Florida Preschool Bans Packed Lunches

A Florida preschool banned packed lunches, and parents are worried about their children going hungry. The Kids ‘R’ Kids pre-kindergarten center in Clermont sent a letter home to parents informing them that because the facility participates in the federal Child Care Food Program, school lunches will no longer be able to come from home. The taxpayer funded program complies with the strict school lunches initiative which has sparked controversy at public school around the country.

The only exception to the home packed lunches at the Florida preschool are specific cases in which an accommodation must be made to accommodate an allergy or religious restriction. Kids ‘R’ Kids preschool parent Jeff Carreira and his wife say they strive to pack their little Abigal a healthy lunch, but note that she is such a picky eater they are simply thrilled when she eats something they send to school. “She’s not really into fruits and veggies right now, so we do the best we can. She’s’ a very picky eater,” Carreira said.

The Kids ‘R’ Kids sack lunch ban letter to parents also said:

“During a recent inspection, it was noted that 56 children had lunches prepared at home. In most cases, the lunch boxes contained only snacks and did not include the minimum required food groups for nutritious meals. We took it [inspection report] as our lunches didn’t qualify and we and all parents would not be able to provide lunches for our children.”

The not about the packed lunch ban on at the school also went on to note that the Florida Department of Children and Families required that both facility meals and school lunches made at home be comprised of all the food groups on the US Department of Agriculture “My Plate” plan.

After the letter went home on April 24, Abigail Carreria was not sent with a packed meal and was offered only what was on the school lunch menu. The concerned dad arrived at the preschool about 15 minutes prior to the noon pickup time to watch how his daughter responded to her meal. The Florida preschool student did not eat any of the food offered by the Kids ‘R’ Kids facility. “We’re fortunate to pick her up at noon. But there’s some kids there who go all day.”

When local news agency WOFL-TV dug into the school lunches matter further, the media outlet reportedly found that although the Department of Children and Families (DCF) did conduct a routine inspection, the nutritional value of sack lunches was not noted in the official review.

DCF representative Kristi Gray told reporters that the nutritional value of home packed lunches in not a matter of consideration in the inspection process. “The agency requires that when facilities provide lunches to children that they are nutritionally balanced. This agency does not require that facilities provide oversight of what parents pack for their children to eat. There would not be fines or citations issued as a result of the contents of a child’s lunch box,” Gray said.

Kids ‘R’ Kids owner Kathryn Sutherin reportedly rolled her eyes after being informed that parents are angry about the sack lunch ban. “Shoot me, I really wanted to provide healthy meals. This is not to stop a parent who’s packing a healthy meal. It’s to stop the parent who’s putting in marshmallows in with the Sour Patch Kids and that’s all they want their child to have for lunch.”

The discrepancies between what the school lunch ban letter said and the reported resulted of the Florida preschool inspection has further angered parents. “I would have had more respect if she stated her exact reasoning for it instead of putting us in a position to think it was DCF or DOH requirements,” Jeff Carreira said.

What do you think about the preschool lunch ban? Could public school soon impose similar restrictions to prevent non-healthy from being eaten by students?

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