The lunch police have struck again. First, there was the story of a preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School in North Carolina who was given a highly processed, cafeteria lunch containing pink slime chicken nuggets because the school decided that the turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice her mother packed was not nutritious enough.
Now comes the story of an elementary school boy from Newport Beach, California who was suspended from school this week for the kombucha in his lunchbox that school administration said violated the school district’s drug and alcohol policy.
The boy’s mother contacted me 2 days ago the very afternoon her son was suspended in a plea to help her resolve the situation.
The trouble apparently started because the kombucha drink was packed in a glass bottle which is the appropriate container for this healthy, vitamin and probiotic filled beverage. The mother even took care to safely place the glass bottle in a foam sleeve as I’ve demonstrated in my videos which is exactly what I do for my own children so that if the bottle is dropped, it would not break and cause harm. It is important to note that the mother had sent kombucha to school in her son’s lunch many times before with no problem.
When the lunch police noticed the glass bottle safely tucked into the foam sleeve in the child’s lunchbox, they confiscated it. The next morning, the boy was called into the Vice Principal’s office and interrogated about the drink and where he got it. The school even called in the Police Officer assigned to work with all the schools in the area.
The Police Officer told the boy that the kombucha was illegal and very dangerous if he takes any medications – antibiotics or anything. Then, the officer asked the boy point blank if he takes any medicines.
Most outrageously, the Vice Principal told the boy that he may have to transfer out of that school and that she was looking into it. She even tried to enroll him in an alcoholics class for teens! The boy ended up spending the entire day in the school office and then was suspended for 5 days for violating the school’s drug and alcohol policy. The issue was also reported to the Newport-Mesa School District. Lest the school or the district deny the child was suspended or try to spin the story, the boy did indeed SIGN a 5 day suspension form.
It is important to note that these events took place without the school even attempting to test the alcoholic content of the kombucha or conducting due diligence of any kind which would have revealed that kombucha is a healthy beverage similar to apple cider and clearly not the equivalent of beer or wine.
The child’s distraught mother managed to get a meeting with the school’s Vice Principal the next morning who informed her that the Principal had decided to retract the suspension and not pursue the issue further. The child was then immediately allowed to return to school.
Unfortunately, the incident had already been reported to the Newport-Mesa school district so it is possible that the parents of the boy could face additional disciplinary action if the school district decides to pursue the matter.
The worst aspect of this incident is the extreme embarrassment, emotional trauma and shame the child no doubt experienced for being called out by the lunch police and then interrogated like a criminal the next day by school administration and even a uniformed Police Officer!
When I talked to the Vice Principal on the phone yesterday, she acted as if the incident was minor and that everything had been resolved satisfactorily. What? Giving a child the third degree in the school office with a Police Officer standing by and no parent present to defend him is no minor scene!
This incident could have far reaching implications for the child’s emotional state and could even result in bullying or snide remarks from classmates for years to come!
For all you traditional cooking Moms and Dads out there who also send healthy homemade foods and drinks in your child’s lunch, it may prove worthwhile to have a discussion with your children about this story and what to do should school administration ever harass them about the contents of their lunchbox.
I will keep tabs on this story in the coming days and if the Newport-Mesa School District decides to do something ridiculous like pursue disciplinary action against this family, I will be sure to let you all know so that the phone lines can light up and public pressure exerted to restore sanity to the situation.
**Update: Following the publishing of this article, the Newport-Mesa School District issued a press release regarding this incident. Click here for the full transcript and rebuttal.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I will be sending my son to school with Kombuch next week…. I welcome this kind of fight. What do you expect from the People’s Republic of Cali…. Surender your liberties.
You realize this happened in the most right wing county in California, right? The “People’s Republic” folks aren’t taking anyone’s civil liberties here. Orange County is solid Republican and Tea Party land.
The far right and the conservatives along with neo-cons are closer to communism than any other branch of political pundits in the US. What they’ll have you believe however is that it’s the left, socialists and the undecided who resemble the communist gov’t. Take it from someone who spent 15 years of his life under a communist regime – don’t drink that cool aid.
Idiotic. Seems just about right for our one-size-fits all school system. Homeschool. We had some of our own first hand experiences with this kind of stupidity. It gave us the courage we needed to make the switch from public schooling.
Idiotic. Seems just about right for our one-size-fits all school system. Homeschool. We had some of our own first hand experiences with this kind of stupidity. It gave us the courage we needed to make the switch from public schooling.
I,m horrified but not surprised. My son brings lemonade kefir in his lunchbox everyday. I pack it in a glass bottle with a silicone cover in a neoprene bag. I’ve already talked to him about what it is and I’ve basically told him to say it’s just home made lemonade. I hate to do it but I don’t want him to be the victim. I’ll do the explaining if needs be. Yesterday I was the surprise story reader at my daughter’s kindergarten class. I made Sara’s lemon poppy seed mini muffins with coconut flour to bring for sncak. The kids gobbled them up but then preceeded to take out their own snacks that they had brought. More horror. I saw candy, chocolate pudding and all sort sorts of sugary junk. No turning back. It made me so grateful to have tapped into the traditional food community. I am going to offer to teach a healthy snacks for kids workshop at the next PTA meeting.
You may have inadvertently caused a huge security situation. Heroin tests look for residue from the poppy, not the actual heroin because it is quickly metabolized. While it was nice of you to make snacks for the class, you could have gotten in a lot of trouble if they had done a random drug test on the class, the teacher, or you. You should have known that poppyseed would produce a positive result for heroin and should not have been given to children in a school environment. Worse still, if there was heroin in the school the poppyseed would have covered it up and you could have been fingered as an accessory.
Prepackaged snacks avoid that and other problems.
It’s easy to say you are horrified but the reality is there is heroin in schools, even at the third grade level ).
Which is worse, being too hard or too lax when it comes to drugs and alcohol?
You are kidding, right? You’re criticizing her for baking with *poppy seeds*??
I think that Bill has a valid point. I don’t see it as critizism as much as a warning. With the original subject matter of the post, it isn’t too far away to see a problem if ANYONE decided or needed or wanted to drug test the teacher or any of the kids. It is true that a poppyseed muffin can cause a positive drug test.. and in the days of accuse first and ask questions later, I would be very hesitant to bake anything with poppyseeds and give it to people who did not know the issue with them.
Thanks Connie, I watched it. Keep in mind, the myth buster dude eat a whole loaf of coke with poppy seeds. I fed 24 people one quarter tablespoon of poppy seeds. It’s a mountain compared to a molehill.
Bill, do you work for Nabisco, Kraft, General Mills, or a similar processed food corporation?
This is a stupid comment, and paints you as an imbecile.
Bills right! Don’t give my kid a poppy seed muffin! You may think you were being all healthy n crap but I’m betting that if some of those parents, wouldn’t have wanted u to give them poppy seeds! You over stepped big time! There r plenty of healthy snacks that don’t have poppy seeds in them!
I’m surprised you were able to bring in a home baked goodie. Schools for years in Fl have not allowed any home baked goods to be brought into the classroom. All goods must be commercially baked. School sights health and safety issues as the reason. But I too would have chosen something other then muffins with poppy seed. While in the military we were warned on numerous occasions to avoid things with poppy in it or on it as it could result in a positive drug result in a urine test.
Oh my gosh some of you are so nutty. Seems maybe someone slipped you one too many poppy seeds. Unreal.
A “huge security situation” over poppy seeds in a snack?? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. And furthermore, if my kid was randomly drug tested in school without my permission, I would have lawyers all over their asses. This is beyond ludicrous.
Go Thora go!!!
Did you see the link i posted about a third grader selling heroin to his classmates? It’s a huge security situation when an entire class of children would potentially fail a heroin test.
Whether you like it or not, this is the world we live in.
BC thanks for the “healthy n crap” comment. I’m going to have a t-shirt printed for you….IT”S A HEALTHY N CRAP THANG….YOU WOULDN,T UNDERSTAND. I know you’ll wear it well.
There’s healthy, then there’s stupid! A little math for you: Poppy = healthy but healthy doesn’t equal to poppy!(that sounded better in my head. lol) Those poppy seeds must be messing with your logic! Here’s a T-shirt for you: Healthy but stupid! Lol!
Poppy seeds won’t hurt you! What is wrong with you?
I don’t get why this is so hard to understand?! I would be highly pissed if my kid was given poppy seeds! You are not an authority and you are purposely going against the rules because YOU think you know what’s best for my kid! How about I fight for your right for your kid to drink kombucha if they want and you don’t give my kid poppy seeds because you think he should be allowed to have it! Seems pretty simple to me!
Thank you for helping us homeschoolers with our point: either you need to be there to keep your kids from getting undesireable ingredients that are not specifically banned from your school, or trust that the teacher does this in your place. The teacher allowed the poppy seeds to be brought, distributed and consumed. End of a simple story.
No, because this situation can be addressed within the system! Your well meaning uncle gives your kid a poppy seed, do you leave the family. How about that nice old lady from your church? Do you leave the church? What point? You address the issue. End of simple point! ;O0
What “situation?” Where is the rule barring poppy seeds in your school or is this a rule you are trying to impose on everyone else? If so, it’s not basketball anymore, honey, so no wonder people don’t want to play with you.
I don’t know where you live, (please tell me so I know not to move there) but here, parents aren’t allowed to give kids anything that isn’t pre-packaged or pre approved(other restrictions as well). You can argue the health of that all you want but Cathy is the reason that rule exist. I don’t want you giving anything to my kid that I don’t approve of. Your judgement may be sound but little Billy’s mom might be an idiot. There are rules for potlucks, bake sales and any other settings where parents are bringing food in. I live in CA and my son goes to good school but I still want that control. Everyone’s child can eat what they want and no parents or rules have been crossed. Seems reasonable to me. This whole post is about having the choice to send your kids to school and have them fed as we see fit. But when its reversed, its ok?!
And who doesn’t want to play? It seems quite a lot of people want to play! So much so I haven’t gotten any work done! ;O)
Thankfully here we have a good group of foodies in this area. Kids who can’t have certain items are not given anything brought from home. In other words, the burden is placed on them, not the entire school. It’s similar to the real world. If a child has allergies, they need to learn to say no thank you, or have a person in charge do so on their behalf. Your situation reminds me of the girl who successfully got the father-daughter dance canceled because her father is no longer living. I can’t have it! Nobody should! Whine! I have helped friends bake for public school parties where kids share their ethnic heritage. People bring ingredient lists for their items. (People can do this at home too!) This is what happens at potlucks that are outside of school events – don’t these kids participate in sports, church picnics or scouts or anything where they might get (horrors!) home made food? How will they learn what not to eat?!
The homeschoolers and private schooled kids *aren’t* playing basketball with you, that’s why you’re so angry, right? They broke your game just by not participating. They’re bad for not helping fix it. They’re off playing soccer and baseball . . .
What are you smoking?? We’re not talking about allergies? And what does being foodie have to do with this? It’s funny your arguing this mess when this is the same argument people use to choose home schooling? I don’t want some strangers telling my kid what he can and can’t eat? Remember that? I’m not sure where you are but if you’re in the US, I guarantee there are more than a few limitations on what you can serve kids in public schools. Whether you know it or not? And I believe we’re making the same point about bake sales. List the ingredients and let me decide? You’re all over the place?? You’ve taken that basketball analogy a littttttle to far! LOL! I can’t argue against this flawed logic! This is my last attempt. Stay with me here! If little Billy’s dad decides to make his homemade weed brownies for his son’s 6th grade class because he thinks it has a calming effect on children, that’s ok? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pi_QRA8rVY
What about little Tyla’s culture where they chew the coca plant? Ok with that too? What about a little Jack in the OJ before nap time because it helps the kiddies sleep better? Ok? No I’m not saying poppy seeds are the same. The system in this case is just trying to protect children and respect parental rights! THE SAME PARENTAL RIGHTS THAT THIS ARTICLE IS DISCUSSING!!
Bring food preprepared in packages with ingredients listed.
Bring food made at home with ingredients listed.
Your child (or the state, i.e., stranger) chooses what your child eats.
Not all over the place.
If you’re not talking life threatening allergies, why else would you impose your preference on the rest of the class? Do you go into Starbucks and demand that they remove their poppy seeded offerings?
Weed is illegal in schools. Poppy seeds are not. Apples and oranges.
And it’s “you’re” and “principal.”
You keep saying that you don’t like people who rant and complain, but all of your comments are fairly offensive, rude and emotional to the point of hysteria. Yes, we get it. You don’t like poppy seeds. Some of us do – there are no rules saying they can’t come into schools. They are not illegal. There are even packaged foods that contain poppy seeds as an ingredient. They are not being force fed to your child if they enter school property, though. If you are not satisfied with this, you can put your energy into having your school add this as a rule! However, it would probably be more useful to teach your child to say, no thank you.
Are you daft! I’m not arguing that poppy seeds are illegal. Nor am I trying to impose my preferences! If bringing poppy seed muffins is allowed then so be it. I’m just arguing that some parents may object, which is why my school district has that rule. If yours doesn’t, then I guess that’s why you live where you live and I live where I live! Seems like a pretty simple argument! Allowed=do it but be prepared. Not allowed=Don’t do it! Your Starbucks comment is just weird! I’m not even sure what you’re arguing any more!
What exactly is your school’s rule? If you are arguing for the “system” then define it. The “system” is not federally prescribed and school districts vary. Is this “rule” that you are alluding to that no noncommercial goods are allowed into your school or that no poppy seeds are allowed into your school or something else entirely? And I’m curious to know (without the added “what are you smoking” and “are you daft” emotional interjections) how if you say “don’t give my kid a poppy seed muffin!” it works with your particular system if it is a store bought good that includes poppy seeds. The point about Starbucks is as adults we choose our foods. We should be teaching our children to make proper food choices WITHOUT imposing our proper food ideas on others. I’m also curious to know if kids are allowed to bring foods from home for their own lunch. (And again, your points are better taken and understood if they are systematic, leave out the emotional hype, and you’ll make better sense.)
Food policy in my area school district had little influence on how we ended up living where we live. Job opportunities were a major factor, as I suspect is true with the majority of people.
I AM NOT ARGUING TO IMPOSE MY FOOD CHOICES ON ANYONE! If its against the rules then don’t do it! You can Google that info if you want, I get the impression that it won’t help with this conversation. But you are right about the language in my post. If I wanted to be heard I could have toned it down but it feels as if you’re just arguing with me for the sake of argument. You can refer to some of the other posts above to see that my district isn’t the only one with these restrictions. I have no idea about prepackaged products with poppy seeds? Thanks to you, I will find out!
I would be happy to Google your district and learn more about its food policy. What district did you say it was again?
I tried to post the relevant portion but my copy and paste skills on my phone are lacking. Its at the top of the second page. Not my district, but I’m still looking.
Many, many schools have this same restriction
This, in a nutshell, perfectly illustrates how far our society has fallen from sanity in recent years. Poppy seeds, for crying out loud! Sheesh.
it takes a lot of poppy seeds to produce a positive result on a drug test. a muffin or two shouldn’t do anything.
The next time I make them, I’m going to do a test. Let’s put all this histeria “n crap” to an end and then BC will have nothing to rant about. Actaully it’s clear BC will always have lots to rant about. I hear poppy seed have a calming effect. Try them! Maybe next time I bring a healthy snack to school I’ll try banana muffins. But then I have to worry about the alcohol in the bananas. Oh what a conundrum!
Make jokes all you want. You shouldn’t be giving poppy seeds to someone else’s kid. You could look at this as a warning, but hey I’m sure none of the parents are like me! You’re wrong! Try to reverse the situation. I’m sure you can think of something that some people might find acceptable for their children, but you just don’t agree with. It’s ok for them to give your kid something to eat, drink or inhale? Because they think its ok?! Be careful spreading that logic!
Poppy seeds do not show up on any drug tests whatsoever. You are wrong.
No, you’re wrong and if you dont have the time to just Google it, I can provide you with dozens of sites! But the point is she has no right to give something to someone else’s kid that she knows some parents might not agree with! She thinks she knows best?! How is she any better than the school she’s complaining about! Keep your poppy seed muffins to yourself!
Bill 1/4 tablespoon diveded into 24 cute little muffins. Honestly, how do you sleep at night?
That would be true if those cute little muffins weren’t being fed to cute little children, much smaller than the guy at mythbusters.
OH my! Poppy seeds, heroin… geez. THIS IS CRAZY! There was a case in Dubai, you know, one of the most conservative, dry and dangerous places to be caught with a poppy roll on this planet. Where a man spent 4 years in the Dubai prison, for having a poppy seed roll after he got off the plane coming from the U.K. So what you’re telling me, is that the US has become worse than Dubai? How ridiculous is that notion? Do I believe it? Yes, of course, but why is it like that? Because we sponsor this system. Homeschooling your children is like putting a band aid on a headless corpse.
When this happened to me it encouraged my mom and I to start a real food club at my school so that people that don’t know what they are eating (or never thought about it) can learn what real food is. I think that they should take that chance for a health class so that people can understand what this is all about.
Well said!
This story illustrates the ridiculous power being wielded by an over zealous school administrator. Yes, this child will always remember this incident of being singled out by the powers that be, made to feel and look different (in a bad way), punished for nothing. The administrator should be publicly reprimanded by the school board and by the parents. I worked in schools and occasionally saw power wielding. It’s shameful.
ignorance is bliss
Well since alcohol is a byproduct of the fermentation and since I brew my own I never take mine to work, and I would never send a kind to school with it. If it’s the kind from the store them that’s another story. Save it for an after school treat if it’s homemade. I agree with the school, but think the punishment is unnecessary. It was just a misunderstanding and a warning is all that is warranted.
Ugh, how insane! The public school system is out of control. I feel just horrible for this little boy! Reading stories like this really cement my belief in schooling at home. I’m thankful my kids can eat and drink whatever I as their mother deem good and healthy, without strangers coming in and bullying them. Personal freedoms are being trampled on more and more…. things we thought would “never happen” at school are happening more and more, and by the teachers, administrators and adult authorities, no less! Homeschool, baby.
I know, we homeschool as well, so thankful we don’t have to worry about these things.
yup homeschool. my baby is 4 1/2 months and i’m sure smarter then the other kids her age as we already do ABC, colors, and shapes. As well as read to her. Homeschool Homeschool Homeschool
I’ve said this before but it seems it needs repeating on this site. A lot! I don’t know your situation but homeschooling isn’t the answer for everyone. The more people who pull their kids out of public schools to home school or to attend private only weaken the system. Those left in the system will be the children who don’t have anyone looking out for them, single parent homes who work multiple jobs, orphans, wards of the state, foster parents not to mention the kids born to parents who don’t care! This is not socially responsible but at least YOUR kid will be OK!
BC, I appreciate your wanting to look out for everyone so no one falls through the cracks, but “The System” IS the problem. It is your job as a parent to raise your children, teach them morals, teach them how to think and learn for themselves, it is NOT a community’s job!! If each parent did this, we’d have a community in unison with like-mindedness on how to behave. We’d have a heck of alot more children with better knowledge because they would have been taught how to learn themselves (to search for knowledge and find the answers to their questions themselves instead of taking someone else’s as their own). Nowadays, indoctrination and conforming is the norm in our schools. Look at where our nation is, how’s that indoctrination and conforming working? Yeah, we have a generation (each one getting worse), that lacks morals and confiction. Our children aren’t safe anymore. No matter what the school system or the community does, NOTHING replaces what a child learns from their parents. It’s not the community or the system that needs to step up, it’s the parents who feel it’s not their responsibilty to raise their own kids. When someone else spends the greater part of the day with your kids and not you, YOU are NOT the influence in your child’s life.
I thought I was replying but its a post below! oops
@parents raise kids … if I could “like” your answer I would 🙂
I’m a homeschooling mama to 2.
@ parents raise kids…
Same here (like, like, like :o))
You took the words out of my mouth
OK, so I should sacrifice my children in order to perpetuate the cesspool that is the public school system? I think NOT.
I thought I was replying but it was a post below. oops
The prussian education system NEEDs to weakened!
You’re basically saying no child left behind = ALL children left behind. It is socially irresponsible to say that all children should be and are equal (and is exactly what the state teaches.) We are all unique and incomparable, with different abilities, talents, experiences, families, feelings, etc. I believe homeschooling serves my kids best. Just because I care doesn’t mean I should treat my children like the “parents who don’t care.” Your suggestion just doesn’t make any sense to me at all.
@BC – if all the “good” children from healthy families are pulled out of the broken, ineffectual system which is public school in this country, perhaps that will be the greatest catalyst for change! I’ve heard your argument before – in fact, the principal of a local public school said the same thing to *my* mom when she pulled me and my siblings out to homescool us. But the bottom line is, individual patents are responsible for *their* children, to protect them and give them the best possible education. As others have said, sacrificing them for some hypothetical good that may or may not come from keeping them in public school is irresponsible parenting to put it mildly. No, not everyone is able to homeschool. But many, many parents who *say* they aren’t able simply aren’t willing. Perhaps when it’s *their* child being bullied, sexually harassed, forced to eat unhealthy school food, slipping through the cracks academically, or otherwise suffering in the broken public school system, the so-called good of the community will fall to second place behind the welfare of their own child.
Bullying isn’t acceptable! But what are you teaching your kid! Run away! Take your kid if you want just shut up while you’re doing it! You remind me of a friend who always complains about the “system!” It never occurred to him to do anything about it! Run for office, boycott, petition or any number of options would work but noooo, the system is too broken to fix. You guys are laughable! Bullying can happen to adults and just because you protected them as children doesn’t mean you can be there for them as an adult! And now they don’t have the skills to deal! But I’m sure you’ll always be there to tell how bad the rest of the world is and how great they are! Most of you act like you’ve staked out moral high ground but you just come across like selfish idiots bordering on schizophrenia! So please do us all a favor and shut up! Its distracting me from my futile attempt to change the world!
Im gonna go out on a limb and say you don’t ask the doctor treating your child if he was home schooled? Some how they made it out of that broken system and you trust their expertise? You’re right about the people who say they aren’t able to. Most of us just don’t want to! What books do your children read? Any classics? What music do you listen to? Do you appreciate the arts? Who built your computer? Who designed your car? All of these examples are dominated by public school alum? But judging by your post, I’m sure you teach only from material generated by people home schooled. And you do so by candle light, while listening to a recording of your own singing??
I just can’t help but wonder why you are such a cheerleader for “the system” when it’s obvious that it does NOT work for families, but to destroy families.
Now, why would someone promote that? Why would someone discourage, repeatedly, those who will rescue their children from this system?
You apparently were well-indoctrinated into the system that you would not only praise it for yourself and yours but also want others to stay in it. Why? Your arguments don’t make any sense, just from a common sense standpoint. Apparently you didn’t study very well in logic class or English or debate. Or, maybe the system failed you in providing an actual education. But they did great with the brainwashing. Your love for the system is obvious.
You have got to be kidding!!!