Primero Food Service: control what your kids eat

by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 22nd 2006 at 7:00AM

Houston Tejas, a fave of those fatty-city lists is trying to better that rep via a new system that allows parents to track and control what their kids eat. The Primero Food Service Solution developed by Cybersoft Technologies sets-up pre-paid cafeteria accounts which allow parents to go online and track exactly what their little snoogans are eating. The ability to limit purchases by day and food type empowers parents to dole-out treats in celebration of mediocrity. Like most things in the Republic this program is big, set to become one of the largest in the nation and costing the Houston district a cool $5.3 million. Of course, we can't help but be a bit skeptical about trying to control a child's eating habits at school only to return home for a bucket of the Dirty Bird on the couch with moms. And hey, how about saving a few mil by offering up only healthy food choices instead of deep fried porksicles with a slathering of gravy? Afterall, you can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat.

[Via techdirt]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

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yet another Matt @ Feb 22nd 2006 7:19AM

I can see it now, on school report day, you sitting there with your parents and them going through the card and grounding you cos youve eaten to many burgers and chips, even though you got a B in Math.

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Revrant @ Feb 22nd 2006 7:27AM

Yet another system which tries to put off responsibility to some other party, Wow, what a total focus on taking this duty off of the parents. Gee, why don't they just abort the kids ahead of time if they can't take a few minutes to be adults instead of trying to leave that responsibility to oh-so-honorable Corporations and trustworthy politicians? Oh, that's right, that'd take effort, can't have any of that, dangerous thinking.

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Liam @ Feb 22nd 2006 7:46AM

Yeah, why not just stop selling unhealthy food? I think the need Jamie Oliver...

Nice Pink Floyd ref. by the way.

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kal @ Feb 22nd 2006 7:47AM

How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?

...You! Yes, you behind the bikesheds, stand still laddy!

I agree with you Revrant... food choice is something a parent needs to get to their kids when they are young and as they grow older. Its fine if healthy choices are avaiable for the student to eat....however, to control the kid can eat because the parent can't...i think it is going too far.

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DG @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:18AM

It's a great idea in theory, but probably difficult in practice. Children are certainly resourceful and will stuff their faces full of sugar first chance they get.

Maybe we should go back and rethink whether it was a good idea to underfund our public schools so they were forced to accept contracts from fast food restaurants and soft drink vendors. Maybe we should rethink whether or not it is a good idea to underfund public schools in any way at all. As far an investing in America's future is concerned, it really begins and ends in public schools.

That we are willingly allowing (oftentimes underprivileged) children to be fed high-calorie, low-nutrition garbage in public schools two meals a day is some cause of concern. That we are allowing parents some say in what their children eat at school instead of throwing lunch money away on pizza, cola, and fries is cause for celebration.

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Amit Inamdar @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:26AM

i am a comment spammer: drinamdars@hotmail.com

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Josh @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:31AM

A resourceful kid with Parents who don't monitor his eating habits can run the school when he starts selling cocoa frosted juju be bars, or whatever sugary substances teh school is sellign today. 5.3 mil down the drain.

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Mike @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:51AM

Hey lets do some math, after all they do teach that in school, right?

Fatty McGhee.: Hey tiny, my parents say I am too fat to have that bacon sandwich with butter meat on top of meat on top of meat. I'll buy you a Guinness if you buy me the meat on top of meat on top of meat.

Tiny: My parents dont allow Guinness, but I love it.

Fatty: My parents didnt cblock Guinness, I'm a McGhee. Hrmmmmmmm. How about I buy the Guinness and you buy the meat meat meat, and we trade.

Tiny: Brilliant!!!

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Tom @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:52AM

Houston has a history of these taxpayer funded touchy-queery high-tech solutions in search of a problem. Just search around for SimDesk, which is a much needed program to provided computing resources to the poor, the underprivledged can simply fire up their web browser (!) and go to Simhouston.com and have access to a computer. Next we need to buy the poor cars so they can drive to the bus stop.

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WarMace @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:54AM

Hey #6 Ill trade you my milk for that cookie. Track THIS Mom!

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Healthy_European @ Feb 22nd 2006 8:55AM

In the future, when America and Middle Eastern countries will have destroyed each other; Europeans will spend their holidays flying stateside to poke all the fat Americans with bagettes and then teasing them with the old bucket'o'chicken on string routine ^_^

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Steve @ Feb 22nd 2006 9:00AM

What happens when these children grow up after being monitored and hand-held through every aspect of their daily lives? How are they going to be able to survive on their own?

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saboola @ Feb 22nd 2006 9:12AM

Primero Food Service is made of people!!! It's made of peeeeopleee!!

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kev @ Feb 22nd 2006 9:21AM

They've had this system since 2004 in New York. Don't know why this is news. It's obvious why they're doing it, and I guess knowing the cost is useful, but it's front page news.

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D W @ Feb 22nd 2006 10:57AM

You guys all miss the point. It's a billing service so you can pre-pay for lunch online, instead of dealing with the school districts slow lunch account system.

Sodexo/Paypams.com has had something like this for years. The systems restriction is basically the equivalent of a "value meal", aimed at controling costs and not their waistlines.

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