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That a la carte and second lunch isn't available to kids on free lunch. I'm not in the schools where the kids/parents "take advantage". The schools I teach in are about 80% or more on free/reduced lunch.
Thank you for the information about the availability of a la carte and second servings for children who receive free/reduced lunch. I was unaware of that issue.
As for "take advantage," I meant simply avail themselves of or benefit from the program.
Last edited by randomparent; 08-27-2012 at 03:17 PM..
My daughter takes a lunch except on days she wants to eat what they are making at school,she eats breakfast at school though. My son eats both breakfast and lunch and school we get both their menus so I know what's going on their menu's seem pretty healthy and should be more than enough for kids their age...if things get worse as they get higher in school I will make sure they eat breakfast at home and they take lunches to school.
It's the third day of school, and this is what I've observed at the cafeteria where I work: there has been enough fruit thrown in the trash to feed a third world country. Not just the canned pineapple. pears, and applesauce (those went down the garbage disposal). I watched the kids emptying their uneaten food into the trash - dozens of untouched red delicious apples, oranges, and bananas. The cafeteria custodian was wondering why there was more trash this year, and why it was so heavy. Fruit was offered last year, but it was optional. We MAKE the kids take it this year, but they are not eating it. Ditto the brocolli and salad. We scraped a lot of that down the garbage disposal. I'm seeing fewer kids eat the main line lunch, and more going for the a la carte stuff (which is not offered free or low cost).
It's the third day of school, and this is what I've observed at the cafeteria where I work: there has been enough fruit thrown in the trash to feed a third world country. Not just the canned pineapple. pears, and applesauce (those went down the garbage disposal). I watched the kids emptying their uneaten food into the trash - dozens of untouched red delicious apples, oranges, and bananas. The cafeteria custodian was wondering why there was more trash this year, and why it was so heavy. Fruit was offered last year, but it was optional. We MAKE the kids take it this year, but they are not going to eat it.
It is such a waste.
If you're rural then ask around if any of the teachers have horses to take the apples.
Same happened in our school and the custodian stood by the trash and took up the uneaten apples for the teachers who had horses. At least the food didn't get thrown out.
It's the third day of school, and this is what I've observed at the cafeteria where I work: there has been enough fruit thrown in the trash to feed a third world country. Not just the canned pineapple. pears, and applesauce (those went down the garbage disposal). I watched the kids emptying their uneaten food into the trash - dozens of untouched red delicious apples, oranges, and bananas. The cafeteria custodian was wondering why there was more trash this year, and why it was so heavy. Fruit was offered last year, but it was optional. We MAKE the kids take it this year, but they are not going to eat it.
It is such a waste.
I saw that myself 15 years ago when I worked at the elementary school. A couple times I grab unopened milk or fruit leathers off the trays before they went into the trash and took it home. I don't know rules but nobody said I couldn't so I did. It happened with entree foods as well but that stuff wasn't sealed so into the garbage it went. That's when I decided schools shouldn't be in the food business.
My son has multiple food allergies. He cannot eat what the school provides and get a balanced diet. He usually finishes his home-packed lunch.
My daughter sometimes buys school lunch. She also gets about 20 minutes to eat and talks for probably 19 of them. S he is always complaining that when she buys she doesn't have time to finish her lunch and has to throw out the food she doesn't get to (which is probably the food she likes least. She really likes fruit though so I suppose it isn't that). About 75% of the kids at her school get free/reduced price school lunch and some of them are identified for a program where they get a backpack of food to take home for the weekend because otherwise they wouldn't eat all weekend. Our county is "affluent" but this school serves some neighborhoods that are definitely not.
I saw that myself 15 years ago when I worked at the elementary school. A couple times I grab unopened milk or fruit leathers off the trays before they went into the trash and took it home. I don't know rules but nobody said I couldn't so I did. It happened with entree foods as well but that stuff wasn't sealed so into the garbage it went. That's when I decided schools shouldn't be in the food business.
Some of our cafeteria staff, and some other folks I know, have farms with horses, cows, and pigs to feed. Those apples would be perfect for those animals. There were so many! I asked if we couldn't have a separate can for "unwanted fruit". Waiting for an answer. But it's like, we did what they told us to do...I'm not going to pursue it, but the waste just makes me ill.
I can get why kids won't eat an apple. Too much chewing. An orange? Gotta unpeel it. I can't understand all the bananas in the trash. I thought kids liked bananas.
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