I don't like em'. I make my daughter's lunch for her everyday. Everything at the schools just seem like its processed food. ANd the "fruit" is always that syrupy kind.
My daughter starts school next year so I took a look at their menu online. I hope she will let me send her lunch with her, because I don't understand how every single kid in the school isn't fat. It's all pizza and chicken nuggets. It's the kind of stuff I let her have once a week - every single day. And my girl likes her junk, she'll eat every bit of it. She has a neurological disorder that means she can't run (she can't walk without medication) so it's not like she'll be burning it off at recess playing tag. Packed lunch it will have to be.
My mom works at an elementary school and she used to work in the cafeteria. She told me some crazy things of what the cafeteria manager would have them do, what the food would look like and how they prepared it. It wasn't pleasant and I never ate school food.
Anyway, I think they give kids what they know the kids will eat. And use the cheapest foods that they can get.
it is horrible deep fat fried nasty food. They say they have sides available, like fresh fruit, but I've volunteered in the lunch room and never see the kids "choose" them. If they have a choice btwn fries and an apple, most kids will pick fries.
Fortunately, my daughter prefers to bring her lunch. She hasn't wanted to buy lunch because of the "yummy" lunches I pack. She's only in kinder and most kids bring their lunch for now. I really hope she'll want to keep bringing her lunch because as it stands now, I will only let her buy once a week, ever! If I let her eat fries, pizza, cheeseburgers, fried fish sticks etc every day, she'd be overweight by the end of the year!
Last edited by pinkflower; 10-29-2010 at 11:52 AM.
Ours is fairly healthy. When they do have pizza, it has a whole wheat crust. They only have pizza once a month, I think. Lots of veggies (although they're probaby canned), fresh fruits, and lean meats.
I just graduated high school this year and the food is just as bad in high school as it is in middle school and elementary school. The high school I went to for half of freshman year had Coca-Cola machines but I'm not sure if those are allowed anymore. In middle school we had stands that sold hamburgers, soft pretzels, pizza, and all kinds of other junk. There was also a slushie machine. I didn't really eat the school lunch often but I remember it mostly being stuff like microwave bean burritos (which were delicious but I'm sure they were also awful for you).
Most kids in elementary school prefer to take their lunch, but you need to be careful when they get a little bit older. The food is just as bad if not worse and often they can buy it during breaks and not only at lunch, at least we could at my old middle school. Most kids start thinking that taking their lunch is "uncool" around the time they get to middle school as well.
I've been very impressed with the food served where both my kids go! My son is in 1st grade and bread is always whole grain, a fruit and fresh veggie are always served. A typical school lunch would be a tuna sandwich on wheat + a sliced apple + sliced cucumber with ranch or Yakisoba loaded with veggies and pears on the side. I wish they wouldn't make chocolate milk available but my son knows better than to get it and you can't win them all .
My daughter's daycare has a similar menu but they always have fresh veggies and dip for their afternoon snack. I don't have any complaints .
The elementary school I work out has an excellent lunch menu for the students. Mind you, it's a "privileged" school. They get a lot of fantastic benefits that most of the other schools in the state don't get. They are served meals that are balanced and nutritional. When I used to eat lunches, I just loved their beautiful veggie and fruit bar. No junk food or beverage is offered. Then again, even if it were, I doubt anyone would eat it because the whole school is made up of tree-huggers and health nuts :] The kids there actually prefer salads over treats that occasionally are brought in from the outside.
If this kind of menu is available for my kids — it's a go. Otherwise, you can bet I'll be preparing their lunch, just as I do for hubby and myself everyday at 5:30 in the morning :]
We are lucky here as well. My daughter's school just moved to all organic lunches this year. She finds them tasty, and they couldn't be healthier. My son goes to daycare, and the lunches are also organic. The snacks are not, but are all whole grains, fruits, veggies and yogurt. No high sugar treats or junk food. They both probably eat a bit better at school than at home:-).
I really don't like the food options the school has and I usually pack my son's lunch. They have a lot of hot dog, corn dog, beef patty, chicken patty, chili (the kind that's often used for topping chili dogs, only with beans) and fried fish for main course.
Mothers, cafeteria school lunches?
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