You’ll Never Guess What Kids Are Smuggling Into Schools Thanks To Michelle Obama

Robby Soave at Reason Magazine is reporting that a black market has sprung up in a school district in Indiana thanks to dietary restrictions imposed by the school system. Kids are reportedly smuggling in salt packets in order to mitigate the horrible taste of the healthy lunches that have been mandated under federal guidelines.

The guidelines were adopted after being pushed by First Lady Michelle Obama, whose initiatives were meant to help kids eat healthier. But as we all know, when government attempts to restrict something, the market finds a way.

From the Washington Free Beacon: 

“Perhaps the most colorful example in my district is that students have been caught bringing–and even selling–salt, pepper, and sugar in school to add taste to perceived bland and tasteless cafeteria food,” said John S. Payne, the president of Blackford County School Board of Trustees in Hartford City, Indiana.

“This ‘contraband’ economy is just one example of many that reinforce the call for flexibility [with the rules],” he said.

Payne noted other problems with the “one-size-fits-all” approach to providing healthier meals to students, including fewer kids participating in the program and higher food waste. The trend started in 2012, when the school lunch law, which was championed by Mrs. Obama, went into effect.

“Students are avoiding cafeteria food,” Payne said. “More students bring their lunch, and a few parents even ‘check out’ their child from campus, taking them to a local fast-food restaurant or home for lunch.”

Payne also said school fundraisers like bake sales, have been canceled due to the rules, and “whole-grain items and most of the broccoli end up in the trash” in his district.

There was initially a strong backlash from students, who tweeted photos of their disgusting lunches thanks to the new guidelines with the hashtag #thanksMichelleObama.

Mmmm… num nums. This next one’s perfect for kids who’ve lost their teeth… and hopefully their sense of taste.

Then there’s this ball of yummy.

I’m sorry, but I don’t think all the salt in the world could possibly make these lunches appetizing. And here’s the most insulting tweet of all….

That does it!