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Do your kids pack or buy lunch?

We pack. I'm quite appalled as to what schools are able to pass of as a 'healthy' lunch. I know by what's left in the lunch box what he's eaten and what he hasn't and I know that it was *all* good for him. And to keep me from scratching my head for a good 15 minutes before I figure out what to put in there, I plan it out a week in advance.
 
We pack lunches here. It is the bane of my existence LOL I don't like doing it, but I don't want to pay for them to buy their lunch. They usually have a sandwich, some fruit or raw veggies, maybe some chips or crackers or fruit snacks. I need new ideas too! :)
 
Jason is in first grade this year and has taken his lunch all but two days. He is the world's pickiest eater!!! Thankfully his school still allows peanut butter b/c he doesn't eat lunch meat.

A few things that he takes throughout the week: he doesn't like much
PB&J (he takes a 1/2 sandwich every day)
grapes
watermelon
pineapple
carrots
celery and peanut butter
pretzels and peanut butter
goldfish
string cheese
go-gurt
granola bar
fruit snack
chocolate milk or water
 
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I think it's ridiculous to pan peanut butter from the whole school. My oldest would have starved to death without PBJ. :rofl
 
Mine buys at school. She is a sophomore. She has pretty much bought at school since late middle school. While I don't like the food they serve - she is a fairly healthy eater so she will eat the good stuff on her tray along with the bad. At least she is getting some worthwhile nutrition. I know when I go eat with her at school I see so many kids just eat the pizza and get another slice and ditch the salad or fruit cup. What I hate about it too is the $ that gets wasted. The parents paid for the tray of food and the kid eats one thing off of it.

Awww, Kelly....I have often wondered how I would deal with a child having a weight issue. I have been fortunate that all of my kids are tiny and eat like pigs. I would have to really adjust to having to manage their intake. I worry a bit about my Grandson...although he is only 2. But his Father and his family all struggle with their weight and have horrible diets. Too soon to worry I know but....

Angie - I don't think you are mean at all. You sound like the kind of Mother I was with my kids. Then I wound up with just the one baby left at home and I am a softie. Sigh. She is spoiled. Rotten.
 
we are packers. DS's school only does lunch orders on Fridays and to be honest I usually just don't think to use the service.
We have a no nuts/nut products policy at the school, plus a healthy eating policy which means that they prefer that we don't pack junk food, chips, cookies, sugary drinks etc. Yet the lunch order menu has things like chicken nuggets, jello and other unhealthy options on it! Go figure!!
 
Angie4b1g said:
Will the lunch ladies monitor it? My daughter used to spend all her money on desserts, but then I told the ladies in the cafeteria she was allowed ONE dessert on TUESDAY and they kinda policed her for me. lol
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Well at their school in FL the lunch ladies didn't speak english (I'm not kidding) so that wasn't an option but we have the good old lunch ladies at the new school (think sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe :giggle...I hope I'm not the only one who remembers that) so I should look into it. I can log into their account and see what they bought, but that never stopped him from buying 3 cookies instead of 1. He's been doing much better since football started, he just has no free time to snack and they pratice or have a game 5 nights a week for at least 2 hours at a time. We have had him tested for everything because my other 3 kids all eat the same things and he is the only one that is heavy.
 
All 4 of my kids have their recess, lunch, after-school/pre-training meals packed. It's a TON of food, I swear. Sigh. Ages 7, 12, 13, 14. And they all swim.

oh, can't forget the small pack of chocolate milk for each of them for AFTER swim practice. :p
 
My youngest gets a packed lunch because with his delays and sensory issues he is limited in what he will eat. My oldest buys lunch at school even though half the time he complains it wasn't what he wanted.

Laura, my Mom was just diagnosed with Celiac disease and they want to test me now as well. I have been doing a lot of research on it.
 
We pack lunches here, although my 3rd grader is helping make it about half the time (all I have patience for). With 2 in school, I'm not willing to pay for the expense of hot lunches, especially since it's mostly unhealthy. We do sandwiches or yogurt plus fruit or veggies with string cheese and occasionally crackers. I try to mix up the fruit and veggies so it's not the exact same thing everyday, but in general it is a pretty boring (but healthy) lunch.
 
Schools in Brazil have a different hour system. Either you have mornings or afternoon hours. Except some private schools that have a full time schedule and are so expensive. My kids go to school in the afternoon, from 1pm until 6pm so they have lunch at home but they have a break at around 3:15. When I dont pack for DS#1 he buys food at school, actually I buy for him when I drop him off. For DS#2 I pay a monthly fee for a pack they offer at his school. That makes my life so easy :)
 
I always packed. My boys never wanted to wait in a line to get their lunch. Thankfully PB&J's were still allowed for my youngest...that's all he ate, even all through high school! (And he hasn't eaten one since!)
 
Our school doesn't have a cafeteria, so everyone has to pack lunches. So we pack every day. :)
 
I'm all for getting the kids to pack their own lunches. It doesn't take long for even a Kindergartner to get it figured out. Just have to be patient and have well-established routine of it.
 
I'm going to be honest here.... my kids qualify for reduced breakfast and lunch prices, so we take advantage of it. They get breakfast and lunch at school for 70cents each day (30 cents for breakfast & 40 cents for lunch) - times 3 kids in school all day. Now, I'm not great at math or economics, but I have yet to figure out how to feed three children 2 meals (six meals total) for $2.10 at home. Our school serves very balanced meals - if I can get my kids to eat the veggies.
 
This thread reminded me to log into my kids' lunch accounts and I found out my first grader has had ice cream everyday for the past 7 days. Grrrrr. He played dumb with the "I thought it was part of the lunch" excuse. I hate that they even offer ice cream treats to the kids.
 
DD#1 is eight and she packs almost every day. I mass produce peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the weekends and freeze them so it is easier during the week. DD#2 is 5 and she likes to buy lunch. She is willing to try almost anything, so I don't worry too much about her.
 
We pack this year. I have saved tons of money on lunches this way. I went to Sam's Club and bought lots of stuff in bulk, and one shopping trip is still getting us by a month into the school year, plus we still have more! I keep money in the account for my youngest's milk break (kindergarten), but that's it. And I can keep better track of what they're actually eating.

I usually get lunches ready the night before if I'm home from work, or I always get up earlier than the kids anyways so I can do it then too. But Angie, I really like the idea of having them be more responsible for it!
 
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