post off: what do your kids eat for lunch?
“The eggs had been cooked in a factory in Minnesota,” Ed Bruske writes, “then shipped frozen in six-pound plastic bags to the District of Columbia. Getting them to the breakfast line where they could be served to the approximately 150 students who participate in the school’s breakfast program was a simple matter of dumping the frozen eggs out of their bags and into stainless pans, then heating them in the kitchen’s commercial steamer.” The excerpt is from grist.org, the second installment in a six-part feature on D.C. school lunches and what “fresh cooked” really means. Bruske describes food that is often pre-cooked and shipped from far away. (Another interesting article from a few years back, this one on attempted reform of school lunches in Berkeley, is available at The New Yorker, but a subscription is required.) Do your kids eat school food? What is it like? — Mary T.
ew.
I don’t have kids but from 1st to 7th grade my mother lovingly made my lunch every single day. They were healthy and at tha time I wished I had the junk that the other kids got. Now I am VERY happy that I grew up with a taste for healthy food. I went to Montessori school, and the 7th and 8th graders would have a salad bar option with an entree. We would make the stuff every day and feed it to the faculty and middle schoolers for a fee. I can tell you this much, it was utter crap. I was constantly horrified when it was my turn to make the food because it was NOT the way I was taught to cook. Ha! Plus some of the food would be moldy and we were told to just “pick that part out” and I remember being told once that I was not to toss out the shredded cheese becuase it had mold on it “what do you think cheese is?” I knew enough to know that shredded cheese was not supposed to have mold on it, and I didn’t ever tough it again ;-)
I was allowed to eat salad bar a couple of times a week, but being a pescetarian my options were limited as the entree was usually meat filled.
In high school I remember seeing a box of meet that said “Grade B intended for prisoners and school children” I was very glad I was a pescetarian ;-)
eeeuuuuuwww Marissa – makes me really glad we only ever had home made lunches and no canteen at our schools (in ireland) because that is disturbing …
Was that a little joke at the end about this, Marissa? (I’m kinda slow): http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/badmeat.asp
I’m another one with no kids, and full disclosure, I just ate a Pop-Tart, so I’m no food snob. I do well remember my cafeteria lunches, and this was in the late 70s and early 80s. I don’t remember them being particularly good, but I do remember them being balanced. It was the usual fare: beef with noodles and green beans on the side, cling peaches in a cup, hamburgers that had a lot of soy in them (probably better for us in retrospect). Our school lunches looked like they were from those retro Weight Watchers menu cards that were circulating a few years ago.
I will say that we regularly had canned vegetables — at home, too — we never had french fries, chips, soda, and rarely dessert. When I watched Super-Size Me I was amazed that some of the kids had the option of eating a bag of chips and a soda for lunch and that was it. I know you can’t force kids to eat what you prepare, but wow. (Because I also remember being a first grader and my older sister having to come rescue me and let me know that, unlike being at home, no, I did NOT have to finish all the chili which I found to be disgusting.)
Nope…That was what the box said. Not hearsay, I read it myself. Blech!
It wasn’t grade “D” though, it was grade “B”
Oh, I also ate some cafeteria food in high school but it was mostly sandwiches and salad bar as their veg friendly fare was not exactly ample (Texas). Heh…I did eat a lot of Pudding with otis spunkmeyer cookies and brownies in it though…oh god…no wonder I gained 150 lbs!
My kids always brought lunch from home, but they used to buy milk in the elementary school cafeteria. They both bought chocolate milk, even though my older son doesn’t like chocolate. When I asked him why he buys the chocolate milk at school he said “Because the regular milk tastes like cheese.”
After that they both brought water. From home.
My mom used this cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Whistle-Lunch-Box-Book/dp/0671737937
It was awesome :-)
I usually make my kids’ lunches, but I do get my 6 year old “hot lunch” once a week. The service that provides lunch at his school is great– they have a lot of relatively “exotic” choices that I think some of the older kids eat (sushi, fruit salad with yogurt, Caesar chicken wrap, hummus and pita, etc.). They always have an organic choice, too. My 6 year old is pretty standard, so I usually get him the grilled cheese, or plain pasta; sometimes he gets veggie nuggets or a chicken corn dog. They always serve their meals with fruit on the side as well. I’m really pretty happy with it, but… my son attends an independent school.
i’ve asked the daycare provider for my 1 year old not to give him nuggets or fishsticks. (because, why start ‘em off with that crap?) with my 3 year old the menu is fairly healthy at his preschool so i take advantage of not having to prepare lunch. they may serve nuggets or fishsticks occasionally but he is older so i am less worried.
when they start elementary school they’ll probably be brown bagging it on most days like i did as a kid.
i do my best to give them a diet of the yummiest homemade food and fresh fruit and veggies whenever possible so they will crave flavor instead of sugar, fat and salt.
My son is 3 and at home with me. I try to make nutritious lunches (and dinners and breakfasts) for him, but I have miles to go. I’m trying, though!
Looking ahead to school, though, I am kind of scared of cafeteria food for him. I want him to learn to like lots of things, because I don’t and being picky when you’re 34 has exactly zero charm. So I would love the whole peer pressure thing of being in school to help him expand his palate. But I know those mass-prepared meals can’t be the healthiest choices out there. Fortunately, I have years yet before this is an actual issue in our house. Maybe by then I’ll be smarter, wiser and a better chef.
Our hot lunch at school was usually at least healthy-sounding if not always appetizing or actually healthy. I’m sure there was tons of fat, salt and sugar lurking in the lasagna and green beans. None of the 9 (we moved a lot) schools I attended served pizza/hot dogs/nuggets on a regular basis, it was always a meaty entree, a side veg from a can, a starch and fruit/dessert. There usually was a freezer full of ice cream treats, but that cost extra. For the tiny cost (I think lunch was usually under a dollar, something like $1.25 by the time I was in high school in the early 90s), it was definitely the plan our time-strapped single mother went with.
During the short time I was a high school teacher (2001-2), I was kind of horrified at what school lunch had turned into. It was pretty unusual to find any vegs or components of what I think of as a meal (entree, veg, starch, fruit). And even when they were offered, none of the students OR teachers picked them over pizza, fries, tater tots, chicken nuggets, chips…
I make my kids lunches everyday. The school lunch menu is the exact same menu from when I was in elementary. Toasted cheese sandwitch and icy juicy anyone? My lunches I pack are not fancy. I just make sure they have some sort of whole grain, dairy and a fruit. I still mix their juice with water and once a week I throw in some chocolate milk. That was the one think I looked forward to on the school lunch menu, chocolate milk Fridays.
[...] 1) All school lunches are not created equal. Beth says: “I usually make my kids’ lunches, but I do get my 6 year old ‘hot lunch’ once a week. The service that provides lunch at his school is great– they have a lot of relatively ‘exotic’ choices that I think some of the older kids eat (sushi, fruit salad with yogurt, Caesar chicken wrap, hummus and pita, etc.). They always have an organic choice, too. …I’m really pretty happy with it, but… my son attends an independent school.” What do your kids eat for lunch? [...]
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