School lunch, Oreos, and a healthy relationship with both
- gracevoorheis
- Aug 28
- 3 min read
Maybe it’s just my unfortunate echo chamber but I’ve been seeing A LOT of social media hysteria about school lunches and who gets packed what (Oreo-gate? Insert eye roll emoji here). I care about what kids eat at school, but not in the way you might think.
As a pediatric dietitian, I often get asked about my take on the school lunch program. And I get it. The lunch provided by your child’s school district may not look exactly like what you would choose for them, and honestly, that’s ok. School lunches provide a lot of nutrition–calories, protein, fiber, micronutrients–on a very tiny budget (usually just a few dollars per meal). Not to mention the extra challenge of providing meals in remote, rural regions like the Eastern Sierra where shipping delays or changes in availability by the distributor leaves us without other options for perishable goods – so yes, sometimes quality might be less than your home packed lunch.
However, overall, school lunch is a hugely successful public health program that prevents hunger, may be protective of BMI and reduce overall caloric intake, improves test scores, improves household income status, etc. This program may or may not be designed with your kid in mind - and that’s ok. We don’t need to center privileged children who already have access to abundant whole foods at home in every setting. Would I love to see even more fresh fruits and veggies, less added sugar and more whole grains? Sure. But honestly, school lunch already has to follow pretty strict guidelines detailing the quantities of fruit, a variety of vegetables, protein and grains already and I think they’re doing a pretty bang up job for the most part.
Oh, and my take on Oreo-gate? Honestly, I don’t pack Oreos in my kids' lunches. Primarily because I know they only have a few minutes to eat during the whole school day and I would rather them eat something more balanced that will provide long-term energy rather than quick energy like cookies that might leave them feeling wiped later. If they saw cookies in their lunch, that’s the first (and maybe only) thing they would eat. Not because my kids are “sugar-crazed” or “addicted” but because we’re biologically programmed to like sweet things. It’s not a character flaw that your kid loves Oreos, just proof they’re normally developing human beings.
So, no, I don’t pack my kids cookies most days but I also would never deign to tell another parent not to if that’s what makes sense for them. If my child is feeling stressed because another kid has something in their lunch that they want, I would hope that I’ve created an environment where they can come home and ask me about it, where we could then go on to come up with a solution together. Maybe we keep the cookies at home to enjoy together after school? Or we pack them on Fridays? Or make cookies together on the weekend?. The possibilities are endless to make sure your child has access to a variety of foods, including sweets.
Also – friendly reminder that there are only so many things we can control as parents. If your kid got an extra treat at school that you wouldn’t have necessarily offered yourself, is that going to sink your ship? Let’s focus on the things we can control, like the other 85% of their meals/snacks and move on.
If you’re having an “ew” reaction to the foods being served at school lunch, or to what the other kids are having, here are your options:
Pack your kid their own lunch.
Consider why you’re having the reaction. Is it coming from a place of fear of certain foods, like cookies or sweet crackers? It may be. Many of us grew up in diet culture and it can be hard to grow out of this attitude. Honestly, I believe it matters less that your kid has a vegetable with lunch and more that they feel secure knowing that sometimes they get to enjoy sweet treats and sometimes they don’t. That sense of security is one hugely important factor that can prevent undesirable food behaviors like sneaking or even disordered eating further down the line.
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