Concerned about the school lunch options

[Anonymous]

My son is starting K next year and I was disappointed to see the lunch menu options. At first blush, it looks great - lots of whole grain and each student must select one veggie or fruit. But then you dig a little deeper and there's lots of high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and the fruit options include a fruit crisp and juice boxes - not exactly what I would categorize as fruit. (Kind of like calling french fries a vegetable...)

I will probably end up packing his lunch. I had heard so much about how the nutrition in school lunches has improved so was quite disappointed.

Anyone else have the same concerns? Do you just pack your child's lunch? Are they the outlier (i.e. do most kids buy lunch or is it a good mix of packers and buyers)?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Public or private, nearly all (ALL) school lunch is unappealing. We are veg (ethical as well as dietary) and -NO- school fully provides. We make lunch @ home, DC brings in, and it works well (remember, publics can, must, and do allow for religious dietary options, so when you tell a public that you bring lunch, you are speaking to an advised audience).

[Anonymous]

Not sure where your child is starting but lunch is so short that it's better to just bring lunch anyway most days especially in K when they probably need more time to eat it. Once or twice a week my child buys lunch. They do allow parents to put some restrictions on what a child can buy through FCPS and you can check the purchase log to be sure they are buying what you've agreed is appropriate. There is a movement to make the lunches better. It's called Real Food for Kids or something close to that.

[Anonymous]

My ES does not have juice as on option. It's either milk, chocolate milk or water. My DC alternated between buying and bringing. He liked the yogurt biteable the most. There is a mix of who buys and brings. My DC liked the independence of choosing his own lunch but also enjoyed bringing his in. The serving sizes are small. You can go and eat lunch with your child and check things out in person too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My ES does not have juice as on option. It's either milk, chocolate milk or water. My DC alternated between buying and bringing. He liked the yogurt biteable the most. There is a mix of who buys and brings. My DC liked the independence of choosing his own lunch but also enjoyed bringing his in. The serving sizes are small. You can go and eat lunch with your child and check things out in person too.

Not offering juice is one of the few positives about the FCPS lunch system. Juice is full of sugar and has no nutritional value.

[Anonymous]

We pack lunch 4 days a week. Let dd buy on Friday. Occasionally on a Monday if we didn't make it shopping over the weekend. And then everyday this week since its the last week and I can't be bothered anymore.

[Anonymous]

We only allow DC to get white milk and it hasn't been a problem.

[Anonymous]

Gee Op,if you care, pack a lunch. Cheaper and health controlled. Why the drama post?

[Anonymous]

I feel its hard to pack a nutritious lunch without being able to heat up your meal. For me, there's not many cold food options that I find overly healthy. I try to balance lunch off with breakfast and dinner. And of course, being active!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My ES does not have juice as on option. It's either milk, chocolate milk or water. My DC alternated between buying and bringing. He liked the yogurt biteable the most. There is a mix of who buys and brings. My DC liked the independence of choosing his own lunch but also enjoyed bringing his in. The serving sizes are small. You can go and eat lunch with your child and check things out in person too.

Not offering juice is one of the few positives about the FCPS lunch system. Juice is full of sugar and has no nutritional value.

OP here. Yes, I was happy about the no juice option as well...until I saw it as a "fruit" option. I guess at least it is not offered everyday. I guess the post is because I was excited about not having to pack lunch anymore (his preschool doesn't have a buy option) and then I looked closely at the menu. Oh well.

Nice to hear I can have lunch with him - I will definitely do that in the beginning!

[Anonymous]

To OP - I think it's good to try a balance of buying and bringing. Buying allows them to learn to make positive food choices without you being present. You do need to watch for the snacks the cafeteria allows them to buy but I think you can have it noted to not allow it. I allowed it now and then so it ended up not being a big deal to him since it wasn't forbidden. You'll see what meals you agree with and probably only have to bag it once in awhile. Plus it's good for your child to learn in the beginning of the school year how the lunch line works etc. and if they drop their tray, its early in the year that kids won't remember it!! Definitely go there got lunch. I love doing that. The kids are so funny and you will see your child in their element.

[Anonymous]

Well...I think the worst thing about the new lunches is that although they are "healthy", they taste disgusting according to my kids and the portion sizes are too small, especially for growing boys.

In past years, my kids wanted to buy lunch at least half of the time. This year, they ask maybe once a month, usually during breakfast for lunch day.

Whatever they have done to those lunches to make them fit the anti-fat kid campaign is a huge fail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gee Op,if you care, pack a lunch. Cheaper and health controlled. Why the drama post?

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure where your child is starting but lunch is so short that it's better to just bring lunch anyway most days especially in K when they probably need more time to eat it. Once or twice a week my child buys lunch. They do allow parents to put some restrictions on what a child can buy through FCPS and you can check the purchase log to be sure they are buying what you've agreed is appropriate. There is a movement to make the lunches better. It's called Real Food for Kids or something close to that.[/quote]

They need to make it taste better, and give more realistic portion sizes for kids.

The lunches are gross.

My kids like healthy food that tastes fresh and healthy. They also like junk food that tastes good but has very little redeeming nutritional value. The lunches this year are none of those things.

The lunch sizes for a 5th or 6th grader is the same as for a kindergartner, yet the caloric needs of a pre-teen boy is way above what one would expect a 5 year old to eat. Even if the food was edible and tasty, there is just not enough of it to appropriately feed a pre-teen boy.

The changes they have made in fcps lunches over the past year or so are not positive changes.

[Anonymous]

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm324856.htm