Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Just looking for what other elementary school moms are doing.

Since about midway through last year are started letting my son buy lunch everyday. At $1.85 per day it seemed like a deal. But now I am rethinking for several reasons...one need to save money...two health concerns. What do you do and why?

Thanks!

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Ava only buys on Fridays.. She is so excited, it's sad.. My lunches must taste awful, lol.. But we do it for both health and money reasons.. She loves the school pizza.. ;)

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

DS buys everyday except when its something he doesn't care for...

For me, right now it's just easier and I think its pretty cost effective overall...He's not a big cold-cut kid , so I have a feeling a bunch would go to waste...He also isn't big into PB & J, so aside from bagels and maybe a hot thermos of macaroni or something I'm not sure what I'd even send him with w/ out it getting repetitive...

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

My son goes to a private school (Catholic elementary) and school lunches are $4.50..... I let him get a lunch once a week, and it's not usually every week. But we read the menu for the week each Sunday night and he decides which day he wants to buy..... The lunches are not too bad in terms of what it is, they tend to err on the healthier side anyway.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Our school district is very health conscious. They only use low fat cheese, baked, not fried and whole wheat breads/bagels (pizza too)! DD buys a few times a week but mostly b/c she's a picky eater and only eats PB&J and cheese and crackers from home. She will usually buy pizza on Fridays, grilled cheese (usually only have this 1x per month) chicken nuggets and a bagel w/ butter or a cheese sandwich which averages to about 2-3 times per week.

Here is a statement from the menu..

DID YOU KNOW? Milk & Chicken products are hormone & antibiotic free - All dressings are all natural, with no artificial ingredients & no HFCS (high fructose corn
syrup) - All condiments are low fat - Teriyaki sauce & soy sauce are low sodium - Sliced bread, hamburger buns & hot dog buns are 100% w. grain & contain no HFCS
- Breads, tortilla wraps, taco shells, nacho chips, panini bread, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce & all condiments are free of any partially hydrogenated oils & HFCS - Yogurt is
100% all natural & contains no artificial ingredients - Pancakes & waffles are w. grain & contain no artificial colors or flavors - All pasta is Barilla w. grain - All rice is
brown - Pizza crust at secondary level is whole grain; elementary level is whole wheat - Tuna is dolphin safe & packed in water - Fish sticks have whole grain breading -
Flavored milk contains no HFCS

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

The school puts out a lunch menu each month. I have Lauren pick and choose what she wants on which day. It's 50/50. The school makes everything from scratch and is very healthy and well balanced so I actually prefer her eating a school lunch. She is in first but started this in K. She also gets bottled water instead of Milk or Juice.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Robbie buys almost every day. For him it's kind of a 'social' thing. He's not especially turned on by the flavors but his buddies buy and it's the current thing that most kids do in his grade.

Noah brings almost every single day. And always the same thing - PBJ and a juice. He buys if it is 'brunch for lunch' or pizza delivery day - so maybe 3-4 times a month. He gets 'embarrassed' to move to much from his routine. He doesn't like to be noticed.

I'm not terribly worried about their nutrition at school We focus on making sure they get an adequate amount of lean protein, quality carbs, water and dairy at home. They don't get too much sugar or junk most of the time and they get a lot of physical activity. We figure we can't control 100% of what happens in their life.. so we just have to be vigilant about what we can control!

It's a change for me. I used to be much more high strung about this stuff. Now.. I am way more easy going.

As to the cost. I dump money in their lunch accounts at the beginning of the year and just add more in as/if needed. It's not CHEAP but they do get a fair amount of food for the cost.

Message edited 1/31/2011 9:39:39 AM.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

My school you order in advance for the month. My son only really likes what they serve 2 days a week. Pizza and Pasta days. The rest of the week he brings his own...not very healthy anyway - he brings pasta everyday - it is all he wants.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

My DS is only in pre-K, but right now he buys once a week because that's when they have Domino's pizza.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

They buy every monday and friday, it is chciken nugget and pizza day. I try to limit it to that, but last week one of my kids bought every day, I told him to not count on that though, lol.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

In K DS bought lunch every day. It was the "cool thing to do". Now in 2nd it dosent fit into his social schedule. His class gets down to the caft. late so the line is too long which causes him to miss some of recess. We cant have that! so he brings lunch every day.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

we look at the menu and decide. if she likes it, she buys. if not, i pack lunch. Last week, she bought 4 days. This week, she is only buying once. For $1.85, I feel like it's pretty economical being i would probably spend close to that by the time i buy cold cuts, bread, snack and drink.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

My kids' school is in a district that has adopted the "Wellness Initiative" so ALL the school food is very healthy.

Nick will buy lunch about 5 times a month. He circles the things he likes and he brings in money on those days. The rest of the time he brings lunch from home.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Our kids buy every day (semester ticket)

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

DS buys everyday. He loves what the menu offers and a lot of the items are on the healthy side.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

He always buys on Fridays because it's pizza day.

I started off packing his lunch every day, then we went to checking the menu every day and making sure that he would like whatever will be served. For the past 2 months I was happilly packing it every single day but Fridays because he said everything served in school cafeteria was 'disgusting'!

However, in the last 2 weeks told me twice that two lunches: what I packed and what the school served because they were serving something good that day! Of course, he does not want to eat dinner on those days!

I am putting a stop to that though! We are back to checking the menu and planning. I do hate it when he eats at school though, especially if it's a cheeseburger or something like that when I KNOW they are using the nastiest, cheapest ground meat possible! Of course, that is his favorite thing there! UGH! ( I also just read Anthony Bourdain Medium Raw, so that really made me even more worried about those school meals of his.)

Can you tell I am just a little bit preoccupied with my son's lunches?

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

We get the menu sent home at the beginning of each month and I let DD check out the menu and pick one day each week where she can buy lunch. The rest of the week I pack her lunch for her.
The reason I dont like her buying is she is a very slow eater and most of the time the food will end up in the trash. With me packing her lunch...the lunch aide will make her put her food back in her lunchbox if she hasnt finished so I know how much she has eaten....with school lunch I cant tell.

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

SD hasn't had a bagged lunch since the first week of 1st grade...she likes buying her lunch.

As far as health reasons go, they say the lunches provide 1/3 of the daily nutrition recommended for children...that's if she eats all of it, which who knows if that's the case...but I can't say she'd eat all of what I would send her either.

Honestly, its easier for everyone. She eats breakfast at school too, so 2 out of 3 meals 5 days a week come from school and she is no more unhealthy than any other kid HTH!

Re: Do you let your kid buy lunch and how often?

We were buying 2x a week. One day (usually chicken nuggets) and every Friday (the kid would eat pizza every day if she could, so she looks forward to Pizza Fridays)

BUT, ever since you girls clued me in on the warm thermos options, she only does pizza Fridays. She does soup, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, quesadillas...etc. Plus, our sandwiches are using the same meat she would get at the cafeteria(boar's head), so I feel better controlling what portion-size she gets (i.e. small Kaiser roll).

It may change if she asks...but she seems happy with this, so we'll keep it this way for now. I have been blessed with an amazing eater, so I am flexible

She does buy rotating choice of milk, chocolate milk (once a week), or juice (which she prefers from home).