Mother fined for giving children leftover beef and vegetable dinner for their school lunch because it wasn't 'balanced' enough

Manitoba Canada mom Kristen Bartkiw got a note when her kids came home from school that said her kids' lunches weren't balanced as per Canada Food Guide rules

The rules say that for each item missing from the child's lunch, the parent will be fined $5

Ridiculous: Manitoba mother of two Kristen Bartkiw was shocked when she received a $10 fine from her kids' daycare because they're lunch didn't have any Ritz crackers

A Manitoba mom was slapped with a $10 fine because the lunches she packed for her kids’ lunches didn’t have any Ritz crackers.



Kristen Bartkiw sent her children Natalie and Logan to daycare with lunches of leftover roast beef, potatoes, carrots, milk, and oranges.



The daycare providers evidently didn’t think the wholesome lunch fit the nutritional bill because Bartkiw was subsequently charged for the Ritz crackers that the lunches had to be ‘supplemented’ with.

According to Metro News, Manitoba laws require that daycares provide children with a nutritious meal as prescribed by the Canadian Food Guide.



That means one milk, one meat, one grain, two fruits.



But the daycare workers seemed to believe the lunches Bartkiw sent with her kids lacked a grain.



They have certain legislation that they have in place where you have to follow these food groups, but it doesn’t matter how processed the foods are or if they’re junk food,’ the 33-year-old Rossburn, Manitoba mom told Metro News. ‘So Ritz crackers count as a grain.’



Bartkiw was angry, not just because she fined after sending her kids off with what seemed like a well-rounded, home cooked meal, but also because she was actually sitting on the board of the daycare when she was fined.

Unbalanced: She got the note, right, because Manitoba law requires that children at daycare be provided with a 'balanced' lunch of one milk, i meat, one grain, and two fruits/vegetables. For each missing item, parents are charged $5 per child



‘I phoned the daycare worker and said “you know, potatoes, surely I can get away with this,” and they didn’t actually end up charging me the $10,’ she said.

The incident actually happened late in 2012, but has only now gained wide media exposure. Now Bartkiw can look back and laugh.



At the time, though, it felt anything but funny and seemed to point to a major disconnect between what is healthy for kids to eat and legislation that encourages eating nutritious foods.

'They have certain legislation that they have in place where you have to follow these food groups, but it doesn¿t matter how processed the foods are or if they¿re junk food¿so Ritz crackers count as a grain,' Bartkiw said

'But it was just the principle of the thing, that it was not considered a healthy lunch that I found ridiculous,' said the mom and teacher who always believed she knew what's best for her kids

‘You could send microwave Kraft Dinner everyday and that would count as a grain under the guide,’ Bartkiw said. ‘I would encourage parents to not just blindly follow the Canada Food Guide, but really think about eating more real food and not packaged food.’

According to Weighty Matters blog, which first reported her story, Bartkiw says the Canadian province has moved to a hot lunch program in daycares in order to remedy the problem of parents sending less than ‘balanced’ lunches with their kids.



She says she likes the new policy much better.