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I realize there has been a similar question, but this takes the lunacy to new heights! I mean, lunch inspectors!

I suppose the easiest 'out' for people in our community would be a 'gluten sensitivity'. Would they still require kids to eat non-gluten containing garbage?

Does the paleo community need people who want to work in government agencies, in the way big agri-business has done? 'Paleo' R.D.s are growing in number, are government employees necessary too?

http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/homemade-lunch-replaced-with-cafeteria-nuggets.html

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs - including in-home day care centers - to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

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No teacher on earth has the time to check on whether your kid's lunch has grains in it. They are more worried about the kids who can't eat over the weekend. – pixiedyke Feb 16 2012 at 2:22

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This story has been debunked. See, e.g., here

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Thanks for this. I was one of those who was initially outraged. I still don't like the way it worked out -- oh boy, she got some nuggets and a little serving of contempt for her mom -- but it's much different than the way the first articles I read portrayed it. – Rose Feb 16 2012 at 3:46
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Yeah, its silly.....Most public policy seems aimed at the bottom 2% of America (the kid with a twinkie and coke from home) but ultimately gets abused when enforced on those who are making informed decisions. You would hope a well thought letter stating why your kids lunch will not be containing grains or dairy would suffice. However that would take the system your in treating you like an individual rather than one of the herd so YMMV depending whose school and town your in.

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Send an eternal bag of some cracker your kid hates. They'll never eat it, but it'll be in the lunch to be counted by the lunch police. Oh! I know, those crappy "cheese" and cracker packages. If your kid actually likes real food, that'll never get eaten, and you don't even have to drop a lot of money replacing them, since it'll never go bad. Just like Twinkies!

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I don't really get it, if I sent my kid with a big bowl of coconut chicken curry, I'm a bad mother? Maybe the kid gets plenty of milk for breakfast and before bed, maybe he ate oatmeal for breakfast and popcorn as afterschool snack, and maybe he ate kale and potato soup for dinner with whipped cream & strawberries for dessert. Why must every meal have all food groups? If my kid were eating meat or fish, you can bet I would not place ANY dairy whatsoever with that meal, he'd get an upset stomach eating those 2 together!

Personally I would form a parents group to oppose this. But as long as I can claim grain and dairy intolerances, it would be ok. What do I care anyway, I'm homescholing. Life is too short to spend it in prison... ermm... school!

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Just to toss this out there, it would be almost a legal impossibility for them to get away with this. The law hates interferences in a parent's rights to make the decisions they deem best for their children, even if they are contentious. I'm glad the story was debunked, but if you're worried about something like this actually happening in the future, I would recommend you not lose sleep over it. Read the statement they released in Mark Field's link above. They know they couldn't get away with it if they wanted to.

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