Strawberry milk is an option but of course so is white milk.

OP here. Please explain neon pink milk? I have not heard this and I want to know b/c I'd rather my DC bring a drink from home if they serve strawberry quick milk on a daily basis (I assume that is what you mean by neon pink)...

I'm not a picky eater but the MCPS lunch is HORRIBLE. They serve neon pink milk. DCPS may be way behind in academics but light years ahead in school lunches.

DC usually buys MCPS lunch once a week. I don't think it's that great but it could be a lot worse. We do mostly organic, less processed food at home, but I don't flip out about what DC eats outside of the house, whether it's school lunch a few times a month or at friends' houses or if we eat out.

We consult the lunch menu each day and the kids decide whether they want me to make a lunch or if they will buy a lunch. Right now the average is 1.5 days/week they choose the school lunch, which means that the majority of the time I am asked to make them lunch. I hear the same thing about the lines and the amount of time they have to eat. FWIW, my kids are now in 1st and 2nd grades.

I pack a lunch for my kids every day. I think the quality of MCPS lunches is awful and don't want them eating it routinely.

When my son was younger he used to buy pizza a couple of times a month, but he stopped a few years ago (he's in fifth grade now) because he said he "felt gross" after eating it.

Its pretty crappy and we're not healthy, organic eaters nor do we live in Bethesda. The line was the other issue for us as our children are good eaters but they are not fast eaters.

The time factor is a main reason why we send our lunch every day. Two years ago, I volunteered in the cafeteria on a near weekly basis and the line for K and 1st grade (combined) lunch would sometimes take 20 minutes (of the 30 minutes allocated) for the last kid to get through. That only leaves about 10 minutes. Pizza day was insanely long.

The school has since divided all the grades into seperate lunch periods, so the line is shorter, but the 6 lunch periods now begin at 11:00 AM and end at 2:00 pm. UGH!

My kids refuse to eat it. Which is a royal PITA. So if I were you, I'd try to condition my child to eat it.

My kids also bring lunch from home due to the line. If you child is attending an over crowded school (anything with portables) it will likely be a problem as the lunch room was designed for a smaller number of kids. Pizza day is of course the worst. There was some novelty in the beginning of buying but it wore off quickly and they haven't done it in years. The nutritional info is somewhere on the MCPS website so you can see what you think about that. Also know that it is prepared in one central kitchen and just shipped and heated at the schools.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, so when buying lunch, how long does it take and how much time does it leave the child to actually eat the lunch? My DC is not the fastest eater. I know she will want to buy lunch sometimes, but I want to be sure she actually gets to eat more than a few bites of it (no issues with pickiness. My child eats pretty much anything, but I want to be sure she actually will have time to eat it). In packing lunch I was building in the fact that less time is taken to get lunch and more time can be devoted to attempting to eat it.

This was actually one of the main reasons we did not do school lunch for K-- it takes a while for kids to get through the line and most K kids feel they don't have enough time as it is (even if they bring or are at the front of the line). I think eating in the time allowed for lunch is one of the biggest adjustments kids have to make for K...

Ok, so when buying lunch, how long does it take and how much time does it leave the child to actually eat the lunch? My DC is not the fastest eater. I know she will want to buy lunch sometimes, but I want to be sure she actually gets to eat more than a few bites of it (no issues with pickiness. My child eats pretty much anything, but I want to be sure she actually will have time to eat it). In packing lunch I was building in the fact that less time is taken to get lunch and more time can be devoted to attempting to eat it.

Anonymous wrote:I have a DC starting K in the fall. I'm looking at the ES lunch menu. How bad is it really? From reading it, it doesn't seem so bad (as far as options go). I was not planning on allowing my DC to buy lunch. I've heard some not so great stuff about MOCO school lunches. Does your child buy lunch (how many times a week)? Like I said, I was planning on providing my DC with lunch, but not sure if DC will want to buy lunch or not once a week or so.

Most likely you heard this nonsense from some Bethesda type who is used to having her lunch made by her personal chef. School lunches are fine. If the child is not spoiled rotten they will look forward to lunch.

It isn't great. Our DC buys it maybe once every few weeks (when we don't have the time to make lunch).

I have a DC starting K in the fall. I'm looking at the ES lunch menu. How bad is it really? From reading it, it doesn't seem so bad (as far as options go). I was not planning on allowing my DC to buy lunch. I've heard some not so great stuff about MOCO school lunches. Does your child buy lunch (how many times a week)? Like I said, I was planning on providing my DC with lunch, but not sure if DC will want to buy lunch or not once a week or so.