Friday, September 10, 2010
What I learned in the cafeteria this week
We've been in school just over two weeks and I've learned a lot:
- Soy: This little ingredient is invasive and in just about everything. Is there someone out there reading this that has a soy allergy? What do you eat? How do you survive? You must not eat anything processed because we are struggling to come up with anything that can be eaten by a soy-sensitive kindergartner student.
- Breaded cheese sticks: Is it mind boggling to you that five breaded cheese sticks and a carton of milk count as a reimbursable meal? Students can be charged full price even though they declined a fruit and a vegetable...Makes you want to pack your kids lunch doesn't it?
- More on cheese sticks: Six tiny cheese sticks contain 370 calories.
- Bananas. There are quite a few elementary students who have no idea how to open a banana. By doing everything for your child, you are truly depriving them.
- Knives: Some of our aides were surprised to learn that we would allow kindergartners to have a knife to butter their roll. Really? I've been encouraging my children to cut, butter, and mutilate their own food since they could hold utensils.
We have nine-year olds coming through the line who don't know the difference between peas and green beans.
These aren't subjects that will ever be covered in school. These are subjects that need to be, and must be, taught at home.
Playing with knives,
~KISA~
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About Me
- kisatrtle
- I'm a 41 year old (gasp) freelance writer, school cafeteria manager, wife and mother. I have three children and one anxious and overweight beagle. I use my blog to make others laugh, to share some cool crafts, to document my lunchlady adventures and to lament about the challenges faced by us all on the journey called life. Thanks for visiting. Please leave some crack...um...I meant some comments.
3 random thoughts:
ok I must admitt Ive had a day or two usually after a few vodkas I cant always open a bannana either...lol ;)
Now that my son is a 1st grader, he is trying out the school lunches. I was shocked to see the cheese sticks with tomato sauce being offered as a full lunch. That seems nuts!!!
And I'm going to remember your advice the next time I am tempted to baby my "baby."
It often amazes me what things some kids don't know. I'm guessing some of it is that some of the foods are things they don't eat in their homes. Maybe Mom doesn't like either peas or green beans, consequently she doesn't make them. Yet, I'd still think they would know what they are.
I used to volunteer selling snacks/desserts in the cafeteria when my kids were little and it often amazed me what they kids would take and what they would actually eat. Guess we can't force them to eat it. Only can suggest. That was the motto in our school.