Not a WDW ?, but ? about school lunches...

[marcyinPA]

Originally posted by summerrluvv
When I was in middle and high school it wasn't "cool" to bring your lunch. We bought lunch everyday. The price of a school lunch is cheaper than the price of groceries to pack those lunches everyday (at least here it is). In elementary it's 1.50 and in Middle and High School it's 1.75. I think that's a pretty good deal and from the looks of our districts menus online, the selection is better than it was when I was in school with more fruits and veggies, etc.

Our district lunches are $1.80 for elementary and they go up on average of 5 cents a year, so I'm guessing this school year they'll be $1.85. The lunches are not all that well balanced, and very carbo-loaded. What makes me laugh is when they have, say, Pizza, green beans, lemonade and milk as a menu offering...and they are counting the lemonade as a fruit. Give me a break!!

They also have their own version of Lunchables with I'm not sure I agree with, but I think I understand why they do it....to get kids to eat. Anything. My ds9 bought them once and said they were "disgusting". They also do the pb&j uncrustables, and a chef salad in a shaker container (remind you of McDonalds??), plus Papa Johns and Dominos delivers pizza to all of our schools 2 Fridays out of every month. The other two fridays are "school made" pizza which of course my ds does not like as much.

I'm not sure about the middle school and high school cafs...but I think they have a hot bar, a cold bar, and a salad bar.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by summerrluvv
The price of a school lunch is cheaper than the price of groceries to pack those lunches everyday (at least here it is). In elementary it's 1.50 and in Middle and High School it's 1.75.

Hmmm...that's actually not cheaper than groceries for me. I can pack a good nutritious lunch -- meat sandwich, pretzels, applesauce, fruit snacks and drink for less than $1.50.

And unfortunately, our school lunches are nowhere near that cheap!! Elementary lunches are $2.50. Middle school & hs will be more, of course. I can think of a lot of good meals I could pack for less than $10 a week if there wasn't stupid peer pressure to deal with. *sigh*

 

[etwinchester]

I was just referring to PB&J as an easy food for lunches and wanted some alternatives.

I didn't know if some pack tubes of yogurt, jello, pudding, other types of sandwhiches or what.

My DD was in nursery school last year and I know one classmate who was allergic to peanut butter. We were just asked that when it was our turn to make snacks, not to use PB or just make something different for the one boy if need-be.

I never would have thought about school being PB free.

Again, I didn't mean to stir up a heated thread or topic. I was just curious to alternatives for someone in Kindergarden.

 

[HauntedMansionFreak]

I guess I've been hybernating for the past few years but I have NEVER heard of peanut allergies. I mean, we all know taht people can be allergic to certain foods, including PB, but to hear it go on to this extent - WOW.

Is this a newly recognized allergy or something? Was it around in the 40's and 50's when nearly EVERYONE carried their lunch to school?

I don't get it. It sounds like peanut allergies are now an epidemic or something. There has to be a REASON why so many kids are allergic to it now - and they weren't in the past. If it's the 'oil residue' then why hasn't it always bothered kids? Or as mentioned above, have they just now found aout about it? Could it be from pesticide use? Can you even take your child to the grocery store since they sell PB? If a jar was smashed in transit - some residue may still be present on other jars. A child could drop dead from walking down a grocery aisle????

I don't really have a decision on this as niether of my boys are allergic, BUT I will say that if my child was so allergic to PB that the residue that hangs around in the air could kill (or severely harm) him/her then the only LOGICAL thing to do is to home school (as mentioned in another post). With the transfer of new students who haven't learned all the rules yet and the fact that teachers can't inspect every single lunch that is brought into the school, plus the fact that some parents just dont care - I would be the one to blame if I sent my child into that situation. Yep, he could thank dear old mommy for sending him to a war zone and getting him hurt.

Come on people, YOU have to take care of YOURSELF and YOUR children. No one else is gonna do it for you. There is always going to be one lousy parent who simply does not care if someone else's parent is allergic to PB. So you MUST take that responsibility on yourself and KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME.

Besides, even a PB free school isn't fault free. Even if they suspend a child who brings it - the damage is already done because the PB was on the school grounds and possibly near your child.

 

[pat fan]

I have two boys , one in high school(10th), the other entering his first year of middle school(7th) .School lunches are $1.75 I think this year, unless they hike it again.My older DS says the lunches are disgusting ( I believe him) and he rarely eats the hot lunch. he will buy the a la carte items like pizza, nacho's etc....that cost a LOT more. With two kids there next year I have told them that they will have to bring box lunches at least 3 X a week. I just can't afford to buy school lunches at that price for 2 kids. The elemtary school lunch program was only $1.20 and MUCH better than the high school (of course, I work in the elementary kitchen, so I should know )so that wasn't bad.No way am I spending upwards of $20 a week on crappy/high fat/carb loaded/pre-made junk.

 

[summerrluvv]

Originally posted by pat fan
I have two boys , one in high school(10th), the other entering his first year of middle school(7th) .School lunches are $1.75 I think this year, unless they hike it again.My older DS says the lunches are disgusting ( I believe him) and he rarely eats the hot lunch. he will buy the a la carte items like pizza, nacho's etc....that cost a LOT more. With two kids there next year I have told them that they will have to bring box lunches at least 3 X a week. I just can't afford to buy school lunches at that price for 2 kids. The elemtary school lunch program was only $1.20 and MUCH better than the high school (of course, I work in the elementary kitchen, so I should know )so that wasn't bad.No way am I spending upwards of $20 a week on crappy/high fat/carb loaded/pre-made junk.

Just a suggestion if you can't afford to buy your kids' lunch everyday, you could fill out the papers they send home each year for reduced lunch. The income limits are pretty high from what I hear. My BIL makes over $50,000 in MI and my niece and nephews qualify.

 

[punkin]

My younger child will not eat sandwiches. Every lunch I ever packed her came home uneaten. She basically eats lunch 2X per week in school-when they have pizza delivered. Other times she'll eat the fruit and veggies I send with her and then be starving by the time she gets home at 4. My solution is to make sure she eats a good breakfast (that's hard too, but at leastI'm there to make sure she does eat something) and then feed her a real dinner as soon as she gets home. Around 8 pm she gets hungry again, and I give her a VERY light meal before bed. I figure, she won't starve and she'll eat better when she gets older.

 

[Strings]

I'm donning my flame retardant suit.

Children with food allergies are protected by the Americans with disabilitues act I believe. They have the right to a public education in a safe enviroment. Home schooling would be a great solution for kids with allergies, but unfortunately, not all families can home school their kids, or want to. It is their choice. Every family must decide what is best for their child. There may be financial reasons, or the parent might not ,be able to be structured enough to home school. They may want the child to experience the social aspects of a public classroom. I'm not saying that Home schooling should not be the option, but it isn't for all families. Yes, it is a hardship for the families that the kids are not allergic to nuts, but it is a child's life at risk.

The peanut allergies are increasing because children are being exposed to peanuts much more frequently and at younger and younger ages. This is leading to a population with more sensitivities.

 

[DianeV]

I dont know about that...kids have been eating peanut butter for a long time

 

[Linda L.]

I also work in the school system, and just this past year, we can no longer sell peanut butter cookies or sell anything with nuts. Peanut butter cookies used to be the best seller, and when I started there, many years ago, they made those chocolate ones with the reesees pb chips. They stopped selling those about 5 years ago because they were afraid kids could mistake the pb chips for m&m's.

 

[merryweather's twin]

I just thought I would weigh in on Peanut butter Allergys.... I have an 7yo who is allergic to it. We call it the brown paste of death!!! Her school does have it in the lunch room but they have a peaut free table and everyone must wash there hands before using play ground equiptment. Her class is a peanut free snack /lunch zone also.( I allways provide The snacks so no parent has to incure the extra cost of peanut free snacks.) I do home school her brother and I would love to do the same for her but she wants to go.So we have Eppi-Pens and she goes.

When she had the allergy I did not understand why ( I ate it all the time as a kid every day )so we brought her to 3 different allergy specialist and this was what we were told.
The reason thet she is allergic to all legumes is the pesticides they used in the 1940's world wide on all legume crops. The pesticides never leave the crops and the ground they were grown on .Something about the legumes keeps the pesticides in the bean generation after generation and there is no way to get rid of it. (yeat) According to our Allergy specialest at UofM Peanut allergys are worse becouse they have so much oil in the bean...and can become air born... The real problem with the allergy is that it will only get worse for the suffer with each exposure becouse of getting exposed to the pesticide. It is not like other allergys that fade or change with time.
The first time mandy had peanut butter was in the high chair at 2 and she only had her face turn pink and cheeks swell ... The second time (at 5)her throat closed and she turned purple in my arms. By the time she is an adult (probbly due to exposure) She will not even be able to tollerate it in the air.
I do understand the need of some parents to feed their kids peanut butter every day. Our school worked it out that the peanut junkies in her class get the peanut butter and jelly sack lunch with a peice of fruit and chips or veggies and a cookie and milk for $1.10 and eat it in the cafateria and keep the class room peanut free. I also want to say I have been shown only kindness by the kids and parents in her classes and her school even with the restrictions. I would never want Mandys friends to go hungry and I would never want her to die either.

 

[maggiew]

I often send Lunchables to school with my DDs. They have little crackers with ham or turkey. They also make the pizza ones. They like them and it is something they will eat, so I send it. Along with fruit and jello/applesauce/yogurt/pudding, etc. They are a little expensive, but I usually buy them on sale. At least one of the stores around here has them on sale every week or so. But I figure if they eat it, it is better than throwing away food that I pack. Sometimes I make PB&J, but not often. My little DD also likes bologna sandwiches. I also send a juice bag.

My older DD is in middle school and they have different "pods" where you can buy food. A grill station, a salad bar, etc. But my DD says it takes so long to get the food and they only have 18 minutes for lunch that she usually ends up eating French fries. She has come to the realization that even though it might not be "cool" to pack a lunch, if she wants to eat she needs to pack.

Maggie

 

[carone0318]

I just wanted to say that I really like the way that you have approached this topic. It seems that you have been able to work it out with the school. I can appreciate the struggle that you deal with, but at the same time you understand the struggles of other parents with their kids and food. This approach seems to be a win-win, rather than shoving it down one's throat how things must be, with a take it or leave it attitude. Very refreshing....

Originally posted by merryweather's twin
I just thought I would weigh in on Peanut butter Allergys.... I have an 7yo who is allergic to it. We call it the brown paste of death!!! Her school does have it in the lunch room but they have a peaut free table and everyone must wash there hands before using play ground equiptment. Her class is a peanut free snack /lunch zone also.( I allways provide The snacks so no parent has to incure the extra cost of peanut free snacks.) I do home school her brother and I would love to do the same for her but she wants to go.So we have Eppi-Pens and she goes.

Our school worked it out that the peanut junkies in her class get the peanut butter and jelly sack lunch with a peice of fruit and chips or veggies and a cookie and milk for $1.10 and eat it in the cafateria and keep the class room peanut free. I also want to say I have been shown only kindness by the kids and parents in her classes and her school even with the restrictions. I would never want Mandys friends to go hungry and I would never want her to die either.

 

[MiraDawl]

I agree that the peanut issue should be multi-sided. Yes, all kids are entitled to education. However, saying no peanuts isn't fully fair either.

Just look at economics: PB & J is far less expensive than sandwiches made from meat. Especially for large families! Besides, a lot of people are avoiding or eliminating meat from their diets, and peanut butter is great alternative for protien.

Students with severe allergies should be entitled to a clean lunch area and / or classroom. However, declaring entire school districts, etc. is too extreme.

No public school is able to meet everyone's individual needs 100% of the time. Period. The money just isn't there! If they could, private schools wouldn't be so plentiful.

 

[pat fan]

Just a suggestion if you can't afford to buy your kids' lunch everyday, you could fill out the papers they send home each year for reduced lunch. The income limits are pretty high from what I hear. My BIL makes over $50,000 in MI and my niece and nephews qualify.
****************************************************

Nope, we make too much money.Our limits are actualy pretty low here in Ma.We have a lot of families who could really use the free/reduced program who miss it by just a few dollars and it kills me to reject them.When I say I "can't" afford it, I probably could but some weeks it would be tight and I just feel that the High/Middle school keeps raising the lunch price and offering more crap instead of good food.

Example: We only serve home made bread,never store bought.We offer a hot lunch consisting of main dish,vegetable,fruit,bread product(mashed pot.,pasta,fries,rice),usually bread & butter,an extensive salad bar including pasta salad,green salad,cukes,onions,tomatoes,chick pea salad,pickled beets,peppers,cheese (either american slices or chedder chinks) ,dressings and a milk. All this for $1.20.

The high school offers a milk or juice,main dish and a dessert (like a cookie bar,granola or jello). All for $1.75.And the main dish is most likely to be something that is pre-packaged and heated up.I don't really feel compelled to support them, even if we are in the same district.

 

[grlpwrd]

I bought my kids some insulated containers from an Asian grocery store that look really cutesy and efficient and I make them home lunches throughout the year.

Yes, those with pb allergies are protected by the ADA yet you can't infringe on the rights of the majority either. However, at my kids' school I don't give my kids anything with pb or its derivative as I think those allergic who can potentially die from exposure supercedes my children's rights to eat it. It's a life or death issue so I comply.

 

[HauntedMansionFreak]

I'm curious about something. If this originally started from pesticide use in the 1940's (which seems logical) then why can't we import peanut butter from other countries where the pesticide was not used (unless it was usewd worldwide). Surely, there is some place that was not infected with this pesticide. Or what about growing the peanut plants hydroponically (without soil)? Sure these would be a little more expensive, but to me it would far out weigh the cost in related health care visits and death due to this allergy.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by BitsnBearsMom
No PB here... too many kids with nut allergies these days to risk sending it (my own ds included!!)

my boys like to take a container with carrots and dip, rolled up meat (or pieces of chicken or other leftover meat), cheese, crackers, cucumber slices and anything you can dream up! Sometimes I'll add some apple slices that have been dipped in Sprite (keeps them from going brown and doesn't leave the yucky taste that lemon does)

what about bagels, wraps, pita pockets, tuna salad or egg salad in a container with crackers to spread it on, cold grilled cheese (yuck but my ds likes it!!) a cream cheese and jam sandwich, get a thermos and send leftovers.

In this day and age though I really urge parents to stay away from sending nuts and nut products...... it could mean life and death for children with nut allergies.... just the smell of the Pb can cause an anaphlyactic reaction in some of the nut allergic kids. There's lots of alternatives to PB and J..... let them have it at home!

Sorry... now I'll get off my soap box!!lol Hope there are a few idea's in there for you!!

I appreciate your peanut allergic concerns as I have two neighbor kids that have that. Very deadly for them also. What our schools do for them is sit them at a peanut free table. Everyone at the table just can't eat anything with nuts but they don't have to be allergic. This works out well since my DD only eats PB&J as a meal! Nothing else that can be eaten cold. She does eat grilled cheese and egg sandwiches but I would never make her eat those cold. I can't believe a public school would attempt to become totally peanut free. This would totally tick me off as that would mean my child didn't eat anything. I think having a table set aside is fine.

 

[pjlla]

Gotta put my .02 worth in... I'm kind of in the middle of this situation. DS is allergic to TREE NUTS (walnuts, pecans, etc) and we carry an Epi-Pen for this. But he loves (and is not allergic to ) peanut butter. And he is very picky and eats peanut butter and jelly several times a week. He starts 1st grade this fall and I will probably be packing PB&J several times a week. But you can be darn sure that if someone asked me not to due to another child's food allergies, I would certainly comply. I'm sure that after a few days of not eating his lunch (whatever alternative to PB&J I packed) and being hungry all afternoon, my DS would get the hint that he needs to eat what is packed and learn to like it! Just like I would/will expect parents in my son's class to cooperate and comply when I ask them not to send snacks with tree nuts in them. ...................P

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by pjlla
Gotta put my .02 worth in... I'm kind of in the middle of this situation. DS is allergic to TREE NUTS (walnuts, pecans, etc) and we carry an Epi-Pen for this. But he loves (and is not allergic to ) peanut butter. And he is very picky and eats peanut butter and jelly several times a week. He starts 1st grade this fall and I will probably be packing PB&J several times a week. But you can be darn sure that if someone asked me not to due to another child's food allergies, I would certainly comply. I'm sure that after a few days of not eating his lunch (whatever alternative to PB&J I packed) and being hungry all afternoon, my DS would get the hint that he needs to eat what is packed and learn to like it! Just like I would/will expect parents in my son's class to cooperate and comply when I ask them not to send snacks with tree nuts in them. ...................P

Sorry but I will not let my child go hungry " a few times a week" until he/she caves and eats what is forced on them. My DD only eats PB&J and that is what she will get. School can be stressful enough without having to think one might go hungry for the day. While I sympathize with anyone that has a child with allergies I think the way our schools handle it works for everyone. Establishing a peanut free table works for everyone and ensures that no one has a "hungry" day.