With an increased number of students, less students buy lunch at regular price and more students buy lunch at a reduced price.
- My first impression is that the lunch is not good and students do not like it. This number could not cheat, right?
- My second impression is that we have more and more poor families now. How can we ensure those kids get the right education?
I have been hearing from parents who are complaining the lunch quality over years. However, when I see the awards HCPSS is receiving for their great lunch program, I am not sure what I should say.
Let me give you my opinion having done “lunch duty” once per week when my children were in an overcrowded Elementary school. Once I saw the process, I would not let my children purchase lunch. By the time the children get through the line to purchase lunch, they have 5-18 minutes before they have to be done eating or throw it away (I timed it a few times). If a student wants to eat the 3rd selection (pizza or yogurt/bagel), they have 5-7 minutes to eat their food (i timed it). The lunch time is 30 minutes (not really….more like 27 minutes) and the sounding alarm for cleanup is at 25 minutes. It is ridiculous that small children (kindergarteners/1st graders) have so little time to eat. The amount of food thrown out is incredible and given that FARMs are on the rise, these are the children that need the food the most. Sure, the food doesn’t taste very good or even look very good, but the kids aren’t being given the opportunity to eat a meal. It is due to the time factor that I would not allow my children to purchase cafeteria food (we are NOT a FARMs family). Kids bringing lunch from home can sit down and have 20-22 minutes to eat before having to clean up and the non- FARM parents know this. Needy children get the shaft.
Lisa, thanks for sharing your insight. It is really helpful. For two working families like myself, school lunch is really a relief. However, the lunch time has been an issue and I am keeping communicating this to the school system and BOE board members. The main feedbacks:
1) they don’t have money to hire more people for lunch
2) they don’t have large space to have more kids to eat at the same time. Some kids eat lunch at 10:30Am and others have lunch at 2:30. Unbelievable.
3) they could not eat in their individual classroom because that will create extra work for class room cleanup.
Nobody talks about a healthy lunch, not the food nutrition, but a healthy eating habit. Both of healthy food and healthy eating habit are critical important to kids’ grow-up are ignored, sadly.