<p>My kids brought lunch in elementary school but never had to pay for milk because the free and reduced kids (about 30% of their classmates) had a shelf they could return their unwanted items to for others to take. The cafeteria ladies wouldn’t let anyone buy milk until the “free” milk was all gone.</p>
<p>This is exactly what our former SD did, except they went a bit too far: the lunch lady would throw away the hot meal in front of the students who could not pay for it and then give them the cheese sandwich “emergency meal”. The parents complained and whined, but here is the result:</p>
<p><a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008618809_weblunchmoney12m.html[/url]”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008618809_weblunchmoney12m.html</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Missypie, LOL. I suspect that the yellow cheese singles used for school lunches is a compound of made oils, starch, etc. The kids would probably gag on blue cheese or swiss ementhaler.</p>
<p>Electronblue, I have very fond memories of the cafeteria ladies in their hair nets at my elementary school. Tough as nails but they were as sweet as honey underneath.</p>
<p>Hellmanns!</p>
<p>My kids always brought lunch but would happily take the chocolate milks off the “leftover” shelf. I appreciate a custodian/lunch lady who won’t let good food go to waste!</p>
<p>$200K in arrears? Holy smokes, that’s a lot of money (given the cheap retail cost of the lunch) and the district undoubtedly needs the cash!!! You could never get away with ignoring such a student debt for very long in our district.</p>
<p>I wish that children were not punished for their parents behavior. Almost more than anything else, I wish for that.</p>
<p>Yup, LakeWashington, it was $200K. The district let the kids “charge” their meals.</p>
<p>Well pugmadkate, wouldn’t you have to say that the punishment [tossing out the hot lunch but providing the kids sandwiches as an alternative] is not so bad or overkill? And I’m sure the district was definitely frustrated by parents who constantly ignore memos or e-mails.</p>
<p>I don’t see the kids being punished here. It is not as if they are left to starve. They are fed. If they don’t like the cheese sandwiches, they need to go home to mommy and daddy and ask them to pay up so they can have the regular lunch (or apply for free or reduced) or else bring a bag lunch from home. I don’t think the answer is giving out the regular lunch for free. The school is not letting the kid go hungry but they are also not giving the same thing to kids who don’t pay (but do not come under the free lunch program) as they do to kids who do. If a parent can’t afford lunch, there are free and reduced lunches. Otherwise, the parent is not fulfilling their duties. Many kids suffer by parents who are do not doing their duties, unfortunately. But the answer is not letting these kids have the regular lunch…why would their parents ever pay if it were free?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m all for buying store brands or generics when the quality is good, but Husband has brought home off brands of cheese singles before that didn’t melt - did not change shape no matter how much heat was applied. I assume there was a plastic or rubber component.</p>
<p>Why don’t they operate more like private schools where your kid couldn’t enroll if you didn’t pay up your bill, or not release the report card if there is any unpaid bill, library books outstanding…</p>
<p>Parents have responsibilities. Schools cannot take over for everything that lax parents do not provide. They try to keep kids safe and they don’t let them starve, but they are not social service organizations. Parents need to step up to the plate and fulfill their end of the job of raising the kids.</p>
<p>I see the cheese sandwiches as similar to how in elementary and preschool, when they have snack time and some kids did not bring in a snack from home and so the teacher always had a box of crackers or some such available for those kids. The school in the article provided a basic cheese sandwich, fruit and milk. Same idea. They didn’t let the kids go without, but that doesn’t mean the kids who don’t pay get the same exact thing as the kids who do.</p>
<p>Parents who truly can not afford the hot lunches can apply for reduced or even free lunches for their kids. It just takes a little bit of paperwork. Every spring and/or fall the SD would send us a packet with info for the next school year (immunizations reminders, fall sports, etc.) which also included a reduced/free lunch form. I bet the $200K was run up mostly by the parents who could afford to pay but kept “forgetting”.</p>
<p>When my kids complained about food, I always reminded them of my own experiences. Went to a rural elem. school with no lunch program, so everyone brought theirs and bought milk for a nickel or dime. Kids took turns being the milk monitor, collecting money, placing orders, and getting the trays of milk at lunch time. It even came in glass bottles. For several years, I would only eat boiled ham sandwiches on wonder bread and Fritos. If, horrors, we ran out of ham, I would take peanut butter and welch’s grape jelly, but not 2 days in a row. </p>
<p>In hs, the cafeteria food was pretty gross and usually starchy–remember creamed chipped beef on toast? Hamburgers were always available but were like shoe leather. Our school, however, had the most wonderful, huge, gooey cinnamon rolls almost every day. Many times that is all I would have for lunch. I also remember the day we got our first soft drink vending machine. Drinks came out in little plastic cups. </p>
<p>The highlight of my school career was an open campus senior year, and I had a car and free period after lunch. Several of us went every day to McDonalds or Burger King.</p>
<p>Where we live, not everyone gets the hot lunch through school. Many bring their own (my kids brought their own in elem school). So, these families have that option too.</p>
<p>I ate mayo sandwiches as a kid too - only Duke’s though. All other mayo pales in comparison. Also ate mustard sandwiches - toasted. </p>
<p>Maybe they should offer either PB or cheese - or maybe they afraid the PB is deadly. I know lots of kids who don’t like cheese.</p>
<p>I don’t see it as an issue if they don’t like cheese. Many kids don’t like the hot lunch menu either. If a kid wants a choice or to have food he/she likes, they can bring lunch from home. Many kids here choose to do that.</p>
<p>I do not think that children should be singled out due to their parents behavior. I do not think that children should be penalized because their parents are too disorganized, too strung out or simply too busy working several jobs to stay on top of this kind of stuff.</p>
<p>Yes, there are surely parents who can pay but dodge the bill. Just as surely, there are children who come from homes that are onthe edge. It is the most vulnerable children who wind up paying the price; in terms of nutrition, being singled out, being made to feel different than their classmates. </p>
<p>How can you pack a lunch in a home that lacks groceries? How can a child fill out paperwork when it gets lost or shoved aside at home?</p>
<p>I really don’t care about the parents in this situation. I’m coming at it from what is best for the child while they are in the care of the state. I’ve settled a lot of lunch tabs for children who were not mine, ordered a lot of junk because the school decided that only classrooms where every child sells fund raising crap gets the pizza party and so on. </p>
<p>It pains me to think of the children who most need the stability and comfort of a school enviroment finding themselves yet again set apart, yet again reminded that they are not among the children whose parents make their lives run smoothly.</p>