Homemade Lunches Banned at Schools!

[FreebieQueen]

I saw an article this morning that outraged me as a mother, Some Chicago Schools are BANNING Homemade Lunches, claiming that school lunches are more nutritionally sound!

Chicago school bans homemade lunches, the latest in national food fight – Yahoo! News

It amazes me that the schools feel their lunches are Nutritional. First of all, they cost $2.+ per meal- which is at LEAST $10 per week, per child. I can tell you, I don’t spend $80 a month on lunch for 2 kids!

That’s an asinine number! Dh is thrilled that this is taking place in Chicago and not here, as he knows that I would be raising holy hell down at the school district over this ridiculousness!

[PennyPincher]

Sooo basically the school system is saying their meals are more nutritious than what the parent is feeding their child? imho, that is way over the line!

[Tangee]

That is just crazy! I can’t believe that. I make my kids lunches and hate what they serve at the schools.

[moburkes]

I saw that article too. It’s unfortunate, but, at the same time, almost the right thing – in certain cases.

I used to work as an admin asst for a landlord and the tenants would bring their kids when they paid the rent. Kids would be less than 5 and have a mouth full of cavities, sipping on kool aid, potato chips, and other junk. When parents are sending their kids to school with “lunches” full of junk, maybe the school lunch is better.

However, I don’t think it’s the best solution. But I do understand where they’re coming from.

[mom3x]

This is absolutely outrageous. I would be down at the district office so fast….my kids refuse to eat school lunches…one they have to wait in line then don’t have time to eat..and two they rarely like what is being served…I pack 1/2 sandwich, fruit, yogurt or cheese stick..sometimes cottage cheese..my kids have said that others have commented about their healthy lunches…but it is what I am choosing to feed my kids…other parents have the right to choose what they feed their children..school district/government should stay out of my kitchen!!

[MrsPaws]

My dd will not eat school lunches. i pack her lunch every school day. if they want to change this, i guess we’ll have to change school systems…

[lala72]

My two boys are too young to go to school and I plan on homeschooling anyway. This is completely ridiculous. When I was a kid and this was a long time ago my mom could only afford to pay for milk tickets for the week.I remember they were .15 a ticket.

Hot lunch was .75. I brought my lunch from home. It was a luxury for me to get a school lunch.

Boo to the Chicago school district. )-:

[DawnW]

I read this too. Awful. We don’t attend our local school but I do know that kids complain that by the time they get through the line, there is very little time to actually eat the food before needing to get to the next class.

Much more time if you take your own lunch.

[flutterbye0419]

in recent months, the schools here in fla have made strides at getting healthier approaches in the school lunches. we check the menu daily and if i don’t approve or my kids don’t like what they are offered at school, they pack a lunch of applesauce, ham or turkey rollups, string cheese and bottled water. they get other fruits and veggies at home for dinner/snacks and they have milk every morning with breakfast. while some parents think i am overboard with what i allow my kids to eat and what i don’t let them have, this article is one of the reasons that we as parents HAVE to be proactive in our childrens nutrition!

[Tashdan]

It amazes me that the school thinks they have the right to FORCE parents to Purchase lunches at school. This seems to be entirely financially motivated and is quite underhanded. This is a lawsuit in the making, in my opinion.

[HerbLady]

I wonder what Martha Payne would think of this? She’s the girl in Europe that made world news when she started rating school lunches.

[Vampixen]

I’d Like to see them try to tell me my kids have to eat school lunches when They Don’t want to..My Kids take their lunches when they are having something they don’t like..And healthy shoot My Kids Have papa Johns on every Friday The school gives it to them

[MrsPaws]

@Vampixen 250198 wrote:

I’d Like to see them try to tell me my kids have to eat school lunches when They Don’t want to..My Kids take their lunches when they are having something they don’t like..And healthy shoot My Kids Have papa Johns on every Friday The school gives it to them

now that my daughter would eat if they would do that at her school. as far as anything else, nope. she will not.

((pretty stubborn, that one…kinda like the apple didn’t fall too far from her trees)) :d

[wilbe95]

Vampixen, just because it is Papa Johns it might still be healthy. A handfull of schools are testing a white whole wheat and gluten free crusts. In my area Dominos was providing pizza a couple of years ago testing the waters to speak to see if the kids even noticed a difference and most didn’t.

[jrodgers]

It chaffs my hide to see this happen, but as a teacher I see students, (especially poor students) whose parents drop a can of soda, chips, a package of ramen noodles (the kids eat it dry) and candy into their kid’s lunches. These poor kids are either sleepy from the sugar or antsy because of hunger. As a teacher I kept bags of mixed cereals with nuts and dry fruits for the kids that needed them, but you can’t expect teachers to all do this as between buying school supplies, going to classes to keep up to date with what is being taught plus buying food for students it is easy to end up at minimum wage.

I wish they could try a pledge system, where parents are taught about basic nutrition and pledge to pack healthy meals. Unfortunately, this group of parents that are sending junk food are unlikely to participate.

I feel that if they are mandating this, they should provide these meals at no cost to the children. Perhaps the Parents club could step in, or you can seek to represent the parents on the school site council which approves these plans before they go to the school board if you want to offer some solutions to this problem.

This is a difficult situation, especially for the conscientious parent! JRodgers

[MSTROWM]

to me that is a stupid idea. if you have a picky eater they will barely eat or skip the so called nutricious lunch altogether. There were many days my daughter would come home from school or a sporting event after school just starving because she basically had no lunch.

Then what do you do with the kids that have allergies?

[jfkluka81]

we home school now, but coming from a parent who’s children actually didn’t mind the school lunch….i’d have to say i’m torn on this issue. when my kids attended public schools, their school lunch actually wan’t that bad. it didn’t take them forever to get through the line, and the food was pretty good.

I do, however, have an issue with completely banning sack lunches. my daughter went through a time during kindergarten where we had to pack her lunch with specific foods (per her doctor’s orders). children with special dietary needs should be able to bring their lunches if need be.

parents that are letting their kids bring nothing but junk for lunch just because it’s easier need to reconsider school lunches (in my opinion).

[drea]

I find this whole situation rather amazing. What an incredibly mixed up world we live in when we have to pass regulations preventing mothers from making lunch for their own kids. Sounds like a scheme to sell processed gmo foods to me!

personally i believe the schools should be prohibited from providing any gmo foods to kids, particularly if they’re going to disallow parents from making meals!

[lmitchell]

My kids eat school lunches on a daily basis. They get them for free. Otherwise, if we had to pay for the lunches…yes we would make our own and send it on…but I have 4 kids in school right now.

School food is most definitely not the greatest but it takes over half our monthly food budget to get stuff for school lunches that they will eat…plus there are the adults and the toddler that still need to eat….and then of course there is also dinner to consider. School lunches suck, yes. Nutritional….they have improved.

Better than homemade…heck no!! If I send my kid to school with a turkey and hummus wrap loaded with veggies and they say its not nutritionally sound, I would go to the school board.

[Ketsyc]

It doesn’t seem right that they have that power. If they really wanted to make an impact with kids they should do a trade out. You give us something unhealthy we provide you a piece of fruit, yogurt or some other nutritional valued food.

Kids would swap if there was something they wanted more. They could then donate the swap foods to shelters ect, for people who really do have nothing.

I wonder how many other school districts are contemplating this. I for one am grateful that the last munchkin at home is a senior this year, after working with 6 kids through various grades 4 (from K on up) I am ready for a break. But I will definitely stand on the side of the parent where school lunches verses home made lunches are in debate.

[Hsilva45]

I don’t understand how they think they can do this. How can they FORCE parents to purchase school lunches for their children? It’s outrageous.

And are they going to provide for special dietary considerations? Let’s see, vegans, allergies, religious restrictions, diabetic, gluten free, other medical needs, etc. This alone would force the costs way up, in my opinion.

And how would the schools monitor what the children are eating is they have some type of restricted diet? I just can’t see this working, not without serious consequences.

[sbradburnd]

I don’t have children that live at home anymore but if I did they would be taking a sack lunch with fresh foods instead of the food that is full of additves and perservatives.

[Maureendeg]

I feel that they are out of line. I pack my child’s lunch everyday so I can monitor what he is eating.

[lmitchell]

I believe they want to keep kids sick, lazy and fat so Big Pharma can keep their hands in our pockets and what better way to do so than to go after children? They have taken PE away from schools, thus causing a rise in childhood obesity. Now, they are forcing school lunches on kids and have you seen some pics of school lunches lately?!

You cannot even figure out what it is! Sadly, my kids are the ones who are on the free lunch program and thus, they do eat this stuff however we try to be as careful as possible at home with what they eat.

[loreann]

I’ve heard of it in Canada. I wondered when it would hit closer to home. It’s sad that schools are allowed to determine what’s healthy for our kids.

[supermomof10]

My kids (3) have alternately taken their own lunches and purchased school lunches. Currently the teens just don’t eat until they get home. The reasons?

Tasteless food, about five minutes to eat once through the line and on yes, lunch time was 10:35 AM. Their answer is to take smaller snack sized portions (cheese stick, granola bar, etc.) and grad something between classes.

[SaraCate]

@loreann 407907 wrote:

I’ve heard of it in Canada. I wondered when it would hit closer to home. It’s sad that schools are allowed to determine what’s healthy for our kids.

That’s interesting…in our school district in Ontario, it’s 100% homemade lunches – there is no hot lunch program.

There are exceptions; at our family’s chosen school, a parent come in on Mondays and makes a big pot of homemade (vegan) soup from roughly Oct. – May. And occassionally the kids will do potluck-type lunches that fit with a theme or project they’re working on.

(E.g., the big kids recently had a historic Greek-style feast.) So when there is a ‘school-made’ lunch option, it’s *very* tasty and *very* healthy! We’re fortunate.

[Tbrunke]

This is so stupid my 3 boys I always packed their lunches (except for PIZZA day) they were alot more healthy than what they serve in the schools.

[MsDebbie]

We now have a Cordon Bleu chef doing the lunches, most of the kids that use to bring their lunch now buy!

[ScarlettSanchez]

I have to get up a little bit earlier to make my daughter’s lunch but she is much happier eating it then the school’s lunch which is mostly processed food.
I also get a lot of joy knowing that she knows that I Love Her when she opens up her lunch bag and sees what surprises I put in it for the day.

[Cheapneasy]

I have a feeling this is coming from a funding standpoint. The more kids they have on state or federal lunch programs, the more money the school district gets.

[Cindybug]

Its sad too that school’s serve tasteless process food

[janies07]

I don’t think they are that nutrition when the kids throw half the food away.

[Neog6575gg]

Wow, you’d think the parents would have the option to feed their child what they want.

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