A little over a year ago I reported that a Food Justice Warrior had been appointed “School Lunch Czar” to shake-up the signature program promoted by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Prior to that appointment, students across the country ran a #ThanksMichelleObama campaign to share pictures of the unappetizing meals being served. More recent tweets show….that the Food Czar has been less than effective.
I got a hollow chicken nugget in my school lunch #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/ELhIr6sIag — Henry (@henrytheisen) March 18, 2016
Now, there is a proposal to amend the lunch rules further, to include fines for improper implementation of the program.
The federal government is taking steps to fine schools that misuse funds under national school lunch rules. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service issued a proposed rule Monday to codify parts of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was championed by first lady Michelle Obama.The regulation would punish schools and state departments with fines for “egregious or persistent disregard” for the lunch rules that imposed sodium and calorie limits and banned white grains….The government now seeks to make fines enforceable by regulation. Section 303 of the law requires that the federal government “establish criteria for the imposition of fines” for all the Department of Agriculture’s child food programs.
A West Virginia preschool teacher faced potential fines for violating the rules by rewarding her students with candy.
The Williamson PreK-8 teacher, who was not identified, would give her students “wrapped candy” as a reward for their hard work and good behavior.Because the practice was an alleged violation of the federal rules championed by first lady Michelle Obama, Mingo County Schools Director of Child Nutrition Kay Maynard “placed a call to officials at the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) to report the incident,” the Williamson Daily News reports.Maynard also spoke to Williamson PreK-8 principal Shannon Blackburn, telling him about the possibility of a monetary fine for the teacher.
The ensuing uproar from the district’s students and parents meant that, instead of fines, the school had to develop a “corrective action plan” with training on the policies.
The proposed “Child Nutrition Program Integrity” is in the 60 day public comment phase, but the initial response to the threat of fines as it is worded was such that a program spokesperson issued a statement to the Washington Free Beacon, stressing that the target of the new regulation was the misuse of funds:
To ensure that entities implementing these critical programs continue to meet high standards of program effectiveness and integrity, USDA is proposing a series of program improvements that address only those programs with systemic and significant program violations, such as theft of funds and financial mismanagement, to safeguard the integrity of Child Nutrition Programs and taxpayer dollars,” the spokesperson said.
Even so, it is obvious that the lunch program has not improved significantly. Additionally, the fact that there is now a need to monitor the use of funds demonstrates the predictable corruption associated with another massive government program designed to magically solve every student’s diet problems. The Washington Free Beacon continued its analysis of total system failure:
More than 1.4 million students have left the lunch line since the rules went into effect, as students have complained of small portions and unappetizing fare. The standards have been blamed for cafeteria workers losing their jobs, and some kids have even resorted to creating black markets for salt to add flavor….Increased monitoring of state agencies as a result of the rule would cost states $4.3 million in 2017, and $22.7 million over five years.
In conclusion, Michelle Obama’s lunch program is being run like Obamacare…with half-baked plans, aggressive bureaucrats, and fiscal threats. I can’t wait until Harvard and NPR declare this program a failure, too.
(Featured image from Youtube).
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