I can't take on one more cause. But I want to. I really want to.
This is what my first-grader's lunch tray looked like on Tuesday. I was at the school and stopped in to say "Hi" and this is what I saw:
I about threw it away and took him home for a sandwich. I was angry.
It is a fried chicken patty on a white bread bun with a cup of ketchup and a cup of fry sauce, a serving of french fries, chocolate milk, green jello and some sort of cookie. I asked him why he didn't take any veggies or fruit--he is my healthiest eater. He said that there weren't any veggies and he didn't like the fruit they had.
At our school, the kids get to pick from two choices. This day the other choice was nachos. Fried corn chips with fake cheese sauce on top. Also at our school the kids get to choose what they put on their tray. I understand that if they are forced to take fruit and veggies a lot is wasted. I get that they have to, to a certain degree, feed the kids food that they will eat. I get that it is my job to teach good eating habits. But, this is what American kids are eating, and for a great many of them this is the "best" meal they get all day.
We do a few home lunches every week. We look at the lunch menu and the kids pick the days they want school and the days they want home. After seeing that tray, the kids had home lunch every day after that.
In a three-week period there are three types of corn dogs offered--breakfast corn dog, mini corn dogs and regular corn dogs. Every Friday is pizza day. If you don't want pizza the other option is a "munchable" which one day consists of a soft pretzel and cheese sauce. Cheese sauce is another recurring theme on the menu.
I am recommitting to doing home lunches. I can do a lot healthier, and for $1.75, probably cheaper than school lunch. The hard part is just getting it done with the craziness of getting four kids out the door in the morning. Maybe I just need to print a copy of that picture and hang it up on the fridge for motivation.
Last week the school did a sort of "Bring Your Parents to Lunch Day." Jessi and I brought lunch and Mike came.
We saw the first-grader first.
Then the fourth-grader.
Then the fifth-grader.
I try to eat with them (I visit with them while they eat) at school once a month, so it wasn't that special that I was there. They were thrilled to have Dad come.
I try to eat with them (I visit with them while they eat) at school once a month, so it wasn't that special that I was there. They were thrilled to have Dad come. I am now collecting ideas for good home lunches. If you have any, please share.
I've been forgetting to post my gratitude.
1. Even though sometimes it's crap, having enough food to eat. (Maybe gratitude shouldn't start with an "even though.")
2. Having the opportunity to be involved at the school.
3. Health.
4 comments:
OH please, Alisa, share you thoughts with me too!!!! I have such a struggle will what to give Caleb each day. Sometimes he will eat school lunch but most of the time he has home. But what to give him. The options seem so limited sometimes. Email me, please! roggie_g@hotmail.com I really want to hear your ideas. Then I will tell you what we do, that is not boring. Diedre
Thanks Diedre--we will swap ideas.
I will keep my eyes open. I know that there have been some in the paper and maybe I can find them online. It's a never ending battle but a battle worth taking up.
I only have one in school, and one who takes lunch to work, but this is our routine - I makes baggies (of things like veggies, dried fruit, etc) at the beginning of the week. Alexa and Roger have waterbottles. Alexa picks one fruit and one veggie baggie each day to put in her lunchbag. There is usually a treat section she can grab one thing from too. We've been doing roll-ups - turkey, ham, etc., rolled up with toothpicks. Then Alexa just grabs a few of those (her choice which), a string cheese, and voila, her bag is ready. Still, lots of work on my part, but not when I go in, like you, and see what the lunch is!
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