that they charge for condiments and napkins in the elementary school lunch room? My kids came home today and told me they get charged for that stuff, daily.....I am about to go off. I called the cafeteria, and of course they are gone for the day...... anybody know?
you have got to be kidding me??? as if the lunch price wasn't high enough and they get nothing.....wow. I had no idea.
I've never seen it at Polenta. If they do, it is most certainly a school board policy, not something the individual school decided.
Wow..maybe I dont want to work in the school cafeterias here after all, if thats the way they do business. I was a school cafe manager in Albuq and I even made sure we put condiments (mayo, mus-My Friend, ranch etc.) and forks, napkins out for the kiddos that brought lunch from home, just in case they needed it!
Mine says she has to pay that for extra ketchup anything after 3 packets. She is kinda a ketchup lover LOL
as my son was telling me this, on the way home just now, from Math Club, I was truly at a loss for words. truly ridiculous....
I get that, truly I do. And I can see that for the older kids if they grab 14 packs....but getting enough to go with the 1.90 lunch, thats not cool. And what about little kindergarteners, they dont understand.
you know, I loved my job in the cafeterias but I was always operating under the mindset that I was working for the KIDS, not the school. Of course, business is business, and you cant waste money but a ketchup packet isnt going to break the bank. I always wanted the kids to LOOK FORWARD to lunch, its important for them to destress and relax. And, most importantly, they need to eat, it helps them learn for the rest of the day........jeez....now I miss my job more than I already did:cry:
How to determine who is wasting it? Who is gonna supervise this? How often are you in the school lunchroom? I volunteer with C6's class at PES, and take them to lunch, often. I also escort them back to class, after lunch, and get a chance to see the amount of waste in the lunchroom. Some kids may eat 1 tenth of the their lunch. If you paid 1 buck 90, figure they ate 19 cents worth. Wouldn't it make more sense to ask your child if bringing a lunch would be easier? And, that way, your child would be more likely to eat. Silent lunch in the cafeteria is more of a fantasy than my winning the lottery. At any time, there are between 5-7 classes entering, eating, or exiting. The kids eating are supposed to eat silently for the first 10 minutes, as identified by a red plastic cup on the tables. After ten minutes or so, hopefully the kids will have eaten their lunches and may then go to "green", and may talk "quietly". But, in all the confusion and clamor, the movement, and the sher number of kids talking in an enclosed environment, it gets LOUD. As for penalizing those who waste the packets, some kids will take the trash from their table mates to the turn in point. If they have taken all the packets from the table while cleaning it, they might be accused, wrongly, of taking too many packets. As for the waste of packets of condiments, I see kids get 3, use one, and trash two. That adds up quickly. Yet, if someone were to suggest the kids get what they'd eat, some here would see it as too restrictive. And, Heaven forbid suggesting that the school person taking the lunch trays take the packets from one tray and recycle them. The guy at PES really doesn't have the time. And some here would decry recycling the packets without their being sanitized. As an aside, they sell packets of these at Sam's and BJ's and probably other places. You could even ask your favorite fast food restaurant for some. I'd suggest asking the manager, rather than just taking them.
lunch in Albuquerque is 2.25. And yes, the kids are going to waste food....no way around it. If a child was hungry after eating ALL there lunch, I always gave them a second tray, whether or not they were on free lunch. And they were always starving on Mondays! Makes you wonder if the school meal is the only meal some of them are getting. I have had children ask me if they could take an extra apple or banana so a sibling at home. Sad.
Nadia, No doubt that the school lunch is the main (and sometimes only) meal these kids will get. I recall studying that the franchise of the golden arches in Chicago posted their nutrition content, back in the day, because that was the only meal some of their inner city customer's kids got in a day. And although we would all decry a happy meal as a good source of nutrition, it is better than not eating at all. Sad that this nation, as wealthy as we are, can't seem to feed, clothe, or shelter ourselves.
I too have volunteered and been in the lunchrooms for many years. I think that $1.90 is cheap, but if you saw what they got, it's not, not at all. My kids are not the norm, they like all food. They eat hot lunches 4 days out of 5. Please dont misunderstand that I am angry about it, I am merely shocked. I understand the waste issue and I get that. I just think its a bit much for elementary students. They don't have a clue about how much waste there is, or why their milk is frozen and they dont get another one, or that 90% of the kids there are picky and dont eat their food, they don't get the logic behind the lunch lady saying (or screaming) "you only get one spoonful", none of the things we as adults understand. My only point was that I was completely shocked at this and just wanted to know if anyone else knew this went on. I am still going to get a break-down on condiments and such tomorrow from the Cafeteria lady, to satisfy my own curiosity.
Just asked my middle schooler if condiments cost extra at McGee's Middle and he said the first packet is free, then they are $.10 each. No wonder his lunch money disappears so fast. Actually, I guess that has more to do with the Papa John's pizza line than it does condiment packets. :roll:
