Cafeteria Food

Flare, ASN, BSN · Apr 29, 2016

my shock is more so in the amount of breakfast for lunch that is served. As a non breakfast person i say ewww. The students here have the "hot lunch" option and there are always other options. There is never a time they can't get a turkey sandwich piece of fruit, carrots or some other raw veggie du jour and a milk. My biggest complaint is the lack of a non milk option for students unless they want to pay for water.

tining, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2016

Our free and reduced kids sit there, socialize, and throw uneaten food away. THAT irks me. We do have these "foods" that are in plastic wrap and I assume are microwaved. Just a bunch of junk AND no water option. :yawn:

Flare, ASN, BSN · Apr 29, 2016

Our free and reduced kids sit there, socialize, and throw uneaten food away. THAT irks me. We do have these "foods" that are in plastic wrap and I assume are microwaved. Just a bunch of junk AND no water option.

The kids throwing away food irks me too. The breakfast foods are at least prepackaged and if it's still perfectly sealed, i'll take it and add it to my snack drawer for when they get hungry later on because they didn't eat. If they throw out their lunch tray there isn't much i can do for them other than offer them juice and crackers -which they usually turn their noses up at. Sorry, this isn't Burger King... You can't "Have it your way" in here.

OldDude · Apr 29, 2016

Food service is beyond help. In their defense, once all the federal and state requirement boxes are checked, there are few foods that fit into the category acceptable for reimbursement and the regs change frequently and without warning. The food manufacturers are hesitant to make a new food item that conforms to regulation since they still have to sell it to the districts and the rules may change by the time the product is ready for sale.

I used to collect the unused milk and juice containers for use throughout the day but now "they" are forced to throw totally good milk and juice into the trash...makes no sense to me.

Reimbursement is the culprit, the almighty dollar.

grammy1 · Apr 29, 2016

We have a "share" bin that students can put things in that they don't want, and others can take. It's usually whole apples and milk. A couple of times a week we will pick up what is left in it and keep in the clinic for the hungry kiddos. I also get irked about the amount of food thrown away, yet when I look at some of it, I wouldn't eat it either. The worst though, is my kids with diabetes regularly having 110-120 carbs for lunch! they are required to take the milk, which shoots 2 of them up like crazy, and can't get water. Sigh

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Apr 30, 2016

Yep- "french toast" is a packaged piece of bread. Most breakfast choices are sugar laden.. the lunch options at my school are generally awful too (my kids are in another district and they have pretty good choices for breakfast AND lunch-- so good that both my kids opt to eat hot school lunches rather than bring a lunch from home!

The school I work for, another story entirely... most of the lunches get tossed, only the truly hungry children actually eat the lunch provided by the school. It's not the cafeteria's fault-- the district mandates what is served and it's all frozen or canned junk they simply heat (with the exception of fresh fruit/veggie options). Even the fresh veggies are often delivered to the school old and looking a day away from rotten. All the students at my school get free breakfast and lunch. Many bring lunch from home, but to keep the program, even the ones who bring a lunch are sent through the line to get a school lunch too. Nothing on that tray gets touched. It's a total waste of food.