have you seen this...

[Annie Thibodeau]

http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8762

i'm from ma and don't know if this is a state thing or not, but i saw this via facebook and was SHOCKED. if some one gave my child a chicken nugget it would be over my dead body. any one have any ideas or suggestions on what i (we) can do to prevent this sort of thing? i mean, besides educating my children to make good choices? this seems to be some violation of rights, right?

[mamayogibear]

If that were my daughter and someone replaced her tofurkey/almond cheese sandwich with real chicken nuggets they'd never hear the end of it! Giving a child that brings a home made lunch a cafeteria tray is apalling! What if the girl were alergic to one of the items on the tray?!?!

[MrsSlocombe]

Yikes!  That is scary.  This kind of story is an anti-government type's nightmare, or dream come true, depending on how you look at it.  I'm sure most of us would like it, in principle, if the government acted to improve childhood nutrition, but seeing it go so badly wrong - with meat deemed a required food, and chicken nuggets considered ideal - is absolutely sobering.

I think the easiest way to prevent this, on an individual level, is to check and see what requirements a school might have regarding lunches.  In most cases, it will be as simple as, "No peanuts because another child has an allergy," but if it is something anti-vegan or just unreasonable, we would seek some sort of exemption (perhaps religious even if that is not the reason for our veganism), or, as a last resort, sue.  I also wonder if a private school would be more likely to offer financial aid or a scholarship in a case in which a family has been discriminated against in this way;  it would be something to look into.

[MrsSlocombe]

I just looked at the article again, and the non-vegan requirement does seem to apply to all preschools, even if this particular school is unusual in enforcing it, or in enforcing such a bizarre version of it.  I think something must be off in this article, though, as I know for a fact that Jewish preschools do not offer both meat and milk at every - or any - meal.  It is against the religion (to the best of my knowledge) to do so, since milk and meat cannot be eaten together.  Technically, they could do it if it was fish, but this doesn't seem to be commonly practiced.

I'm going to look into this a little further and get back to you when I can.  Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.  If the worst turns out to be true, it may keep me from sending my child to preschool at all, and just homeschooling her until kindergarten.

[MrsSlocombe]

Okay, I'm back, acknowledging yet another misunderstanding.  When the article said, "Department of Health and Human Services," I automatically thought of the federal one, but you are right that they meant the North Carolina state department.

Looking into it further, it appears that the USDA does not have any policies regarding what schoolchildren bring from home, although there are various guidelines to the effect that, for certain programs eligible for USDA reimbursement, milk must be served;  there is another rule that seems to say that all (presumably just public) schools must offer milk, but not that they can force it.  On a bright note, all mentions of meat that I found included "meat alternatives," including plain old beans, as equally acceptable.  Next, let's get them to say that about milk, and finally, let's get them to stop calling our food "meat [and milk] alternatives," and just say that a varied menu based on legumes, vegetables, fruits, and grains, is a fine model for any school lunch program.

[BloomingAnemone]

That is outrageous. In my search for potential childcare over the past year, I've come across multiple centers in my area that require the children to eat the food provided, and don't allow lunches from home. I would never put my child in such a place. That makes me so angry. Who are the childcare center and the government to tell ME that I don't feed my child as well as they will? OR to basically take away my family's right to adhere to a certain diet. In a previous childcare center we were at last year, their lunch was optional but the food they served included chicken nuggets, hot dogs, and bologna. I loved the care they provided and I'm happy they didn't require us to use their lunches - but even if we did eat meat, I would hardly call those options healthy. (Though, once when he was 1 year old, they gave him a "fake" popsicle - the kind with artificial flavors, dyes, sugar, and/or HFCS... I didn't say anything but I was a little taken aback that they would feed my child anything without my consent. Perhaps I'm overly particular on the issue...  but truly, this is my child. I have a right to control his diet while I can.)

[mamayogibear]

Non-vegan does not apply to all preschools. My dd's preschool is happy to give her hemp milk, almond cheese and field roast substitute items when need be. It is a public 'first five' preschool and despite my dislike for public schools I love the two teachers there who always have an assistant for the sixteen preschoolers. There are other vegetarian kids in the class and some who do not eat dairy but my dd is the only vegan. I guess it just depends on the school and who is enforcing the rules!
 

Originally Posted by MrsSlocombe 

I just looked at the article again, and the non-vegan requirement does seem to apply to all preschools, even if this particular school is unusual in enforcing it, or in enforcing such a bizarre version of it.  I think something must be off in this article, though, as I know for a fact that Jewish preschools do not offer both meat and milk at every - or any - meal.  It is against the religion (to the best of my knowledge) to do so, since milk and meat cannot be eaten together.  Technically, they could do it if it was fish, but this doesn't seem to be commonly practiced.

I'm going to look into this a little further and get back to you when I can.  Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.  If the worst turns out to be true, it may keep me from sending my child to preschool at all, and just homeschooling her until kindergarten.

[Arianna1]

Wow that sucks!

A daycare that I volunteered with for a while, has two amazing workers.. Who strongly believe that no child should go without meat. Regularly they would serve a child in the class Hawiian pizza and just pick off the obvious bits of pork. This child was not just vegetarian. The child's family excluded pork from their diet due to religious reasons. It drove me crazy. Especially because when I spoke to an authority I was told that it was clearly within their right to do this and that they were supporting the family by picking some of the pork off. And also that I would be stripped of any of my childcare diplomas if I ever spoke to the family. It was devistating.

I don't know what I would do if it was my child, I of course would start with never allowing them to go to the daycare again. But I strongly believe that a lawsuit would incure.

[ShadowMoon]

That's horrible. Luckily my son's preschool/daycare is very in to making sure that children only get fed what their parent's want them fed. I keep soymilk in the school fridge and make DS's lunch daily. Due to the multitudes of food allergies out there they are very cautious of what is going into the children. (Making sure kids are not sharing food, checking in with parents if food is going to be used in a craft, etc).