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Family Matters:  Childs School Lunches  |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 12:47:29 PM
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Not sure if this is the right place but, It is about my grandchildren and possibly yours and your children. My daughter told me last night that the school system was raising the prices of the lunches to $1.85 a lunch. And then they are not going to very good lunches at that. They are going to be using all white flour and sugar. Not many veggies....More of the processed foods. Mystery meats and possibly taking out the salad bar that my oldest granddaughter LOVES.....What is it that we as parents and grands do to help our kids eat better? I thought that you were supposed to eat well to learn well? And what about the children that have a.d.d., or a.d.h.d.? and are or a budget or have to have help with there lunches?...Sorry for my ranting....cant help it sometimes
Thanks
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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4forMe
True Blue Farmgirl
166 Posts
Dawn
Easton
MD
166 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 1:57:03 PM
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I am battling my school over lunches right now but I'm not getting very far. Our school serves the kids ice cream at the same time as they get their lunch tray. I didn't know this until I volunteered to work lunch duty and saw all the children eating their ice cream first and throwing away their lunch. I have offered to help and be present or do whatever to change this system but my school administrators say it's the only way. I am now thinking of joining a committee to get rid of ice cream all together.
This is elementary school. So these are kindergarten and first grade kids, of course if their ice cream is sitting there they will eat it instead of the actual lunch food. The administrators say it is up to the parents to tell the kids to eat the food first and then the ice cream.
Sewing, knitting, gardening mom of 4. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 2:04:50 PM
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I am totally amazed how often I see kids throw away most all of their lunch. I pack my kids' lunches every day and they don't waste anything. It gets worse with middle school and high school kids for sure. The dessert being served WITH the meal is common practice and is just stupidity. My own kids don't get dessert unless they have eaten the important stuff and I don't want that to be different at school. I am amazed how many kids throw away their milk or only eat the optional white bread and mystery lunch meat sandwich instead of the main dish too. ugh. I volunteer in our lunchroom alot, and there are several good items served..but not enough that I want my kids to eat school lunch more than once in a blue moon. There has to be a better way.
I love Hillbillyhousewife.com Alee..good idea to share that!
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 2:15:16 PM
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My best friend is the director of the school lunch program for three rural school districts near here. I worked for her for a couple of weeks when one of the gals hurt her back. I am constantly amazed (and I don't mean this critically, this woman is my very best friend for umpteen years)that she can hold this position with absolutely no background in nutrition. The food they serve meets the government's requirements, but she has some wiggle room as far as what she can choose in certain categories. Bread for instance - it's ALL white bread served, no whole grains and when I asked her about it she said if she served it the kids wouldn't eat it. Then she said "I don't like it, so I know the kids wouldn't." Now, I know it might take kids a while to get used to some new choices, but you can't tell me hungry high school boys are going to turn down food alltogether because there are a few new things to get used to. I don't blame my friend for this - I blame the contractor she works for that supplies the lunches. She is always going to trainings but they are on computer related things, and financial things, hardly ever nutrition related topics. I took a nutrition class from WSU from their extended degree program that was extremely intense and informational but nothing like this is required or even suggested for people in my friends position. This has been a sore subject with me for a long time and I would be a campaigner for this if I knew where to start. I would love to see schools incorporate organic gardening into their curriculum and then use the fruits of their labors in the school lunch program. so many possibilities for well rounded education - gardening, soil conservation, insects, cooking, it's limitless. I suppose they would chalk it up as a money issue. We did this in Head Start but I guess it's just not an option for public school. Sorry, my rant.
Farmgirl Sister #98
Check out my new online store
http://www.shopthefrontier.com/VFstore/index.php?manufacturers_id=79&osCsid=6be4b25bf9555031c6e2e86bbde23dba |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 2:26:02 PM
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I teach at apublic school and REFUSE to eat the lunch! It is expensive and horrible. Packed with sugar and cards and questionable meats. Plus they charge teachers $2.00 for the EXACT same food they serve the kids! My advice - pack a lunch for your kids!
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
Felt and Fabric Crafts
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www.willowtreecreek.com
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 5:08:25 PM
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i love all the comments. My daughter packs all her kids lunch except the 2 youngest. One goes to pre-K and the other will start pre-K next year. But with pre-K they have no choice. My daughter has to pay 75.00 a month for the 5 yr old. And she doesnt like most of the meals served. So if she doesnt like what they are serving she asks for a ham sandwich. But I am also worried about the kids that have to rely on the help programs and if this is the only food they might be getting...And if they have learning disabilities....
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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La Patite Ferme
True Blue Farmgirl
623 Posts
Jenn
CA
USA
623 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 10:24:41 PM
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I always packed DDs lunch when she was in primary school. At preschool age I had her bring home all her leftovers so I could monitor what she was eating and how much. This helped me pack what she liked in the right amounts so I wasn't wasting food. Took me years to break her of the habit up until 8th grade I was still getting apple cores, peach pits and bread crust back in her lunch box.
In middle school they had a menu. It had the normal junk, but also salads, pasta and chicken and rice. So I would let her buy lunch on the day her favorite was being served. But for the most part she brought her lunch. I have to say $1.85 is cheap. Our lunches were over $4.00.
Unfortunately the school workers are right. Most kids are unfamiliar with lots of different foods and not willing to try anything new. The schools don't want the listen to the parents complain that their child has not eaten lunch in days because the school dosen't serve anything they will eat. And of course most school lunch programs are for the convinence of the staff not for the benefit of the child.
I would think the best place to start discussing this would be at PTA meetings. Get parents behind it then move your way up the chain. It could and probably will take years of fighting to move just a little. Los Angeles school districts just removed soda machines (or something like that) from schools last year, after years (like 5 to 10)of fighting.
I think the best solution is to pack your own.
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Apr 15 2008 : 10:32:01 PM
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Jennifer...my kids still do that..bring home all the leftovers from lunch. Not much now...I am getting pretty good at judging. One of my friends was here one day when I was unloading lunchboxes and she was amazed that I could send tupperware sandwich containers and get them back. Heck, my kids know better than to throw things like that away. She said hers would never get them back to her. So she buys school lunches. Hmmmmmm
Our middle school took out soda machines. They do have machines with "vitaman water" now. (basically Koolaid with added vitamans in my opinion..full of sugar) I had to explain to my kids that I was NOT in favor of those either, but they WERE better than soda. They arn't allowed them, but can get 100%juice or water or milk.I don't get complaints, since that is the choices at home too, and what they are used to.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Room To Grow
True Blue Farmgirl
974 Posts
Deborah
Kingston
Georgia
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2008 : 06:01:58 AM
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My daughter does make the oldest ones there lunch. But here in Ga they dont allow lunches to be brought in. They have to buy the lunch at the pre-K...I am most worried about the children that are on lunch programs that have to buy the lunch. i would love to go to some PTA meetings...But I am pnly a grandmother. I am not there parent. So what could I do??
Deborah
we have moved to our farm...and love it |
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NadKnitBlog
True Blue Farmgirl
72 Posts
Nadine
Nalbach
Saarland
Germany
72 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 07:34:44 AM
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Sigh, not different here in Germany. I am a teacher and the food they serve at my school's cafeteria? If my kid went there, packed lunches every single day. It is all deep fried and ready made and way too much sugar and fat- I am so disappointed. I never eat there myself, for one thing it is not the food I like and besides- they do not cater for vegetarians. I found out my building does have an old kitchen and the stove should still be working- guess who is going to cook next school year.
Nadine blogs at http://nadsknittingblog.blogspot.com/ and knits on Ravelry as Nadknitblog and on Plurk she is NadKnitBlog too! |
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simplyflowers
True Blue Farmgirl
489 Posts
Jamie
Locust Grove
Virginia
USA
489 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 07:45:31 AM
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My little one is 18 months.....my youngest step-son is 10 yrs...
My little one goes to a private sitter where as I pack his lunch daily!! It's easy for her and best for Zach. He gets a good meal with a starch, veggie, and meat most everyday, and after lunch he gets a fruit for dessert. Most all I pack is organic (that I can afford) and he is accustomed to eating good stuff...I know I will have to pack his lunch when he gets to kindergarden....SCHOOL LUNCH IS TERRIBLE and not worth my tax dollars that help pay for it, along with the daily cost of $1.80!!!) The 10 yr old, on the other hand, prefers to eat school lunch and unfortunately this isn't a fight worth fighting with him, he eats a lot of junk and is not used to eating very good foods that are good for you too. I'm able to slip in organics and healthy things at times but overall, veggies and fruits make him cringe...that is something I can not change b/c I'm not responsible in that category...his mom and dad are....grrrr
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -- Thomas Edison |
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kissmekate
True Blue Farmgirl
890 Posts
Kate
Delano
Minnesota
890 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 2:50:28 PM
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I am a bad Mom, my kids eat "hot lunch" (that is what we call it at my house.)
I used to pack a nice little lunch for them, with the pudding cups, yourgurt thingys, juiceboxes etc, but it started to get really expensive. They were also a little older 8 and 13, so I figured I could sleep the extra ten minutes. They were old enough to make/pack their own lunch!
Neither wanted to do it, so they eat "hot lunch" or go without. (So far that only happened once and he regretted not taking the lunch they served that day.)
Our lunch program needs improvement, but it isn't too bad, it is better than the food I ate in our school lunch.
Our lunches are $2.20 per lunch, and their lunch account money is not usable at the ala' carte line. (I know, I am a mean old Mom)
Don't miss out on a blessing, just because it isn't packaged the way you expected. ~MaryJo Copeland |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1403 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1403 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 3:02:47 PM
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The kids asked for that lousy food they are getting because they threw out the nutritious stuff. Then we have "cooks" that just know how to prepare the preprocessed stuff. When I was in school 50 some years ago we had really good meals made from scratch. We had turkey gravy and mashed potatoes with the rest of the stuff for our pre-thanksgiving meal. Every Friday it was mac and cheese (from scratch) and I had never had that before because my father wouldn't allow it in his house. The kids in the first grade ate off stoneware plates and I worked in the kitchen as a student and we set the table for the first graders. They learned manners that way. Farmgirls was what we were than.
Betty in Pasco |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 4:05:34 PM
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I remember school lunches and I must say- they weren't the greatest then and I know that today they allow a lot more junk than I would be comfortable allowing Nora to eat. Wouldn't it be great if we as farmgirls followed MaryJane's Brown Bag challenge and started a movement in our schools?
I had to eat a "home-made" lunch everyday right up though most of Middle School because of allergies. Sure there were days like when they served Pizza that I wished I had a "hot lunch" but most of the time I just ate my food and then went out to play.
Sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on food and forget that it is essentially just fuel.
Most of my lunches were:
Juice (100% juice as I was allergic to preservatives)
Carb in the form of bread or tortilla
meat of some sort
Apple, banana, or kiwi fruit.
If mom had baked cookies, fruit leather or some other homemade goodie then I would have some of that as well. Sometimes I would take my "milk" (which was actually Soy formula because I was allergic to dairy and soy milk was not sold at the grocery store in our area) in a plastic bottle.
I also would take soup in a thermos or a serving of jello with cool whip on top for dessert.
Some of my best lunch memories from childhood was opening a lunch my mom had packed to see what goodie she had included. She would always pack a napkin with a smiley face, a kitty drawn on it, or even just and "I love you". It always made me feel so special to get a little encouragement from her in the middle of the day.
I plan on packing Nora's lunches when she goes to school. I will probably buy a handful of lunches for those emergency days when we forget to pack a lunch or it gets left in the refrigerator.
[This post is actually by Alee, but something went wrong apparently. Just so everyone knows.] |
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oldfashioned girl
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
monica
oatman
az
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 5:23:51 PM
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Sherri, my kids won't eat white bread. My son who is 6 love Aunt Hattie's 12 grain dark bread. The only other bread I buy is sourdough other than that I make my own. I am very happy that except for pizza day my son never wants lunch at school. Most of the lunches seem very high in calories and other stuff and not very healthy. I pack him lunch with fruit and either tortilla chips or pretzels. Unfortunately I wonder how much my son actually eats because sometimes he has come home with almost everything I packed.
Deborah, I think the best thing to do is pack lunches if at all possible.
Monica
www.justducky48.etsy.com |
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Txfarmgal
True Blue Farmgirl
585 Posts
AK
USA
585 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2008 : 8:33:51 PM
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you can also check www.30daygourmet.com and they have an ebook i think for lunches you can buy in bulk and make lunches for the freezer, it's a great way to go!
AngiKay
For he is faithful that promised. Hebrews 10:23
check out Texas 4H! http://texas4-h.tamu.edu/ |
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kelliraeb
Farmgirl in Training
29 Posts
kelli
Michigan
29 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2008 : 6:45:26 PM
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| I agree that school lunches leave alot to be desired. My two oldest sons pack their lunches, because they are teenage boys and the amount of food they are served does not even make a dent in their appetites. They want to purchase several servings of the "main course" which gets really expensive. Last school year, they were allowed to play basketball at lunchtime and both boys quit eating lunch. They would throw their lunch away or stockpile it in their backpack until it started to smell... Then they would come in after school and eat us out of house and home. I had to suspend after school snacking to get them to start taking ten minutes of their baketball time to eat! My younger daughter HATES school lunch and rarely eats it, prefering my much healthier packed lunches. My youngest son would eat hot lunch every day if I allowed it (social thing I think), so he is about half and half. My oldest daughter was so happy to come home from college and not have to eat "institutional food". She is moving into her sorority house (this one is definitely not a farmgirl...... yet....) in August and they have a cook who serves their meals, so she is hoping it will be better. I remember actual "lunch ladies" who really cooked the food we were served on real dishes in elementary school. Hot lunch was not too bad back then... |
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Family Matters: Childs School Lunches |
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Childs School Lunches
