What has more sodium than Lunchables (580-840 mg), an entire box of Oreos (630 mg) and cafeteria food (640-710 mg)? Brown bag lunches (1,003 mg).

A recent study covering a dozen elementary and middle schools in Houston discovered that lunches brought from home, while in the same caloric range, were significantly worse for the children than the school’s lunch.

Gone are the days of baby carrots as we welcome the age of chips and desserts sustaining the minds of the future (shudders). Middle school students ate 101.8% of their packed desserts. That figure is greater than 100% because students shared and bought additional desserts from the cafeteria.

Houston is known for going big when it comes to food, but simple things like meat and grains were almost completely absent from packed lunches.

First Lady Michelle Obama and celebrity chef Jaime Oliver have championed getting better nutrition into school cafeterias, but have a long way to go in combating food deserts and parenting fails.

H/t LA Times