Parenting: 4 & 5-Year-Olds Community

I'm hearing the same things from my kids. My boys asked if they could take a sandwich and eat lunch at school. They told me that alot of the kids are doing it. By the time they get home at night they are starving.

Olivia has told me she has been eating alot more salads at school. That a majority of the kids have switched to eating at the salad bar in Jr. & Sr. High School. That way they can get more to eat.

There are alot of Jr & Sr High schools close to where I work that have open lunch hours. I am seeing alot more kids than last year eating at fast food places.

How are they changing things?

Our school outsources completely and delivers in soups, bagels, sushi, fruits and veggies from the local market and then entrees from a pasta place, a dog/burger shack, a deli, a grill, a burrito place and a pizzaria. My kids just started having lunch at school last year and only complained on pizza day so this year we will pack on Fridays.

To help DS get through the day I always send snacks with protein (almonds, hard boiled eggs, a chicken leg, cheese and salami, protein bar, etc.) with him as I know he doesn't eat as much as he should from the school lunch options.

The basis of the bill was to change:

• Ensuring students are offered both fruits and vegetables every day of the week;
• Substantially increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods;
• Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties;
• Limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size; and
• Increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.

At our school the cooks have now gone from actually preparring things in house to only opening boxes and cans. The only fresh vegetables or fruit the kids see is on the "salad bar". The salad bar the kids can only go up if they have finished what they got through the line. The salad bar would contain ice berg lettuce, baby carrots and salad dressing and any leftover canned fruit from the day before. If they were to serve pizza at school it would be a frozen "Tony's" style.

Snacks at our school are done by a parent sending in something for the whole class a week at a time. No sending in something different unless you have a medical reason. Our snacks are also in the mornings. My 1st grader eats lunch at 11:00. The 3rd grader at noon. The 8th grader eats at 12:30. By the time the kids get home from school they are starving. They always came home and had a snack but now it is almost like they are eating a mini meal.

They reduced portion sizes of the "standard" fair and didn't incorporate more fruits and vegetables which are lower in calories than prepared foods but cost more. I don't know if the kids would actually eat more fruits and veggies at school but I know that they eat them at home. This weekend alone they ate:
2 heads of califlower
2 heads of broccilli
5 lbs of apples
4 lbs of baby carrots
3 pints of strawberries
2 bunches of bannanas
bunch of celeray
tomatoes
12 ears of corn on the cob

My kids prefer fruits and vegetables to other things. I'm fine with that.

I personally think that at our school they still treat the meat as the main course and then work from there. I'm not saying it is bad but it would be nice if they put more into the fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

In elementary there is no ala carte. There is in Jr & Sr. High and the options there are the same as they have been in years past, hamburger, cheese burger, baked potatoes, pizza, ice cream, chips, etc.

I think my biggest gripe is the portion size of the meat. My boys are 6 and 7 however they are in the 100% they require honestly a bigger portion size of meat than is offered.
I do not mind the extra fruits and veggies which I could only hope they eat.
The buzz from the teachers is the kids are still hungry after lunch and it is not enough food.
I do not know I get what the goal is however it is simply not enough "filler foods". When I pack lunch they are not near as hungry. (and to be honest I detest packing lunches !