Buying school lunch is cheaper than making it!

[luvmy3]

I have mixed feelings on this. Yes, I would love for my kids to only indulge in healthy foods - I try and limit the amount of HFCS and hydrogenated fats in the house. On the other hand, I grew up with a mother that was very restrictive regarding food. Snacks and sugary cereals were few and far between. The problem was outside the house, if we tried sugar we acted like animals out of the cage. Not because of the sugar rush, but because we felt so free to eat these things and we went wild. I'm not sure about the forbidden fruit theory. I remember being jealous of kids who had "good" snacks.

I totally get what your saying but I didn't mean that kids shouldn't have any "junk food" in their homes. I just meant that if all you have in your house to pack lunches is chocolate donuts and capri suns the thats what your kids will take and eat. My kids have healthy choices for lunch but I still pack the chips or a cookie or stuff like that. Junk food is certainly not forbidden in my house, just limited

 

[jsmith]

once ours got into middle school we used the x amount of dollars and you budget it as you choose method-surprisingly as soon as the oldest could drive-they spent the money on gas and drove home to eat-got more better food and had gas too.

 

[livie1205]

I agree. I think parents should probably visit the school lunchrooms in their child's school and check out the food before letting their kids eat there. Some probably have great food but some don't. It isn't always the staff's fault but sometimes it is. I worked in a High School lunchroom for a few months and I don't know how those kids survived some of that food. My kids take lunches now.

the school where my kids go have pretty good lunches....and they can also buy subway turkey subs or chick fil a grilled chicken sandwhiches if they want a change.I do not think all schools have bad lunches but yes parents should check....

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

Lunches here are $2.35 a day and include milk. My 8yo DD is a very picky eater and will only eat what they serve once in awhile. she prefers to bring from home. I also invested in a Thermos, thermos a short one it was around $15 and she can take hot stuff in it and its still hot at lunch times. Sometimes its leftovers from dinner sometimes its canned soup or spaghettios. whatever she feels like. Gives her a freedom of choice.

And if you dont like the meal served the other option is those Uncrustable sandwiches.

 

[SeeVee]

I am amazed that no one has figured out these $2.50 lunches cost a lot more than that. they are all subsized by the "government" (meaning your taxes pay for them so they are actually costing MORE than $2.50).

 

[onelilspark]

I am amazed that no one has figured out these $2.50 lunches cost a lot more than that. they are all subsized by the "government" (meaning your taxes pay for them so they are actually costing MORE than $2.50).

But whether you eat them or not, your taxes are still going towards them. And schools only get the amount per lunch that the kids actually eat (or in reality take from the line.) So if a student brings from home and buys only milk, the school gets nothing.

 

[SeeVee]

But whether you eat them or not, your taxes are still going towards them. And schools only get the amount per lunch that the kids actually eat (or in reality take from the line.) So if a student brings from home and buys only milk, the school gets nothing.

Good. Why should I pay for someone elses lunch? I gotta pay for someone elses lunch so that the parents can spend the lunch money on other stuff I cant afford.


And dont EVEN say for a second it is for the children. It is IN FACT for the businesses that make money selling this junk to the school.

 

[onelilspark]

Good. Why should I pay for someone elses lunch? I gotta pay for someone elses lunch so that the parents can spend the lunch money on other stuff I cant afford.


And dont EVEN say for a second it is for the children. It is IN FACT for the businesses that make money selling this junk to the school.

As it is, the money that the schools receive for free and reduced lunch is ridiculously low. The reason why you see such low prices for regular lunches is because schools need to keep the total of their lunches down so that they don't lose money in the transactions for free/reduced. If they weren't concerned about this, they would probably be more inclined to offer better options and in more affluent districts where you have a low rate of free/reduced meals, you see that the prices on lunches are higher and the food is better because they aren't so concerned about losing money. Honestly, I believe this is something that needs to be dealt with on a local, not federal level. Then again, I believe that on most things. I have a hard time saying to someone that we're going to tell you how to educate your child, and while he's there, if you can't afford to give him a proper lunch, we're going to starve him. (Same goes if he just has awful parents.) We all pay school taxes and much of that goes to far more ridiculous items than feeding a child.

 

[barkley]

i don't know the exact numbers, but on the subject of actual cost of school lunches vs. what the price charged non reduced is, based on our experience i have to presume it's pretty substantial.

my kids attended a private school for a period of time that somehow (don't ask me how) managed to wrangle a contract with the local public schools for hot lunches. the private school was situated geographicaly in between 2 public schools. the one school prepared all the lunches which were transported down the road to the second. since the transport vehical passed right by the private school there was no increased transportation costs to factor in. the private school contracted with the public to provide a minimum number of hot lunches per day (we had to sign up the month prior for hot lunches based on the projected menu the public school provided). the public school charged us (and this was well documented in the local papers because someone raised a stink saying public school funding was being used for a religious private school) the ACTUAL cost of the meal. we paid what the meal/containers/preparation/administration costs equaled out to (and to see it spelled out in terms of "one serving of tater tots equals x number of minutes of purchasing/requistion salary, y number of minutes of department of food and nutrition accounting services, z number of minutes of staff/utility/prorated kitchen facility expenditure cost..." was insane at best).

in the end the cost for the private school kids to receive the identical meal to what the public school kids ate that day was at bare minimum 50% higher.


i think it's easy to say that it would only cost a parent x amount as compared to what a school school charges for an identical meal in the cafeteria. the difference that is not so apparant is what it costs a school to have the staff that prepares the food, the vehicals to transport the food, the disposable containers (or cost of washing and replacement of the containers holding the food), the utilities and facilities to prepare the food....


i've yet to see a parent who can say that they have done a cost item analysis of these factors that proves that they spend less giving their kids the same mac and cheese, veggie stick, corn bread, 8 oz. of milk, and jello dessert that their kid would have gotten at school for the same let alone less.

 

[pat fan]

barkley i don't know the exact numbers, but on the subject of actual cost of school lunches vs. what the price charged non reduced is, based on our experience i have to presume it's pretty substantial.

i've yet to see a parent who can say that they have done a cost item analysis of these factors that proves that they spend less giving their kids the same mac and cheese, veggie stick, corn bread, 8 oz. of milk, and jello dessert that their kid would have gotten at school for the same let alone less.

Thank you! I work in a cafeteria and trust me, while we do our very best to offer healthy meals, the government doesn't make it easy. We are mandated for nutrition, but not given the $$ or the food to do it. As it is, we make our own bread, rolls, buns etc..and it is either oatmeal or multigrain. For our lunch you can have the hot lunch PLUS the salad bar and milk. That way we don't have to give them mashed potatoes (we don't do gravy) when they don't want it. We have a lot less waste with that.

Our salad bar consists of a green salad, pasta salad, cut up toatoes, cukes, onions, peppers, pickled beets, fruit, home-made croutons (from the home-made bread), american cheese slices, either mozzarella or cheddar cubes and chick pea salad. Sometimes we exchange one or two of those things with another option, but this way we feel that the kids are offered a variety of vegetables and cover our behinds for the vegetarian crowd as well.

This weeks lunches were ravioli (ok, that was canned) with garlic bread (home made) and veg, mac & cheese (homemade) or plain pasta with a veg, pizza (homemade) with fries (baked) with veg, and baked chicken, mashed potato, veg and bread & butter. You get milk as well with any meal. We always have P.B. sandwiches as an option as well.

We serve this for $1.75, and I am very proud of our lunch program. You like it? Come on over and send your kids...we have a declining enrollment due to declining population, we could use the kids

 

[MemoryMakers2669]

You could cut the cost a little by doing what a PP said and using a re-usable drink box and putting applesauce in a gladware container rather then using the individual ones.

Well, you hae to factor in the cost of reusable containers as well and how many she WILL lose and/ leave in her classroom, etc.

 

[WDWBarb]

The scariest thing about school lunches to me is the whole thought of feeding our children low-bid beef.

Or chicken, turkey ... whatever.

 

[Tiffer]

DD is $2.50 per day, DS is $4.75. His lunch bleeds me dry! He doesn't like the regular lunch so gets a sandwich a la cart. I would love for him to bring but I guess that's not cool in High School.

 

[bigmerle1966]

Well, you hae to factor in the cost of reusable containers as well and how many she WILL lose and/ leave in her classroom, etc.

I'll bribe her not to! The girls like it when I bribe them, they just don't like it when I don't pay up.

 

[mum4jenn]

What's surprising to me is how many people who have posted have commented on two things:
a) Many of you think school lunches are "nasty."
AND
b) Many of you think school lunches are "cheap."

Where can you get a good, healthy, lunch for less than many of the costs I've seen here? In most cases it was under $2? Heck, under $3.50 if you're being generous? You think of what all is required by the state to give them, for lunch it's 5 food items from these 4 groups: meat/meat alt, veatable/fruit, grain/bread, and milk. And on top of that, now there's the movement to make everything whole grain/whole wheat, extra fiber, extra protien, etc etc which only costs more. The focus is high on putting all that extra stuff into it and if you want it to taste good at the same time, the price on it is high, there's not much you can do about it. If people were willing to pay a normal price for a lunch that their kids were guaranteed to have a true healthy lunch, there wouldn't be an issue. The issue is that if the price were to raise to a normal, say $5 per lunch, parents would pack lunches all the time. And I can almost guarantee you that the majority of kids wouldn't be bringing in healthy items, because that's not what they're doing right now.

As a school lunchroom manager I agree with everything you have said. All everyone wants to do is BASH the school lunches but they have no idea what the requirements are. Our lunches are $1.25!!! We have real ground beef , whole grain breads, etc.and I hardly think the other poster really cooked with cardboard and another poster thinks that Fluff is healthy!!!! I have seen inside lots of lunchboxes and let me tell you...many of the things that are being sent are not healthy. Also many of the things that ARE healthy are getting traded or thrown away. I have asked kids what their Moms would say if they knew they were throwing away all that food that was packed and they tell me that they tell their Mom that they do eat it...and then they beg me not to rat them out!!

Oh and as far as waht the amount the Government pays to the schools... I think full pay lunches get something like 12 cents. That might not be it exactly but it is a VERY LOW amount.

The ground beef has to be a minimum ratio of 90/10...which is pretty good. I normally can not even afford ground beef with that little fat in it at the grocery store. Really...that ones that have no idea what the requirements and regulations are should not post things about cardboard being in the meat....or insinuate that the meat is not worthy to feed humans. It is simply not true. The government actually has VERY tight control of what nutritional counts are. Even if one vendor is out of something and we try to get a similar item from another vendor, we can not take it if the requirements are not fulfilled. And many kitchens no longer have fryers in them. My kitchen does not have a fryer so of course we do not fry anything at all.
Visit the child nutrition program in your school system. Ask the questions...get your facts straight before you bash. Don't base your opinions on Adam Sandler's lunch lady song or the way lunch ladies are portrayed on TV or movies.

 

[luvmy3]

The scariest thing about school lunches to me is the whole thought of feeding our children low-bid beef.

Or chicken, turkey ... whatever.

Mystery meat

 

[luvmy3]

As a school lunchroom manager I agree with everything you have said. All everyone wants to do is BASH the school lunches but they have no idea what the requirements are. Our lunches are $1.25!!! We have real ground beef , whole grain breads, etc.and I hardly think the other poster really cooked with cardboard and another poster thinks that Fluff is healthy!!!! I have seen inside lots of lunchboxes and let me tell you...many of the things that are being sent are not healthy. Also many of the things that ARE healthy are getting traded or thrown away. I have asked kids what their Moms would say if they knew they were throwing away all that food that was packed and they tell me that they tell their Mom that they do eat it...and then they beg me not to rat them out!!

That all depends on the school, my kids are not allowed to trade and they bring home what they don't eat, they do not throw it away. They are in Elementary grades so I'm sure these rules are not enforced in the upper grades, but our Jr, high and H.S have a much better lunch menu so I'm not too worried.

FWIW, real ground beef may be real beef but it really depends on how its prepared in order for it to be "healthy".
I'll give you the whole wheat, our school hasn't used white bread in years in an ettempt to be more nutritious.

 

[mum4jenn]

That all depends on the school, my kids are not allowed to trade and they bring home what they don't eat, they do not throw it away. They are in Elementary grades so I'm sure these rules are not enforced in the upper grades, but our Jr, high and H.S have a much better lunch menu so I'm not too worried.

FWIW, real ground beef may be real beef but it really depends on how its prepared in order for it to be "healthy".
I'll give you the whole wheat, our school hasn't used white bread in years in an ettempt to be more nutritious.

\


Our elementary school is not allowed to trade either but with over 700 kids...well you do the math!!!

I don't know how else one would prepare ground beef other than brown it. We do drain the remaining fat off. If you mean what the ground beef is added to...normally that would be diced tomatoes,tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices.

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

As a school lunchroom manager I agree with everything you have said. All everyone wants to do is BASH the school lunches but they have no idea what the requirements are. Our lunches are $1.25!!! We have real ground beef , whole grain breads, etc.and I hardly think the other poster really cooked with cardboard and another poster thinks that Fluff is healthy!!!! I have seen inside lots of lunchboxes and let me tell you...many of the things that are being sent are not healthy. Also many of the things that ARE healthy are getting traded or thrown away. I have asked kids what their Moms would say if they knew they were throwing away all that food that was packed and they tell me that they tell their Mom that they do eat it...and then they beg me not to rat them out!!


Oh and as far as waht the amount the Government pays to the schools... I think full pay lunches get something like 12 cents. That might not be it exactly but it is a VERY LOW amount.

The ground beef has to be a minimum ratio of 90/10...which is pretty good. I normally can not even afford ground beef with that little fat in it at the grocery store. Really...that ones that have no idea what the requirements and regulations are should not post things about cardboard being in the meat....or insinuate that the meat is not worthy to feed humans. It is simply not true. The government actually has VERY tight control of what nutritional counts are. Even if one vendor is out of something and we try to get a similar item from another vendor, we can not take it if the requirements are not fulfilled. And many kitchens no longer have fryers in them. My kitchen does not have a fryer so of course we do not fry anything at all.
Visit the child nutrition program in your school system. Ask the questions...get your facts straight before you bash. Don't base your opinions on Adam Sandler's lunch lady song or the way lunch ladies are portrayed on TV or movies.

Ok, let's be fair. I did say that not all school lunches have bad food. I said some are great. I spoke from personal experience working in a lunchroom and what we had to cook was sometimes disgusting. I do not think I made a sweeping statement about all schools and I definately said it is not always the fault of the staff. I'm glad you work where a good lunch program is being implemented. Not all systems comply at all times. Just a fact. I just encourage parents to be informed. I certainly did not mean to do any bashing of the lunch ladies. I was a lunch lady.

ETA the cardboard reference was sarcasm. Surely no one would think cardboard was in the mix. I was merely commenting on how it looked.

 

[RUDisney]

Our district has wonderful food that our kids (general school population) really like. It always smells so good when you enter the school around lunchtime.

That said, I decided to start packing my kids' lunches when I lost my job. It was easier for me to budget into my grocery bill the money I'd spend paying for their lunches. They usually take leftovers from dinner since I've tried to make more than usual to have lunches for them the next day. They do take salads or sandwiches if I don't have enough leftover for them.

The thing that I noticed is that my DD started to slim down when she started taking my meals. She was never really chunky, except right before she has a growth spurt, but evidently my meals are agreeing with her more than the school's.

I don't know if I'm saving money or spending more on my DD's lunch. I KNOW that I'm saving money on my DS's since the MS lunch can run me upwards of $5 per day after he picks everything he wants.