Having Their Cake

In the article “secret-ingredient cake” (Sept. 6), Ruth Roberts, director of child nutrition services of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, seems very proud that she succeeded in getting the children to eat their green beans.

The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of green beans and the cake serves 24. This means each child receives less than 1 tablespoon of green beans (assuming the beans are evenly distributed). The child would have to eat the whole cake to receive any nutritional value from the green beans. The recipe also calls for 1 1/4 cups of oil; this means each child is getting 2 1/2 teaspoons of oil, or 13 grams of fat per serving.

To think this gets the children to eat their vegetables or that they are receiving one serving of green vegetables is not only ridiculous but misleading. Why doesn’t the school district just stop buying green beans and find other, less damaging ways to give the children a balanced diet. The children aren’t garbage disposals.

--LORETTA ACOSTA

Whittier