DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo.—The Douglas County Board of Education Tuesday voted unanimously against continued involvement in the National School Lunch Program for high schools — a program that was endorsed by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Recent changes in the lunch program that include tight federal restrictions on specific nutrition choices, are part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a measure cheered by Obama in her push for legislated child health initiatives.
“This smacks of nanny state interference,” said board president Kevin Larsen in rejecting the federal directives. “Is the next step to start inspecting their bag lunches and start parenting instead of our parents parenting? Are they going to come and monitor your kitchen?”
Aside from the federal invasiveness the first lady’s initiative is built upon in principle, the program’s restrictions also present practical problems for kids’ bellies and schools’ budgets.