Do you pack your PK3 kid's lunch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gawd, the lunches are going to be awful and the kids can't even drink the lead tainted water. When is DCPS going to get it together?

I grew up in Fairfax county and the school lunches were disgusting. School lunches are always bad, don't act like it's an urban problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I figured it wouldn't take long for this thread to evolve into a judgmental argument.

We are a family that cares a lot about healthy food. I cook a lot, and we avoid sugar, refined flour, and cheap oils (we do believe in eating healthy fats, even butter from quality sources).

However, after thinking all this through, my son will eat the school lunch (he won't be there for breakfast or aftercare). This is a school that is not generally popular with our demographic, and I don't want him to be the one white boy in the class with a lunch box because he is too good to eat what everybody else eats (nor would I want him to be part of the segregated table that one PP described). I do want him to blend in as well as possible while he is there (which won't be past PK). I don't think one possibly sub-optimal meal per weekday for a couple of years is going to harm him or spoil is habits, and eating with the group might help him try things he wouldn't at home and become less picky.

We can reevaluate this once we see how it goes, but I just can't see that excluding him from the family-style hot lunch will be a good idea. I do hope that the Sodexo contract won't result in a decline in quality.

Thanks all for the responses.

You sounds really even headed with a great attitude!

I think everyone is being a bit hysterical about how "crappy" the food is. Not sure what this year and the new contract will bring, but it wasn't like they were serving pop tarts and cheetos last year for lunch. Did it look gourmet and super appetizing? Not really. But there was always plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grains, etc. If you end up having a problem with the Sodexo menu how about trying to work to improve it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I figured it wouldn't take long for this thread to evolve into a judgmental argument.

We are a family that cares a lot about healthy food. I cook a lot, and we avoid sugar, refined flour, and cheap oils (we do believe in eating healthy fats, even butter from quality sources).

However, after thinking all this through, my son will eat the school lunch (he won't be there for breakfast or aftercare). This is a school that is not generally popular with our demographic, and I don't want him to be the one white boy in the class with a lunch box because he is too good to eat what everybody else eats (nor would I want him to be part of the segregated table that one PP described). I do want him to blend in as well as possible while he is there (which won't be past PK). I don't think one possibly sub-optimal meal per weekday for a couple of years is going to harm him or spoil is habits, and eating with the group might help him try things he wouldn't at home and become less picky.

We can reevaluate this once we see how it goes, but I just can't see that excluding him from the family-style hot lunch will be a good idea. I do hope that the Sodexo contract won't result in a decline in quality.

Thanks all for the responses.

You sounds really even headed with a great attitude!

I think everyone is being a bit hysterical about how "crappy" the food is. Not sure what this year and the new contract will bring, but it wasn't like they were serving pop tarts and cheetos last year for lunch. Did it look gourmet and super appetizing? Not really. But there was always plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grains, etc. If you end up having a problem with the Sodexo menu how about trying to work to improve it?

My gosh, what an original idea! Work to improve it! Maybe that's why I was at the meeting demanding that copies of this hastily-entered contract be released to the public? I can't give Sodexo the benefit of the doubt under these conditions. If we get a better contract, it's not like we can retroactively improve the food kids eat this year. Sorry but it matters now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I figured it wouldn't take long for this thread to evolve into a judgmental argument.

We are a family that cares a lot about healthy food. I cook a lot, and we avoid sugar, refined flour, and cheap oils (we do believe in eating healthy fats, even butter from quality sources).

However, after thinking all this through, my son will eat the school lunch (he won't be there for breakfast or aftercare). This is a school that is not generally popular with our demographic, and I don't want him to be the one white boy in the class with a lunch box because he is too good to eat what everybody else eats (nor would I want him to be part of the segregated table that one PP described). I do want him to blend in as well as possible while he is there (which won't be past PK). I don't think one possibly sub-optimal meal per weekday for a couple of years is going to harm him or spoil is habits, and eating with the group might help him try things he wouldn't at home and become less picky.

We can reevaluate this once we see how it goes, but I just can't see that excluding him from the family-style hot lunch will be a good idea. I do hope that the Sodexo contract won't result in a decline in quality.

Thanks all for the responses.

You sounds really even headed with a great attitude!

I think everyone is being a bit hysterical about how "crappy" the food is. Not sure what this year and the new contract will bring, but it wasn't like they were serving pop tarts and cheetos last year for lunch. Did it look gourmet and super appetizing? Not really. But there was always plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grains, etc. If you end up having a problem with the Sodexo menu how about trying to work to improve it?

My gosh, what an original idea! Work to improve it! Maybe that's why I was at the meeting demanding that copies of this hastily-entered contract be released to the public? I can't give Sodexo the benefit of the doubt under these conditions. If we get a better contract, it's not like we can retroactively improve the food kids eat this year. Sorry but it matters now.

Are you going to be satisfied with anything short of quinoa and kale bowls?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I figured it wouldn't take long for this thread to evolve into a judgmental argument.

We are a family that cares a lot about healthy food. I cook a lot, and we avoid sugar, refined flour, and cheap oils (we do believe in eating healthy fats, even butter from quality sources).

However, after thinking all this through, my son will eat the school lunch (he won't be there for breakfast or aftercare). This is a school that is not generally popular with our demographic, and I don't want him to be the one white boy in the class with a lunch box because he is too good to eat what everybody else eats (nor would I want him to be part of the segregated table that one PP described). I do want him to blend in as well as possible while he is there (which won't be past PK). I don't think one possibly sub-optimal meal per weekday for a couple of years is going to harm him or spoil is habits, and eating with the group might help him try things he wouldn't at home and become less picky.

We can reevaluate this once we see how it goes, but I just can't see that excluding him from the family-style hot lunch will be a good idea. I do hope that the Sodexo contract won't result in a decline in quality.

Thanks all for the responses.

You sounds really even headed with a great attitude!

I think everyone is being a bit hysterical about how "crappy" the food is. Not sure what this year and the new contract will bring, but it wasn't like they were serving pop tarts and cheetos last year for lunch. Did it look gourmet and super appetizing? Not really. But there was always plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grains, etc. If you end up having a problem with the Sodexo menu how about trying to work to improve it?

My gosh, what an original idea! Work to improve it! Maybe that's why I was at the meeting demanding that copies of this hastily-entered contract be released to the public? I can't give Sodexo the benefit of the doubt under these conditions. If we get a better contract, it's not like we can retroactively improve the food kids eat this year. Sorry but it matters now.

Are you going to be satisfied with anything short of quinoa and kale bowls?

Definitely. But I would not be satisfied with any vendor with Sodexo's track record of compliance and quality. And the lack of transparency in this process is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

I'm as disappointed as the next person about Sodexho, and wish they could have found a way to go with the former food service director who was pushed out for whistle blowing. But I will say that my son has always eaten school lunch most days (he's now going into 1st). He learned to eat broccoli, cucumbers and salad from school lunch--things he would never try at home--and I think the peer pressure aspect is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gawd, the lunches are going to be awful and the kids can't even drink the lead tainted water. When is DCPS going to get it together?

I grew up in Fairfax county and the school lunches were disgusting. School lunches are always bad, don't act like it's an urban problem.

I went to public schools and the food was quite good. That's ridiculous to say you just have to accept that they are always bad.