Elem school -sack lunches in classroom from now on!

[mhsjax]

Every elementary classroom my kids were in in the states allowed a mid morning snack for the kids and water bottles--so you already had food in there every single day (plus lots of food at parties). I don't see the big difference.

I am really wondering about all of you who have kids in classes full of messy enough peopel for food spillage to be a major concern I can see it getting knocked off of hot lunch trays as kids carry them in a crowded cafeteria--but from sack lunches in a classroom? I guess my kids just got lucky and did not end up with the spill prone classmates.

DD went to a school for one year where every child had the choice between eating in the cafeteria or eating in the classroom. Being someone who does not handle crowds and noisy well she LOVED it and ate in the classroom every day. I think the stats were that about 65%-70% of the kids opted to eat in the room on a daily basis.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but we aren't really that messy, but you have to look at where I live. Florida, the bug capitol of the US. Classrooms are carpeted and yes crumbs happen and then the roaches and ants.

Yes there were snacks, usually eaten outside during recess, so no not the same as a lunch eaten inside everyday.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Not to mention cleaning the desks. The janitors do not clean our classroom every night. I think they when to every other to cut cost, but either way they do not clean the desk tops every night. How sanitary is it.

Not even mentioning food spills on the carpet. Both my DD perfer a cold lunch but I would think keeping the cafeteria clean would be easier than the classrooms.

Denise in MI

In our schools one of the jobs on the classroom job chart is to come around with the spray bottle and wipe all the desks. It is a very covetted job because you have such a grave adult responsibility , well at least until about 3rd grade, then they're "over" that. But the desks do get clean, and the kids learn to take responsibility for eating neatly.

The one thing that concerns me is the fact that all your classrooms are carpeted. I did have that one year (and ironically I don't remember spills despite the fact that I was teaching 1st/2nd special ed, not the most mature population), but mostly we have linoleum or tile on our floor with area rugs in the places we choose.

Cleaning the floor is the job of a different kid, but is considered less valuable becuase it doesn't involve exciting chemicals such as Fantastik.

 

[MI mom of 3]

When I was in elementary school we sometimes ate in the lunchroom but most often at our desks. One of the items on our back to school list was a square of oil cloth to cover the desk tops.

The only thing that was provided by the school as far as lunch went was milk for purchase. I think it was a nickel. There was no kitchen, they did NOT provide food. You didn't bring, you didn't eat.

 

[shaylyn]

OP here

The whole thing comes down to money.

The school did not give the kids chicken nuggets and fries, they provided great hot lunches! Local fruit & produce, whole grain ingredients, they prided themselves in how healthy and great their lunch program was.

I think that this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me, lol. We have been hounded by the district for the past 6 months. They send 2 e-mails a week asking for donations, they send letters home with the students, they ask at every function for donations. At the bottom of the e-mail requests, they have a growing list of names of the parents who have made their donation--that way you know which of your neighbors have NOT contributed.

This is an affluent suburb (although we live in a modest 2000sf 1920 farmhouse) with most homes that are worth $1 million plus. Dh and I pay nearly $5,000 a year in property taxes to live here, we specifically chose this city because of the good school reputation. It sure has gone downhill FAST!

 

[stm61]

I've never had a lunch break in the three systems I've worked in, so I guess it's an Alabama thing. We take to the kids to lunch, sit with them while everyone eats, clean our area, and take them back to class. We have duty free lunch one Friday a month, and the principal and support workers watch the kids on those days. FWIW, we do get paid for the 25 minutes of lunch. We also take the kids to recess and stay with them the entire time.

As far as planning time, our students go to PE every day for 30 minutes. By the time you go to the restroom, check your mailbox, have data meetings, deal with issues that pop up, etc., you have very little time for planning. I go in early and stay late to do planning and take work home at night.

It's not just an Alabama thing. SC teachers eat with their classes, then take them out for recess. We're responsible for our kids both during lunch and recess. The only break we get is the 45 min. they're in related arts (PE, art, etc.). If the related arts teacher is out and they don't have a sub, we get no planning period. When standardized testing or end-of-quarter testing is going on, we usually have no related arts for the entire week.

 

[luvmy3]

OP here

The whole thing comes down to money.

The school did not give the kids chicken nuggets and fries, they provided great hot lunches! Local fruit & produce, whole grain ingredients, they prided themselves in how healthy and great their lunch program was.

I think that this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me, lol. We have been hounded by the district for the past 6 months. They send 2 e-mails a week asking for donations, they send letters home with the students, they ask at every function for donations. At the bottom of the e-mail requests, they have a growing list of names of the parents who have made their donation--that way you know which of your neighbors have NOT contributed.

This is an affluent suburb (although we live in a modest 2000sf 1920 farmhouse) with most homes that are worth $1 million plus. Dh and I pay nearly $5,000 a year in property taxes to live here, we specifically chose this city because of the good school reputation. It sure has gone downhill FAST!

I have to laugh, only because our District boasts a healthier menu, but when you go into the school and really see what they are eating, its really not. I'm not saying your school doesn't do that, however sometimes healthy options come at a higher cost, one in which your taxes cannot support. If parents aren't willing to donate more for it, then what should the solution be? If you consider not being able to afford healthy food as going down hill, what would you think of arts and sports programs being cut, or transportation being cut, or other essential programs losing funding so that you can keep healthy hot lunches? It sounds like losing the lunches is a neccessity to keep other things, and school districts all over have to do things like this now.

 

[ccgirl]

As has been pointed out, a healthy lunch does not need to be hot. What about a tossed salad with fat free dressing? Cut up veggies. Hummus? Fruit salad? A turkey sandwich on whole wheat with carrots? There are MANY healthy cold lunches.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Sorry to bust your bubble, but we aren't really that messy, but you have to look at where I live. Florida, the bug capitol of the US. Classrooms are carpeted and yes crumbs happen and then the roaches and ants.

Yes there were snacks, usually eaten outside during recess, so no not the same as a lunch eaten inside everyday.

Okay. Well, I ate in my classroom as a child in Texas (private school, no cafeteria). I am pretty sure we had carpeting (that is what I recall anyway) and I do not recall ANY pests in the school (just about everywhere else in East Texas yes but amazingly not at school). We had one of those little sweeper things for carpet to get crumbs up after lunch and then one person each week stayed in at afternoon recess and wiped down desks and ran the vacuum. No biggie.

At my kids' current school there is custodial staff only once a week. The kids, from first grade on up, clean up after themselves. The automatically wipe down their desks, grab a broom if they drop crumbs, etc after a couple of years in school

OP here

The whole thing comes down to money.

The school did not give the kids chicken nuggets and fries, they provided great hot lunches! Local fruit & produce, whole grain ingredients, they prided themselves in how healthy and great their lunch program was.

I think that this was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me, lol. We have been hounded by the district for the past 6 months. They send 2 e-mails a week asking for donations, they send letters home with the students, they ask at every function for donations. At the bottom of the e-mail requests, they have a growing list of names of the parents who have made their donation--that way you know which of your neighbors have NOT contributed.

This is an affluent suburb (although we live in a modest 2000sf 1920 farmhouse) with most homes that are worth $1 million plus. Dh and I pay nearly $5,000 a year in property taxes to live here, we specifically chose this city because of the good school reputation. It sure has gone downhill FAST!

2000 sf is modest I guess it is compared to million dollar homes but that is a pretty large places still. That is the size in rural NH we had (and we paid $8400 a year in property tax--still do as we still own it--so $5000 sounds cheap to me). Schools everywhere are struggling--there is a LOT to provide for kids. To me it sounds like you have been extremely lucky to have such wonderful healthy lunches as you have had up until now. Your kids have had a great beenfit that few will ever see. it is also likley that if local produce and whole grains went into the hot lunches they will go into the sack ones as well. Lucky you

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

So who's going to be making/providing these bag lunches?

 

[kirstenb1]

So who's going to be making/providing these bag lunches?

I don't know. If I were running it, I'd have one central kitchen, and deliver them to all the schools each morning.

 

[JVL1018]

There is no cafeteria in my kids' school.
They eat at their desks in their classrooms and then go outside for half an hour in good weather, stay in their classrooms and play games/go on the computer if it's bad weather.

The teachers have the option of staying and working the lunch hour. They do get paid extra, I forget how much it is exactly. I think it's $25ish of you have a bachelor's degree and $35ish if you have a master's degree.
You are under no obligation to work the lunch, but most of the teachers do.
There is no carpet, no pest issues that I'm aware of(I work in the school part time)

We do get a hot lunch provided, as well as milk and the option for a cold lunch(cheese sandwich) if you do not like the hot lunch. They are sent from the high school(1/2 mile away). The custodians take the delivery and separate the lunches into classes and then each class sends a couple of kids down to go get the milk crate of lunches when the lunch bell rings.

The only thing is you cannot buy per day. You have to send your money in on Wednesday for the following Mon-Fri. You have to buy the whole week.

 

[rt2dz]

I really would have no problem with cutting out hot lunch in favor of cold lunch if it meant they weren't doing things like upping classroom size. I'd rather cut that stuff out than the quality of education.

I wouldn't like the idea of eating in the classroom. I'm not sure why. Yes, our classrooms are fully carpeted, but that isn't it. Heck, my DS threw-up all over the carpet yesterday when he went to go tell his teacher he suddenly wasn't feeling very well. A lot. Spilled milk couldn't be worse than that!

I guess because when they do have classroom lunch for whatever reason (assemblies) they are required to be quieter than normal. They also lose socialization--a very important part of life, not just childhood (or maybe that's b/c I'm an Aspie's mom ).

DS10 didn't have a lot of friends in his class this year and I don't think DS7 had any. They got along with kids, but they weren't "friends" just acquaintances. Our school has 10 classes at every grade level--9 with increased class sizes next year. Their friends were just in other classrooms. It's just the way it shook out--DS10 was in the GT classroom, but the bulk of his friends aren't GT. DS7 just didn't want to hang out too much with the kids in his class b/c quite a few were "naughty" (his word) and he didn't want to be one of the naughty kids in trouble all the time. They do have 30 minutes of recess, but it goes fast and if you aren't at the same lunch table, you might not find your friends out at recess--it is 200 kids per grade level.

Our teachers work either recess duty or lunch duty, having the other 30 minutes for their lunch. If they had to be with the kids all day without a break (who is watching the kids at recess?), that would make for some mighty stressed out teachers. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer my teachers to be relaxed! A happy teacher is a better teacher. A more patient teacher.

 

[disney1990]

Is that even legal? I thought all workers working a certain time period were entitled to a meal break. Is that just in my state? I was under the impression it was federal law.

As for lunch in the room for kids, I suppose it will save a fair amount of money and yet still qualify the school for federal dollars tied to school lunch programs. I think most states are balancing their budgets with education cuts and this may be the lesser evil of many other possible cuts.

There is absolutely no law in the State of Maryland that requires a meal break or any kind of break unless you are a working minor. What state are you in that it is required by law?

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I guess because when they do have classroom lunch for whatever reason (assemblies) they are required to be quieter than normal. They also lose socialization--a very important part of life, not just childhood (or maybe that's b/c I'm an Aspie's mom ).

That's interesting, because I see our Aspie kids and similar kids benefiting more than anyone from lunch in the classroom

Lunchrooms are loud and overstimulating. Yes, some places let kids talk, but then the volume gets so loud that kids with disabilities seem to shut down. Even if they stay engaged, you rely a lot on facial cues to make up for the meaning you lose due to background noise in an environment like that.

In the classroom there are fewer kids, and more space betwen kids usually, and so it's quieter even if all the kids are talking at the same volume. So to me, there's way more opportunities to socialize when the kids eat in their classroom.

Best of all is when they eat lunch at the picnic tables on the playground, but that's not always a realistic option.

 

[Poohforyou]

Just because the kids won't have a cafeteria serving hot lunches doesn't mean they have to settle for a cold sandwich everyday.

My DD is in 6th grade and she has brought her lunch to school every single day. Almost every day in the winter and many other days she takes something hot in her thermos - soup, pasta, taco meat, pot roast etc.

I do agree with other posters that I think the school might want to rethink having the kids eat in the cafeteria vs. the classrooms. In our district the classrooms get cleaned every night but I think having lunch eaten in them vs the cafeteria would be a lot of added work. Also, our district does a lot of grade level activities that all the classes participate in together. The teachers at each grade level often use lunch/recess time to have planning meetings.

 

[canadianjovigirl]

My kids have never gone to a school that has a cafeteria, let alone one that provides lunch and neither did i as a kid. Our kids all bring their own lunches and eat in their classrooms with the teachers supervising and then when the kids go out for lunch recess the teachers get their break. Most teachers eat in the class with their kids and cleanliness has never been a problem. Our schools offer special meal deal days once or twice a month were they offer hot dogs or a slice of pizza for a certain price, but other than that its bagged lunches from home. They love the idea of a cafeteria and think they are deprived that we dont have them in the schools here, but from the sounds of it the food isnt that great and expensive so maybe they are missing nothing

The kids think it is a great treat if the teacher they have that year has a microwave in their classroom as then they can heat stuff up,but even then only a few kids use it.

 

[C.Ann]

Having worked in a school cafeteria for a few years, I think most kids would be eating much healthier without the majority of the stuff we had to cook and feed to these children..

As for eating in the classroom - and the clean up concerns - it's another great learning opportunity for the children.. Learning to clean up after themselves, rather than leaving the mess for cafteria workers to deal with..

For many years we ate in our classrooms - didn't have hot lunches and/or a cafeteria until junior high school.. While I do think the food quality was much better way back then, not much actual "eating" went on in the cafeteria - it was all about socializing, while "maybe" wolfing down a nutty-buddy ice cream cone..LOL

By the time my kids were in school (especially junior high and up), it became ridiculous.. There was never enough time allowed to reach the cafeteria, purchase lunch (or milk), eat it, and get back to class again.. My youngest DD finally stopped eating lunch in school entirely - when they scheduled her lunch period for 9:35 a.m.. At that point she just waited and ate lunch when she got home around 2:30 or so..

If nothing else, I can see this giving the parents more control over what their children are eating every day and to me, that's a "good" thing..

 

[badblackpug]

In elementary school we always ate in the classroom. I will preface this by saying I lived in a very small town and went to a very small school. We shared the building with the middle school. Elementary was in a separate wing. We had the choice of carrying lunch, or going home. You could buy tickets for milk and/or ice cream. Someone brought up a cooler and you went into the hall and traded your ticket for reg or choc. milk and/or a ice cream sandwich or chocolate eclair bar. Because we ate in the classroom, we got a longer recess. No waiting in line for lunch, no cleaning off tables. You got your lunch out of your locker and ate it. On the way out for recess you threw your trash in the can, and stashed your lunchbox back in your locker. We only had one classroom per grade level, and the classes were small, so we "doubled up" for lunch 1st and 2nd in one room. 3rd and 4th in another. 5th got their own classroom. We didn't have full day K. During bad weather we had recess in the gym. The middle schoolers ate in the cafeteria. 6th, 7th, 8th grades. All had separate lunch periods.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

There is absolutely no law in the State of Maryland that requires a meal break or any kind of break unless you are a working minor. What state are you in that it is required by law?

Seriously? Really glad I decided against moving there when I was considering it a couple years back. I really like the state, but that's obnoxious. I'm in New York and I have no idea what the law is for salaried employees, but non-salaried employees most definitely are required to take a meal break.

I can't remember what the requirements are, and I'm too lazy to look it up. But I am legally entitled to a lunch break every single day. Blessedly... or I'd never survive.

 

[goofy!]

I don't see any major problems with this

I see no issue at all with the only cold lunches being provided aspect of it. Hot lunches at schools are nearly always very unhealthy and no one NEEDS a hot lunch to make it through the day. With the sack lunches available to purchase there is still a way to provide free or reduced lunch to those who need it and still food around for kids who forget their lunch, etc.

I don't think kids will be socially stinted from eating in their own classrooms. They still get 30 minutes out on the playground with all of the other kids.

They will probably end up with More time to eat and to play as much less time will be spent getting everyone down to the cafeteria, through the lunch lines, etc.

Overall I think it is a great idea of how to relatively painlessly boost the budget.

You should see what BVSD has been doing for the past 2 years - only in crunchy land.

Hot lunches are now ALL organic, including the milk and all food. There is no processed food, all is made from scratch. No white flour anywhere, all whole wheat. So, whole wheat pizza crust, whole wheat tortillas, whole wheat buns, etc.

And every school has a salad bar that the kids are required to select 2 things off of.

All pop machines are gone.

The lunch program is in the red, but wth, it is beyond healthy. Oh, and it is in the red because the kids won't eat it