Here's your answer as to why this would never happen in the US.

Schools = government = bureaucracy = big business

Schools would never be able to source locally and cut food distributors and manufacturers out of their multibillion-dollar government contracts. Lobbyists in DC would never allow that to happen.

My kids were so excited this year because they added a second 15 minutes recess this year. Prior to that, it was a single 15 minute recess each day.

There's definitely a push back against all of this shit, but the problem is the pressure that schools feel to perform. I'm a firm believer (and some research shows) that kids would perform better academically if schools would reduce the amount of classroom time and increase free play and physical activity periods, but that's quite a leap of faith and counterintuitive to schools that are under the gun for their test scores (Oh hey! Let's spend LESS time preparing kids for these tests!).