Jaimie Etkin: The Devil Wore Manolos
Philly Parents Patrol Corner Stores to Stop Students From Eating Junk Food
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, In The News, Nutrition: Big Kids, Nutrition: Tweens, Nutrition: Teens
Hey, kids! Be careful what you eat in Philly! Credit: Getty Images
With all the drama of reality TV, this team is stationed just outside food shops in close proximity to schools, ready to pounce on kids purchasing calorie-laden snacks. They are parents who consider themselves foot soldiers in the national battle over the diets of children, The New York Times reports.
Donning bright-colored safety vests and armed with walkie-talkies, this is hardly an undercover operation.
Just ask first grader Tatyana Gray, who recently was busted after stopping at the Oxford Food Shop en route to elementary school for her daily dose of chips and a sweet drink.
With 20 percent of the nation's children suffering from obesity, the United States Department of Agriculture has proposed new standards for federally subsidized school meals that call for more balanced meals and, for the first time, a limit on calories, according to The Times.
That's pushing school leaders and parents with a new fervor to try to clamp down on chips, sugar and all the unhealthy eating habits of today's youth, the newspaper reports.
In Philadelphia, the obesity rate is the nation's highest, according to The Times, prompting parents to patrol the food shops near the William D. Kelley School.
Amelia Brown, principal of the kindergarten through eighth grade school, tells the newspaper the parental patrols were prompted by the students' deplorable diets, which, she says, are causing headaches and stomachaches and undermining academic achievement.
The school has expelled soda and sweet snacks, and, instead of high-calorie fruit juices, the school nurse, Wendy Fine, tells The Times: "I push water."
To match the efforts inside the school, Brown called on the owners of nearby corner stores to stop selling to students in the morning. Frustrated with the lack of compliance, she tells The Times she called on parents to help.
"It's a good thing, what they're trying to do, but I can't control who comes in," Gladys Tejada, who owns the Oxford Food Shop, tells The Times.
Nor can she control what they buy.
"They like it sweet," she tells the newspaper. "They like it cheap."
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
3-30-2011 @ 10:26AM
Rich said...mistresdrama,
I have been a single parent for the past nine years since my wife died. I work full-time, and I am still able to find time to cook for my kids, go to their games, events, school functions, whatever they are involved in. I can't always be there, and since I work some nights, they are on their own a great deal. I realize that kids growing up in not the best neighborhoods have more issues, but no matter the situation, if people want this to change, it will have to start with the parents.
3-30-2011 @ 1:39AM
jerryjames said...When the childrens' obesity level reaches epidemic proportions and the children need to have medical help from sources that don't exist, who do we call; I remember when it took a village to raise a child because someone cared, now all we care about is allowing insanity to run rampant in our lives and spilling over to the lives of others. I, for one, applaud the parents for at least caring about the lives of children and their lives and stepping forward to help save humanity. Keep up the good work parents.
Reply
3-30-2011 @ 4:11AM
RealityCheck said...America's march to Totalitarian Fascism takes one more goose step.
Reply
7-10-2011 @ 4:34PM
shstrang98 said...It's just a matter of time before one of these "parents" abducts one of these kids and rapes and/or kills one of them.
I swear we're overrun with these idiot liberals/pedophiles.
Reply