how does school lunch work for kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

I am a mom of a kindergartener. So far we've sent our son in with lunch from home, but would like to occasionally take advantage of the school lunch. Can people let me know how it works to get the school lunch in elementary schools so I can prepare him in advance? I know it may be a little different in each school, but I'm looking for just the gist. I can also ask his teacher too even though I know teachers don't typically manage lunchtime.

I'm assuming the kids stand in line, but then do they have to choose between the different options? We have the menu printed out already for November. Do they pick their main meal and then choose from the veggie/fruit options? Do they have to take everything even if I know in advance they won't eat/drink it? Do they get everything on a tray and is the tray manageable for a five year old? How long does the process usually take?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't spend a dime on school lunches. It takes forever to get their lunch because of waiting in line. Plus, they are crappy.

[Anonymous]

I used to let my k kid but the pizza on Friday. They choose their lunch option in the mornings in the classroom when they first come in. They do have to have a pin assigned so you get charged. ( I have no idea if this changed with free covid, my experience is from before)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a mom of a kindergartener. So far we've sent our son in with lunch from home, but would like to occasionally take advantage of the school lunch. Can people let me know how it works to get the school lunch in elementary schools so I can prepare him in advance? I know it may be a little different in each school, but I'm looking for just the gist. I can also ask his teacher too even though I know teachers don't typically manage lunchtime.

I'm assuming the kids stand in line, but then do they have to choose between the different options? We have the menu printed out already for November. Do they pick their main meal and then choose from the veggie/fruit options? Do they have to take everything even if I know in advance they won't eat/drink it? Do they get everything on a tray and is the tray manageable for a five year old? How long does the process usually take?

Thanks in advance.

They pick the main meal, at our school there's a third option of grilled cheese available every day. My kindergartener doesn't pick a vegetable or fruit, she just told me "I chose what I want and they give me some other food with it." No idea how long it takes, but she seems to manage the tray and everything.

[Anonymous]

Oh and no pin because of COVID; no one is paying for lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't spend a dime on school lunches. It takes forever to get their lunch because of waiting in line. Plus, they are crappy.

Good News is no one spends anything on them. They are free!

Ask him if he knows what to do to get his lunch from school, if so just stop packing. If not, email the teacher and let her know he is switching from packed to schol lunches so she can maybe remind him what to do the first day.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if they do trays. My son tells me he gets a plastic bag with his lunch in it. In his school, they order the main meal in the morning, so I guess the cafeteria knows the count?

[Anonymous]

You can look up the menu online. They just stand in line and they’ll get to pick the main part of the meal and maybe will have a couple of other choices to make (fruit, what kind of milk).

[Anonymous]

Our kids always had to first opt in to getting a meal, then pick the main first thing in the morning so the cafe could order the appropriate numbers of meals. But it's been a few years since I was in a K class.

[Anonymous]

The way my kid explains it, there is no cafeteria line bc of Covid. The teacher asks them every morning who wants lunch, and the specifics for each lunch. If they happen to run out (which often is the case for pizza day), they give the default which is grilled cheese.

[Anonymous]

DD is in 1st, but its her first time in public school this year. she said their teacher puts the "buyers" at the front of the line when they go to lunch so they can get in line to pick up their food. Sometimes they run out of what DD wanted (she chooses her buy days at the start of the week) and she will get a grilled cheese instead, I know there are shortages around the system of popular items; i.e. grilled cheese are no longer the backup option every day, and pizza fridays are now "manager's choice". DD loves the "surprise day". I was worried about her not getting her food in time and eating it all bc shes a slow eater, but she's done well with it this year.

[Anonymous]

Your kid probably knows from watching classmates. Ask her!

[Anonymous]

Have you ever seen the school lunch MCPS offers? I don't think most parents know their children aren't actually eating any of it. They're just drinking the milk and tossing the rest. It's gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever seen the school lunch MCPS offers? I don't think most parents know their children aren't actually eating any of it. They're just drinking the milk and tossing the rest. It's gross.

It was so much better when I was a kid.

No, wait, it sucked then, too. But a lot of kids eat it anyway.

[Anonymous]

My kid wanted todo pizza. She tried twoce and said no more because the line took too long.