Kids give first lady sarcastic ‘thanks’ on Twitter
WASHINGTON (AP) — School kids are giving thanks to US First Lady Michelle Obama just in time for the holiday — with a sarcastic Twitter hashtag about unappealing school lunches.
Along with photos of unsavorylooking school meals, the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama was among the top trends on Twitter within the United States for a time on Friday.
The first lady has become the symbol of healthier school meals as she has pushed standards implemented in 2012 that require more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the lunch line in an effort to combat childhood obesity. There are also limits on sodium, sugar and fat.
While many schools have put the standards in place successfully, others have said some of the new foods end up in the trash can.
Many of the photos have a Thanksgiving theme — think sad-looking stuffing — while others are everyday meals. The hashtag appears to have started around two years ago, but didn’t really catch on until Friday after several websites picked it up.
“Had a very #healthylunch today,” Hunter Whitney of Wisconsin tweeted. “The apple definitely made up for the ‘ mystery mush’ # ThanksMichelleObama.”
His photo of a soupy Spanish rice gone wrong and an apple on a school lunch tray was retweeted more than 170 times.
Hunter, 17, is a senior at Richland Center High School in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He said in an interview with the Associated Press that his school lunches have gone downhill over his four years in high school. Of the Spanish rice, he said “you couldn’t feel the individual grains of rice. It was just a solid mush.”