My ES student always wants pizza Friday, and occasionally lunch from school another day like pancakes/waffles. Recently they said they liked the beef tacos. Otherwise brings lunch from home. He’s also mentioned the lines, which stresses him out. His biggest complaint is that the milk is gross and always drinks water instead.

My first grade twins eat school lunch almost everyday. If you have the time to pack lunch everyday, go for it. But we often just don't have time to do that and my kids eat the lunch just fine. On the days we have packed home lunch (often leftovers from dinner of things they readily eat), they will leave a lot unfinished, so I don't think it really matters if it's school or home lunch.

Anonymous wrote:We pack except for pizza Fridays. She always wants to get the pizza. And ice cream once a week

We do pizza Fridays but there is no ice cream as far as I know. I once volunteered in the cafeteria at my other kid's school (actually working IN the cafeteria, not monitoring students) and was really disappointed to see that the space was not set up for real cooking. It was all pre-packaged garbage. They just reheat. No wonder kids want lunchables.

I pack usually, but if kids like something or want a warm lunch occasionally, I let them order and enjoy the breaks. Some years it's been 100% packed lunch, other years they've bought 1-2 times a week.

Ours loved pancakes for lunch. We never tried them but I can't imagine they were better than the ones made from scratch every weekend at home.

ice cream for the win! check kid's account. We wondered why the $ was melting, found out it was for ice cream

We pack except for pizza Fridays. She always wants to get the pizza. And ice cream once a week

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids who eat school lunch often throw the entire thing in the trash. I've seen it several times while volunteering. Their parents have no idea they're going a tire school day without eating after breakfast. They need to make better lunches. They're not eating it and food is being wasted.

Have seen the same. So MUCH food waste.

Can you school compost if they haven't started already? PTA led if a PTA exists.

We are at a Focus school with a high FARMS/ELL rate. Barely get volunteers for field trips and our PTA is not well-supported.

I volunteer at lunch and the kids often just take the lunch, pick out one item to eat and toss the rest right into the trash. Plus the plastic trash created is phenomenal.

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

Sad to say that there is a lot of junk food served for lunch. What is healthy (fruit), students tend to forgo. Lunch lines aren't an issue in my school.

Board et al should bring up this discussion. Again. Our ES kid even though took lunch from home would eat quickly to finish in 20 min, not the 30min advertised at schools. Something to do with giving students more outdoor time recess, this was even before covid.


"A wellness policy workgroup met to draft a policy to address the creation of a healthy learning environment by providing nutrition education, physical education, physical activity, and a variety of healthy food and beverage options."

In 2006. Nearly two decades ago!

https://www.montgomerysch...formation/

So interesting, my 5th grader wants to buy everyday - likely because he has a better chance of eating something junky than what we would pack and normally eat at home. He seems to like many of the meals though - teriyaki meatballs, cheese crunchers, tacos, pizza.

Makes life easier on me and I ensure that he eats enough veggies and healthier foods at home.

Always packed. I was horrified by the long lines when I visited my kid in ES — many kids had seconds, not minutes, to eat by the time they got through the line. And the lunch monitors used to yell at them like they had intentionally wait that long to start eating.
Also, my kid hated the food, He wouldn’t even drink the milk, which he said was warm and sour.
He is now a senior in HS and says the best thing about COVID was being allowed to eat lunch anywhere on school grounds instead of being forced into the “smelly pit” that is the school cafeteria.

Anonymous wrote:Does the ES lunch line offer a salad bar where students can pick what they want, or is the salad portion prepackaged/already on an individual tray?

Everything is packaged.

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

My kid will eat school lunch a day or two a week. Otherwise, we pack.

Anonymous wrote:Does the ES lunch line offer a salad bar where students can pick what they want, or is the salad portion prepackaged/already on an individual tray?

My child's DCC-feeder had a proper fresh vegetable bar, but I'm not sure it survived covid, as it was an effort led by the PTA Wellness Committee and part of a pilot project with the MCPS central food folks.