Feeding kids doesn't have to be "tricky"

If your child gets lunch at school, then you probably know they have a choice between healthy foods and crap. And you don't have to be a genius to figure out which choice most kids make. 

And since most kids seem to favor pizza and cookies over fruit and salads, the US Department of Agriculture has started a new initiative aimed at "tricking" your kid into choosing the healthier food.  These "tricks" include keeping ice cream in freezers without glass tops...so students won't see the food. Also keeping salads near the cash register, so they will have time to ponder grabbing the greens for lunch.

The USDA is actually giving Cornell University researchers a million dollars to come up with more ways of tricking kids into making healthier choices even when those tempting bad ones are around.  And to me, this is a prime example of the federal government wasting a ton of money when a simpler solution is right there in front of them.

How about this??? Don't buy the junk food!  You want to know why there are no cookies in my house??  Because I will eat the whole damn box!  I don't buy soda, candy, chips or anything like that.  Why?  Because I know I will eat it.  And if I don't WANT to eat it, why would I BUY it?  This doesn't mean I never eat candy or chips.  But I don't eat them at my home, where I eat 99% of my meals. 

I've been googling like hell and I can't find one law that requires schools to provide students the option of eating junk food.  Where does it say that schools must provide pizza, chips and soda?  I know there are contracts with food suppliers, but do schools have absolutely NO control over the menu? 

Why "trick" kids? Why not just take control of the situation?  Only provide healthy options.  If they want crap, believe me, they can find it somewhere else.