Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 11:35     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:And in a few months we will hear that the free hot lunch program is widely successful feeding so many children but we won't hear how much gets tossed because they brought lunch from home too.

Or because it is gross
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 11:35     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Food has gotten incredibly expensive. I do not know how people on a budget are making it work. It is especially shameful because the supply chain issues are mostly resolved; food companies and grocery stores are now testing how high thry can set prices and still have customers.

I think it is great that the schools are feeding kids no questions asked, with prices so high I am sure some people are doing without and would be going hungry otherwise.


You buy cheaper foods, you shop at Aldi's, Lidl, Walmart, for example. Lots of ways.


That works for you. What about the people who were already shopping at Aldis and Walmart and still having a hard time?
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 11:34     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
I am in CA and we had free food last year and it was horrible - way worse than even in regular years. Nobody eats it! Literally money wasted
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 11:31     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:I wish there was a system to collect all the uneaten school food and place it in the community, maybe a community refrigerator or something that could be accessed after school


This is a great idea!
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 11:20     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
We here in Aspen Hill would love to have more small businesses where the Kmart is/was. I hate Walmart and would not ever shop there. It would put all the small and family-owned business who have been here forever out of business. Aspen Hill has been a tight community since my parents moved here in the late 50s. I don't want to see these family businesses die. It just wouldn't be Aspen Hill.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 09:46     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is this nationwide? I thought it was announced in the spring. But then I got an email from school district re lunch costs.


Yes, nationwide:
https://edsource.org/2021/usda-extends-free-meals-through-next-school-year/653335



We just moved to MCPS and this has been the policy in our old school in PA for years now.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 09:39     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Food has gotten incredibly expensive. I do not know how people on a budget are making it work. It is especially shameful because the supply chain issues are mostly resolved; food companies and grocery stores are now testing how high thry can set prices and still have customers.

I think it is great that the schools are feeding kids no questions asked, with prices so high I am sure some people are doing without and would be going hungry otherwise.


You buy cheaper foods, you shop at Aldi's, Lidl, Walmart, for example. Lots of ways.


Is there a Walmart anywhere near Montgomery county? Seems pretty pennywise in pound foolish to drive all the way out to DC or Laurel (assuming you have a car)


There is a Walmart in Germantown.


That’s really convenient for the poor and carless residents of Aspen Hill. Maybe just a four hour round trip bus ride in the hopes of saving $5 on whatever groceries you can haul on public transportation with 2-3 kids in tow. Or were you suggesting that the poor move to Germantown for proximity to the Walmart?


Actually, you'd jump on the ICC from Aspen Hill. We were supposed to get a Walmart in Aspen Hill but all the rich folks protested it and so now we are getting a Kaiser. It really sucks as the Kmart closed so the only place to go is Target in Wheaton and its pretty pricy. But, in Aspen Hill, if you know the area, which you don't, there is an Aldi's and Lidl. Both much cheaper than the Safeway and Giant there. There are also multiple Korean and Asian markets that have cheaper produce. And, Walmart delivers to certain areas now. I cannot order fresh food but when I order some stuff like cereal and paper goods, it gets delivered by a driver within two days for free.


You need a car and money for tolls to do that. When I first lived in MoCo in the late 90s, I was a low income single mom without a car. Grocery shopping meant whatever I could walk home from Shoppers or safely manage on a crowded bus from Safeway. People treat you horribly when you get on a bus with kids and lots of grocery bags as if they can’t see you are struggling to survive. The idea that I could just jump in a car to go from Aspen Hill to Germantown to grocery shop? It was as likely as jetting to Paris to shop the fall fashions.


Thankfully Walmart delivers some stuff now. We could have had one but people protested it. I hope they will put one in where the Kmart was.


I'm fine with people protesting Walmart given that so much of their tax dollars would have gone to subsidize wal mart workers since they don't raise wages. One point Walmart made every single employee part-time to avoid having to pay healthcare
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 09:37     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
I wish there was a system to collect all the uneaten school food and place it in the community, maybe a community refrigerator or something that could be accessed after school
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 06:53     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
And in a few months we will hear that the free hot lunch program is widely successful feeding so many children but we won't hear how much gets tossed because they brought lunch from home too.
Anonymous
Post 07/31/2021 02:28     Subject: Re:Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
After never eating a school lunch from grade K-10, this past year my junior opted to get the free lunch and said he enjoyed it. He often would bring an apple or chips to supplement it but it was easier for him than packing a whole lunch. Now that school starts earlier again I suspect he’ll choose same this year. He lives in Bethesda, by the way.

My 9th grader still packed her own lunch and said the free lunch was gross.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2021 20:03     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:Does that mean I don't have to pack lunch for my rising kindergartener, but only pack a water bottle!?


If you think your child will eat it. At some schools the majority still pack ine from home.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2021 19:54     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Food has gotten incredibly expensive. I do not know how people on a budget are making it work. It is especially shameful because the supply chain issues are mostly resolved; food companies and grocery stores are now testing how high thry can set prices and still have customers.

I think it is great that the schools are feeding kids no questions asked, with prices so high I am sure some people are doing without and would be going hungry otherwise.


You buy cheaper foods, you shop at Aldi's, Lidl, Walmart, for example. Lots of ways.


Is there a Walmart anywhere near Montgomery county? Seems pretty pennywise in pound foolish to drive all the way out to DC or Laurel (assuming you have a car)


There is a Walmart in Germantown.


That’s really convenient for the poor and carless residents of Aspen Hill. Maybe just a four hour round trip bus ride in the hopes of saving $5 on whatever groceries you can haul on public transportation with 2-3 kids in tow. Or were you suggesting that the poor move to Germantown for proximity to the Walmart?


Actually, you'd jump on the ICC from Aspen Hill. We were supposed to get a Walmart in Aspen Hill but all the rich folks protested it and so now we are getting a Kaiser. It really sucks as the Kmart closed so the only place to go is Target in Wheaton and its pretty pricy. But, in Aspen Hill, if you know the area, which you don't, there is an Aldi's and Lidl. Both much cheaper than the Safeway and Giant there. There are also multiple Korean and Asian markets that have cheaper produce. And, Walmart delivers to certain areas now. I cannot order fresh food but when I order some stuff like cereal and paper goods, it gets delivered by a driver within two days for free.


You need a car and money for tolls to do that. When I first lived in MoCo in the late 90s, I was a low income single mom without a car. Grocery shopping meant whatever I could walk home from Shoppers or safely manage on a crowded bus from Safeway. People treat you horribly when you get on a bus with kids and lots of grocery bags as if they can’t see you are struggling to survive. The idea that I could just jump in a car to go from Aspen Hill to Germantown to grocery shop? It was as likely as jetting to Paris to shop the fall fashions.


Thankfully Walmart delivers some stuff now. We could have had one but people protested it. I hope they will put one in where the Kmart was.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2021 19:47     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Good to hear!

My kid grabbed a plastic spoon one time when he forgot to pack it with his lunch for applesauce. We were told he should have paid for the spoon since he wasn't buying a lunch. What??? To be clear, this was a one time occurrence. I wrote back to the office that I am sure our taxes likely covered.
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2021 18:29     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I’m worried about my kids taking a whole free lunch just to get the applesauce or cookie (is there a dessert?). My kids school does have a “take for free” table where kids abandon the stuff they don’t want from their school lunch. My kid offen picked up extra fruit off that table. Surprisingly they even did it last year.


Lol, that’s what many of the kids do! It’s expected and common. Take the fruit or apple slices and toss the rest. So usually, if there is stuff on the ‘up for grabs’ table, it’s the vegetables or fish sticks or whatever.

Personally I think it promotes food waste, but what are they gonna do?
Anonymous
Post 07/30/2021 17:56     Subject: Free breakfast and lunch at all schools, all year?
Yeah, I’m worried about my kids taking a whole free lunch just to get the applesauce or cookie (is there a dessert?). My kids school does have a “take for free” table where kids abandon the stuff they don’t want from their school lunch. My kid offen picked up extra fruit off that table. Surprisingly they even did it last year.