Elementary/Middle School Lunch Guidance

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

Looking to hear from others at the ES/MS level about lunch room rules surrounding eating. We have a group of 5th/6th grade girls who do not eat very much at lunch - a granola bar, bag of fruit snacks, or a cookie, and that's it. They will often complain of being hungry later on in the lunch period, but refuse to get the school lunch. There are definitely concerns for body image issues, but we also suspect they might be "supporting" a friend who has a 504 for emetophobia. 

What are your school's rules on this? Ours states that if they don't have a meal from home, they need to get school lunch. The only exception to this is if they are with me in my office. 

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

That is an interesting rule. Of course they should be eating a well rounded meal...but rules around "musts" in relation to food make me wonder about the long term effect it may have their psyche...especially at the middle school level. Just my .02

[scuba nurse, BSN, MSN, RN]

We don't have any rules about lunch, you either bring one from home or eat the school lunch, but you don't have to. No one monitors who does what, since all food is free. We do have a few 5/6 th graders who hate the food and don't eat it, but that is probably because honestly the food is totally disgusting. I tell them to bring food from home or have their parents call to complain to the superintendents office. I do not provide any food in my office. They get a snack with their breakfast in the morning and they can save it to eat at lunch or later if they want. 

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

27 minutes ago, NutmeggeRN said:

That is an interesting rule. Of course they should be eating a well rounded meal...but rules around "musts" in relation to food make me wonder about the long term effect it may have their psyche...especially at the middle school level. Just my .02

I agree; I have always felt very uncomfortable with this plan - I myself have (self-diagnosed) trauma surrounding being forced to eat when I didn't like the food or when I just wasn't hungry... It's seriously given me lifelong, lasting difficulties surrounding food... 

I definitely think the rule (which has been in place since well before my time here... and I didn't even know it was a rule until this year with the 504) is strange. 

[AdobeRN]

1 hour ago, scuba nurse said:

We don't have any rules about lunch, you either bring one from home or eat the school lunch, but you don't have to. No one monitors who does what, since all food is free. We do have a few 5/6 th graders who hate the food and don't eat it, but that is probably because honestly the food is totally disgusting. I tell them to bring food from home or have their parents call to complain to the superintendents office. I do not provide any food in my office. They get a snack with their breakfast in the morning and they can save it to eat at lunch or later if they want. 

Same at my campus.  Teachers are pretty good about making sure everyone has a lunch - whether it is their own from home or having the students go thru the lunch line and get a tray - we also have free breakfast and lunch in our district. If kids don't want to eat - not much we can do about it, but at least the student has access to a full lunch and parents can't complain. We do not provide snacks either.  

Those girls that are complaining of being hungry later in the day will learn soon enough that there are consequences for poor decisions - in this case they will be hungry if choosing not to eat lunch. Maybe the counselor should sit down with the girls that are "supporting" their friend and give them a quick lesson on why what they are doing is not really a good idea, help the girls brainstorm different solutions for supporting their friend besides denying themselves of lunch when they are hungry. 

[arlingtonnurse]

We don't have any rules that I know of... We do have free options for breakfast and lunch so no kids should go without if they really want to eat.  That being said, of course there are kids that don't eat (well) or much at all.  We generally only get worried about eating disorders if we notice additional signs-- talking a lot about body image/calories, wearing baggy clothing, exercising more than usual, and if we notice a weight loss.  At that point we refer the parent to consult with pediatrician.

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

"Forced" feeding has no place in a public school, and making someone get a lunch that they're not going to eat has some moral implications as well.

If they're just being picky, well, the hunger experience should be a good teacher.