Sarah S. Jones 1|1|not sure about it being cheaper but the items that Nick will eat at school are somethings I wouldn't send with him for the fact of food safety|teener|teenerzacsneenee@yahoo.com|09:10:30|08/18/2010|
they offer salds n such and getting a hot meal for me is also a plus jmo 2|2|I was thinking that too, also my daughter is a very picky eater so having more options is good. My husband is the one who wants to try this I am just weighing the pros and cons :)|sarahjones|beautiful1000000@gmail.com|09:23:59|08/18/2010|
Sarah S. Jones 8|3|Pj is no longer offered hot lunches BUT when he was (and he is a picky eater as well) what we did was.............|pussecat|pu55ecat@aol.com|12:43:34|08/18/2010|
print off a copy of the monthly lunch menu and sent him to school with lunch money and asked the teacher to note if he ate his lunch or not as well as asked Pj what he had for lunch and if he enjoyed it or not. It took about 1 month to figure out what he liked and what he didn't and on the "I don't like it" days I'd pack him a lunch and allow him to buy milk. HTH :)
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3|1|I can make my son;s lunch for ALOT cheaper than he can buy it|ncbrunet|ncbrunet@aol.com|09:33:14|08/18/2010|
The lunch at school is 1.95/day. I send him with a juice pouch, sandwich (in a reusable container), chips/pretzels (small bag size or baggie he brings back home), fruit snack, granola bar and a cupcake or cookie.
(He is 6 but eats like crazy)
I figured it out last year when he was in K that the lunch I send him with costs me about .50-.65 (depending on the sale price I got and coupon amount) and I know he will eat everything. The school lunch menu is not always what gets served that day and he doesn't like what they offer. He buys only on certain menu days that I know will not change.
HTH
Marsha
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4|2|I always sent my child to school with a home made lunch until he wanted to start buying because he didnt want to carry a lunch. I would much rather make him one than|Mumzie|luckiestbamboo2@aol.com|09:59:06|08/18/2010|
have him buy it at school. It costs $3 a day and its like the size of a small snack! I still try to make him one but hes entering high school this year and Im sure he would never bring a lunch that his mom made lol 5|3|I think I will have them take lunches from home it is 2.50 for the girls and $3 a day for my son I just need to be cautious of the peanut allergies the schools both have. I am kinda excited we are gonna tour the schools next week with the kids.|sarahjones|beautiful1000000@gmail.com|11:31:17|08/18/2010|
Sarah S. Jones 6|4|here school lunch is $3.50 and she doesn't like half the stuff|shellysmsmo|jpksms@sbcglobal.net|11:46:26|08/18/2010|
so i think we'll do the pack lunch 7|5|Wow some of you pay alot for lunch lol Nick only pays $2 a day |teener|teenerzacsneenee@yahoo.com|11:50:52|08/18/2010|
>Posted on Aug-18-10 at 11:46 AM (Eastern)
>by 74.62.76.240so i think we'll do
>the pack lunch
9|1|After seeing that Jamie Oliver show....|bluh2oeyes|bluh2oeyes@yahoo.com|14:14:24|08/18/2010|
I don't have any children but after seeing that Jamie Oliver Show about kids school lunches on TV about what the kids get in their school lunches I might think twice about what my child gets at school no matter what the cost.
When you send them with a lunch you know what's in it and if you let them work with you in the planning process then you are more likely they will eat it and like it.
Make a chart of foods they like, spend time with your children planning the "brown bag/lunch box" menu, let them help make the lunches. Filling snack bags or containers with the foods for the weeks lunches shouldn't take much time and when they help they are more likely to eat what is in the bag.
All the best to you with no matter what you choose.
Enjoy!
Jennifer in North Carolina...the Tar Heel State
11|2|Very true! Our school serves things that are processed foods like chicken nuggets, pizza, etc....high fat, high carb, low protein.|saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|16:12:09|08/18/2010|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
10|1|For my teen boys, it's cheaper to make their lunches.....the hot lunches at school arent enough food for them, and I have figured out if I watch sales, make some things homemade (cookies, muffins, etc) I can beat the $2.50 a meal that the school charges.|saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|16:10:36|08/18/2010|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
12|1|the lunch's here were pretty bad,so packed lunches till jr high|LindaOh|Martinl3@roadrunner.com|18:18:09|08/18/2010|
thats when they can start ordering la carte, it was more a question of them eating them then the price most of the lunchs were terriable I have saw them and wouldn't eat them myself.I guess it depends on if your kids will eat the food and if you are willing to pay the price Linda 13|2|I work in a school cafeteria..(M)|kthy26|kthy26@yahoo.com|18:50:11|08/18/2010|
Yes I am a lunch lady actually I am a manager in the cafeteria for a school county in Virginia and I have to say that I am very proud of what we serve our children in elementary school and our lunch is 2.70 per day for a complete lunch. We have actually been going with healthier foods each year and more organic foods, this year all elementary schools in my county will receive an award that the federal government is giving the school systems for making there lunches healthier and there is a certain criteria you must follow to receive this award and funds that comes along with it.
We no longer serve things like white rice all of our pastas are brown whole grains, we only offer 1% or fat free milks, fresh fruits and veggies everyday, the list goes on and on and we are actually going through trainings right now to prepare everyone in the county to be on the same track. We do not fry any food all of our food is oven baked and yes we have chicken nuggets but the breading is a whole grain breading and they are baked not fried and we do serve pizza but the crust is a whole grain crust with low fat cheese on it. we offer salads everyday as in entree item and we offer vegetarian entrees everyday for anyone that does not eat meat.
99% of the time school lunches get a bad name and I know that there are some school districts that have really bad unhealthy lunch choices but not all of them. I speak very highly and proudly when I say I work in the cafeteria, I am proud of what my county is doing and I think if the federal government is willing to offer incentives for making our children healthier in the schools, then all school systems should jump on board.
Alot of times childhood obesity is blamed on school lunches but childhood obesity starts at home and how you teach your child to eat.
Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to share. I wish everyones schools offered healthy or healthier lunches
Kathy 14|3|Kathy, can you come to our school district and train them? Their response to the state regs to make things healthier was to remove vending machines and soda machines....but the lunches are still horrid. I'd still pack my boys' lunches, they are juniors in high school, and the meal portions just arent enough for them....they work out every day, football practice for 2 1/2 hrs....they need the fuel, lol.|saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|19:21:01|08/18/2010|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
15|4|Here's an example....they are having breaded chicken three times in one week...next Monday is chicken patty sandwich, then on Weds is chicken nuggets, then on the following Monday is chicken tenders (the cheap processed chicken nuggets shaped like tenders). Tomorrow they are having Bosco Sticks (bread sticks with cheese inside). Oh, and the menus only list the entree, not the sides....so Lord knows what they will get. Canned fruits, soggy cooked veggies, sometimes a skimpy iceberg salad....yuk.|saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|19:25:20|08/18/2010|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
16|5|I didnt mean to invade the post ..(m)|kthy26|kthy26@yahoo.com|20:03:56|08/18/2010|
But I am proud and not to many "lunchladies" are proud of what they do they do it because its a job but I care about what my kids eat. We serve our whole grain chicken patty that was baked on a whole wheat bun and like I said we have a fresh fruit and veggie everyday and then we usually have some steamed veggies of some kind and we dont use a lot of processed foods, yes we have chicken patties, nuggets and things like that but alot of our food is homemade like our veggie lasagna and our spaghetti sauce doesnt come in canned we make it from scratch and we do have whole wheat rolls but we have to make them from scratch and we are very large school district in virginia, they told us today that there is a total of 80 schools in our county mainly elementary schools.
I really wish more counties and states would jump on board for the healthier lunches, yes our prices are higher then most of our surrounding counties but we are healthier and we are required to have many certifications to be in our positions. So not all lunch programs are bad and I am speaking from experience because I work in one county but live in another county and I am always upset with what they feed my son who is a sophomore, not only do they serve pizza everyday but there foods are fried and they offer french fries or tator tots everyday and the school he goes to is a new high school that is equiped with a salad bar in the cafeteria but the cafeteria doesnt use the salad bar and i just think thats ridiculous!!! so I totally understand how some of you feel about your lunch programs
17|6|There was alot of processed foods at the previous school the kids went to, I was looking at the new school menu and its totally different. There seems to be no processed foods. Maybe it will change later on not sure. And they also get their fruits and vegetables from the local farms as well which is good. It mentions all of the farms names. (more)|sarahjones|beautiful1000000@gmail.com|21:39:37|08/18/2010|
Last edited on Aug-18-10 at 09:40 PM (Eastern) by 68.116.199.96
Posted on Aug-18-10 at 09:39 PM (Eastern) by 68.116.199.96
So I am thinking maybe making lunch on certain days except for pasta day (which is whole wheat) the kids would love that . But I remember my son used to spend alot of money at the old school because of all of the a la carte items and he mentioned they had hot pockets and lots of fried food. But I do also like the idea that I can control that he is not eating fatty processed foods as well.
Sarah S. Jones
Sarah S. Jones 18|1|It's much cheaper for us to give them lunch money than to make lunches|jdlaurie|savethosepennies@aol.com|18:47:32|08/19/2010|
Our lunches are $2.50 a day here and breakfast is free.... So we figure the kids get two hot meals a day for $2.50. The meals don't seem that bad.. the problem is the kids can choose what they want to take and what they don't want to take. So my daughter will never take a fruit or vegetable! My son on the other hand will choose fruit and vegetables along with his meal. I would imagine the meals are pretty good otherwise, my kids always eat... my daughter sometimes buys two lunches though. They appear to have whole wheat pizza crusts, and I know the pancakes they give the kids are prepackaged, but they are little pancakes made from Sweet Potatoes and they are really good.
My kids don't like the hot pockets that are served on easier days and anything prepackaged. So we watch the schedule and they eat breakfast at home if the meals are something they don't like.
Occasionally I make them a lunch, but it's not very often.
I made the kids lunches for the summer camp and it doubled my grocery bill! They ate so much food each day and drank multiple drinks. They get fuller on the hot school food.