Wasting food at school~vent

[kacaju]

Originally Posted by ebtbmom

As a school nurse thank you, thank you, thank you, mother of the year over here! You would be shocked and amazed at how we have to beg some parents to give us carb counts for either home brought food or the cafeteria food. What you are doing is absolutely the safest thing for your child! Question, does your school cafeteria provide carb info for the food? I've been trying to get ours all year and am having no luck.

I believe our nurse has all that info

[EveDallas]

Originally Posted by ebtbmom

As a school nurse thank you, thank you, thank you, mother of the year over here! You would be shocked and amazed at how we have to beg some parents to give us carb counts for either home brought food or the cafeteria food. What you are doing is absolutely the safest thing for your child! Question, does your school cafeteria provide carb info for the food? I've been trying to get ours all year and am having no luck.

Honestly, I have no clue if the cafeteria provides carb info or not. I've never been willing to chance it, and he'd rather pack anyway, so I've never looked into it.

[MomRN]

I didn't read all the pages of the thread, but wanted to comment.

We do not qualify for free/reduced lunch, but if we did I would still try to send my son's lunch. He is on Adderall for ADHD, and is rarely hungry at lunchtime.

We actually feed him breakfast in the morning (and sometimes seconds) and then he goes and eats breakfast at school again (which we pay $1.50). For his lunch I'll send what most people would consider a snack... cheese and crackers and an apple, maybe a lunchable... something small in case he's hungry. However, 3/5 days a week his lunch comes back exactly the way I packed it. Then, he eats dinner about an hour after school and a bedtime snack.

He's also extremely picky. There is no way he would eat 75% of what's served for lunch.

[Pollyanna Poppins]

Of course it doesn't make sense because it's a government run program. Just look at what a great job they've done in all the other areas they manage. Just wait till all the healthcare regulations kick in. What I'd like to know is why are kids allowed to live in homes that don't provide any food for them? Isn't that child neglect? Yet over and over we hear that's the only meal these children will eat for the day. Most of these who get the free lunch also get food stamps. School lunches are really a double charge to tax payers. Why is it my mother was able to get up and pack lunches for all of us in the morning? I continued this tradition for my own children until we pulled them out of the prison system disguised as a public school. You'll never solve this problem until you get the big dogs out of the picture and restore schools to a local level. Governments waste that's what they do best.

[kacaju]

Originally Posted by MomRN

We do not qualify for free/reduced lunch, but if we did I would still try to send my son's lunch. He is on Adderall for ADHD, and is rarely hungry at lunchtime.

awww...reminds me of a boy last year in school. He was buying lunch everyday and all of a sudden I noticed he would just come in for snack. I asked him if he was now bringing lunch from home. He waited until all the kids left and then came in to tell me he was put on medicine for ADHD and he was not hungry when he was called in for lunch. BUT..by the time everyone else was eating and we were calling snack...he got hungry. So we told him he was allowed to come in anytime for lunch..we'd rather see him eat lunch at snack time, then to just have a bag of chips.
He is doing better this year and is now eating lunch again...part of it I am sure it is because he has the last lunch...next year he will have first lunch so I will have to watch him next year.

[disfan07]

Originally Posted by Pollyanna Poppins

Of course it doesn't make sense because it's a government run program. Just look at what a great job they've done in all the other areas they manage. Just wait till all the healthcare regulations kick in. What I'd like to know is why are kids allowed to live in homes that don't provide any food for them? Isn't that child neglect? Yet over and over we hear that's the only meal these children will eat for the day. Most of these who get the free lunch also get food stamps. School lunches are really a double charge to tax payers. Why is it my mother was able to get up and pack lunches for all of us in the morning? I continued this tradition for my own children until we pulled them out of the prison system disguised as a public school. You'll never solve this problem until you get the big dogs out of the picture and restore schools to a local level. Governments waste that's what they do best.

Oh yeah....because healthcare works just peachy the way it is now....

And there are a lot of kids on free and reduced lunch whose families do not get food stamps. Especially reduced lunch. I knew a lot of kids in my high school whose families did not qualify for food stamps but qualified for reduced lunch. It depends on the situation and the qualifications in my district for free/reduced were different than for food stamps.

If I was in school still, we'd qualify for reduced lunch because of our current situation (involves medical bills....hmmm) but we would not qualify for food stamps because my dad still makes too much. It's not so black and white.

You might want to know what you are talking about before you say it.

[Pollyanna Poppins]

Yes, actually our healthcare system was the best in the world. Is it perfect, of course not but that doesn't mean we should destroy it. I'm quite familiar with the school systems so I'll speak freely on the topic. Perhaps you're the one who shouldn't make assumptions. If you have medical bills then you had access to health care. It seems the problem is you have to pay for it.

[sookie]

This is absolutely crazy to me.

I grew up in a tiny town - but growing up, we had cooks in our schools. They actually cooked real food for us.

I looked forward to our food!!!! I remember one of our lunch lady's made these AMAZING yeast rolls. OMG!


There was only one meal I didn't look forward to: SLOPPY JOE DAY!

That came out of a can. I think the kids were about to riot on sloppy joe day. We were used to serious home cooking / soul food.

Our school lunch (elementary) was soooo yummy. It varied by school and by the lunch ladies working at the school.

It was seriously homemade. I actually kind of miss it...

OMG now I'm having withdrawls... I'm having childhood nostalgia now.... *tears*

[sookie]

Originally Posted by EveDallas

Not necessarily. My son qualifies for reduced lunch. I've never signed up for it - he is automatically qualified because he gets health insurance through the state. I pack his lunch every single day because he is diabetic, and I like to have an accurate carb count for what he eats.

You are a nice lady!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for making the extra effort - it is hard work to have a diabetic kiddo.

[cornflake]

Originally Posted by sookie

This is absolutely crazy to me.

I grew up in a tiny town - but growing up, we had cooks in our schools. They actually cooked real food for us.

I looked forward to our food!!!! I remember one of our lunch lady's made these AMAZING yeast rolls. OMG!


There was only one meal I didn't look forward to: SLOPPY JOE DAY!

That came out of a can. I think the kids were about to riot on sloppy joe day. We were used to serious home cooking / soul food.

Our school lunch (elementary) was soooo yummy. It varied by school and by the lunch ladies working at the school.

It was seriously homemade. I actually kind of miss it...

OMG now I'm having withdrawls... I'm having childhood nostalgia now.... *tears*

Lucky, but not usual, I don't think.

I don't recall ever eating lunch in elementary school. It was completely gross. Tinned pasta with meat (I recall sloppy joes too), tinned veg and fruit, only milk to drink... We had to take it; I'd take it, sit there, then get up and throw it out. Every day.

Technically, I suppose I was wasting food. I'd have been happy to forgo picking up the stupid tray and the milk, but that wasn't an option.

[luvsJack]

Originally Posted by Pollyanna Poppins

Yes, actually our healthcare system was the best in the world. Is it perfect, of course not but that doesn't mean we should destroy it. I'm quite familiar with the school systems so I'll speak freely on the topic. Perhaps you're the one who shouldn't make assumptions. If you have medical bills then you had access to health care. It seems the problem is you have to pay for it.

I imagine that the pp was speaking about the cost of health care not the quality of it. (not saying I agree or disagree) I know several people that have had serious issues getting the care they desperately need because of lack of insurance and/or funds and yet do not qualify for government programs that would get them the care they need.

As for what she said about free/reduced lunch and food stamps--she is very right. There are many kids whose families are right at the border line on income. They don't get food stamps but they do qualify for reduced or free lunch. These are most likely the kids that you hear about that have no other food than what they get at school.

Some that DO get food stamps get a small amount and the amount doesn't stretch over the month. Those children would still get free/reduced lunch and their family may run out of food by the end of the month. So while for these kids the taxpayers may be getting "double charged", as you say, they still are in need of this food.