With so many government funding cuts over the past few years, some people might fear that other parts of a young student’s school life, including food, have been poorly budgeted as well. Reddit user Willie Ingus seems to think so, posting a photo of Pillsbury Trix French Toast served as breakfast at their North Carolina school. “And it was still half frozen,” they added. “That North Carolina Lottery for Education money sure isn’t going to feeding kids healthy meals.”
“Nothing to investigate here aside from your typical R politicians gutting education,” Willie wrote, accusing the school of giving sugary snacks to children and expecting them to be healthy. They explained that the school has a garden with over 50 varieties of edible plants, but policy doesn’t allow them to serve them with meals, even the herbs.
To be clear, this Citrus-Flavored Mini French Toast isn’t exactly a Pop-Tart, as General Mills claims it’s made for K–12 school children, is whole-grain rich, and contains no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial colors. School staff didn’t just grab gas-station snacks for the kids, and this French toast is only part of the meal. According to Willie, students also get packaged dried cranberries or applesauce, though they argue this is still too much sugar for a child’s nutrition.
Commenters Expressed Outrage Over What American Children Are Fed These Days
Many Redditors in the comments were ashamed of what they saw. One parent claimed their children take packed lunches because their school’s cafeteria food is “legitimately awful” and “so unappetizing.” “We live in a state with a massive agricultural industry, yet somehow this is what we’re serving children? We can and should do better,” they sighed.
“I wouldn’t feed this to a dog, much less a child,” remarked another. “This is basically prison food,” added a third. Countless other people also complained, not just about Willie’s photo, but what their kids are allegedly fed on a daily basis. Many take this opportunity to comment against the current administration, blaming White House leadership for ruining education and children’s school meals.
However, one user hailing from Virginia argues that OP is showing a snapshot of a single food item on a random day and not all the food offered over time. The commenter said their elementary school offers a variety of options. “It’s not perfect, but overall their menu is free for lunch and breakfast still in my district (in VA, not NC) and fairly diverse and relatively healthy.” Still, this user’s opinion is in the minority, as most people who tune in to the Pillsbury French Toast from a North Carolina school swear they’ll never agree to feed their child that processed bread.
