MCPS school lunch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do students do during indoor recess? Are they in the gym?

Mine talks about playing with some kind of toys (I don't remember what), talking to friends, or reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does a kid with allergies buy? What if they don't know what's what and what ingredients are in what once they get to the lunch line? If the paraeducators are managing behavior in lunch room, who assists students, especially the Kindergarteners in the "kitchen" lunch line?

Kindergarteners can manage. It is set up to be very easy. I think teachers eat lunch with the kids for the first day or two and then they know what to do. I would contact the school in advance about allergy concerns. I think the weekly menu has allergen info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing gluten free

If this is a concern, there is a form to complete and mcps will provide gf food. The available gf choices are on the mcps website. It took some time to work through the paperwork but my child receives gf food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: milk provided in school lunch -
From CBS News. April 24, 2024

[Chocolate milk can stay in school lunch program, Biden administration decides

Elementary school cafeterias will be allowed to continue serving flavored milk such as chocolate and strawberry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. The Biden administration had initially floated a ban aimed at cutting consumption of added sugars by younger children.

The decision is one of several changes now locked in by the department’s Food and Nutrition Service to its sweeping update to requirements that govern school meal programs. First proposed in February 2023, the updates are now set to take effect for the 2025 school year.

“School meals matter. In some cases, in many cases, in far too many cases, it is often the only meal or meals that youngsters may get during the day,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Tuesday ahead of the announcement.

Vilsack said the department had fielded more than 136,000 comments on their initial proposal, which had been widely hailed by public health experts for creating limits for the first time on added sugars and stepping up targets to reduce sodium.

However, some groups also voiced frustration with the department over some proposals they worried would be difficult to meet.

“With no end in sight to supply chain and labor challenges, most school meal programs nationwide simply lack the capacity to meet these proposed nutrition mandates,” the School Nutrition Association said in comments last year on the proposal.

School districts making good-faith efforts to meet the new guidelines next year would not face financial penalties if they fell short, USDA officials pledged, though they disputed claims that most districts would not be able to meet the standards.

Department officials said the cost associated with the changes was “very, very modest compared to the overall size of the program” making up just around 1% of the bill footed by school food service programs over the coming years.

“The expectation and anticipation is, given the transition period that we have built into the rule, that we are going to see compliance. As has been indicated, the industry is already working on providing many of the products that will meet the standards,” said Vilsack.

Some comments had also questioned whether some of the department’s proposals to crack down on unhealthy ingredients could backfire, encouraging more students to skip eating school lunch or swapping out for far more unhealthy options.

The USDA had proposed limiting flavored milk after an analysis found it was the largest source of added sugars in schools, making up around half in lunches from students drinking options like chocolate or strawberry-flavored milk instead of plain, unflavored versions.

That move would risk discouraging students from drinking milk altogether, some health experts and the dairy industry argued, losing out on its nutritional benefits.

Vilsack said the USDA had worked with the dairy industry and credited milk producers for a pledge to reduce added sugar in school milk products.

In its release, the USDA said milk processors making up more than 90% of the nation’s supply to schools had committed to reformulating their products to meet new added sugars limits on flavored milk.

“The challenge, I think, is to make sure that children have access and actually consume the milk. And I think most school nutrition officials would tell you that youngsters certainly gravitate towards the flavored milk option,” said Vilsack.

Vilsack suggested some school districts might still elect not to serve chocolate and strawberry milk to come up with menus that fall under the new more stringent federal limits on added sugars overall in meals.

“We thought that it could fit within the decision making that would be made at the local level. Obviously it’s a decision that each school district can make,” he said.

The final rule also stops short of more ambitious sodium cuts the department had proposed phasing in until 2030, adding up to a 30% reduction in the amount that school lunches would have over the course of a week.

Instead, schools will only “need to slightly reduce” sodium in their breakfasts and lunches by Fall 2027.

“This change still moves our children in the right direction and gives schools and industry the lead time they need to prepare,” the department said in its release.

A large reason for the change is Congress, Vilsack said, which intervened with a clause passed during the last budget process to decide this. The final changes will amount to only a 10% reduction in sodium across school breakfast meals and a 15% reduction in sodium across lunch meals.

“It’s very consistent with the congressional directive,” said Vilsack. “In other words, Congress directed us to do this.”]

Do your kids report that chocolate and strawberry milk in school lunch also sour?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell us how it really is! In elementary school. Should we plan to pack lunch from home instead? No allergies.

My kid likes pizza day. They otherwise find it disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell us how it really is! In elementary school. Should we plan to pack lunch from home instead? No allergies.

My kid likes pizza day. They otherwise find it disgusting.

What if you packed pizza from home every day, would your kid eat it? Then you know they are eating something instead of purchasing school lunch only to throw majority of the food out.

[Anonymous]

My kids have bought lunch every day for the past 3 years. We started because it was free one year, and continued because it has helped them both become less picky and find new foods they like on their own. Sometimes lines are long, sometimes it’s not their favorite, but they have learned to adapt. It’s typical “kid” food of burgers, empanadas, etc. but we balance it with “healthier” meals at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell us how it really is! In elementary school. Should we plan to pack lunch from home instead? No allergies.

My kid likes pizza day. They otherwise find it disgusting.

What if you packed pizza from home every day, would your kid eat it? Then you know they are eating something instead of purchasing school lunch only to throw majority of the food out.

they publish the menu in advance so DC only shows up without their lunch packed on pizza day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing gluten free

If this is a concern, there is a form to complete and mcps will provide gf food. The available gf choices are on the mcps website. It took some time to work through the paperwork but my child receives gf food.

he makes his lunch, but when he forgets to bring it, they have zero options as an emergency. We don’t need it every day, but only on emergencies. They cannot accommodate

[Anonymous]

Do any schools eat lunch in their classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell us how it really is! In elementary school. Should we plan to pack lunch from home instead? No allergies.

it's like school lunch anywhere in the US bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How's middle school lunch? Food and the lunch lines.

We have one child in ES and one in MS and both equivocally agree that school lunches are not appealing and the food lines in MS can be long. If your child is a fast eater, they will be ok. My ES child is a slow eater and need most of her 30 mins to chat and eat her packed home lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing gluten free

If this is a concern, there is a form to complete and mcps will provide gf food. The available gf choices are on the mcps website. It took some time to work through the paperwork but my child receives gf food.

he makes his lunch, but when he forgets to bring it, they have zero options as an emergency. We don’t need it every day, but only on emergencies. They cannot accommodate

I would ask the teacher to keep some shelf stable appropriate foods for those days. You can't expect MCPS to be able to whip up something for every food need last minute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell us how it really is! In elementary school. Should we plan to pack lunch from home instead? No allergies.

My kid likes pizza day. They otherwise find it disgusting.

What if you packed pizza from home every day, would your kid eat it? Then you know they are eating something instead of purchasing school lunch only to throw majority of the food out.

My friend who is works as lunch supervisor at an elementary school tells me that most children eating school lunch and even many bringing packed lunch throw away so much food. It is so sad the food goes in trash. I have told my children that if they don’t like the food in their packed lunch or they are just full, to save it and bring it back home ( unless it is dairy)- no questions asked and no one will be upset. I am appalled by the amount of food waste in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do students do during indoor recess? Are they in the gym?

Rarely. They usually they stay in their classroom for indoor recess and play games.