School Lunches

Our school lunches are usually pretty good and have a lot of variety -- various salads, soups, sandwiches, burgers/chicken, pizza and main dishes are offered every day. It is a la carte and so the cost is a bit on the high side. Our kids normally bring their meals.

At the public high school, lunch is $2.50, though the students often grab a slice of pizza or a burger from vendors allowed on school property. My understanding is that the regular food is "gross." One neat thing though: all public school students (elementary, middle, and high) eat breakfast for free if they get there earlier enough in the morning.

 

$4.00 a lunch

 

This is simlar to what lunches were like a few years ago before mine graduated. But I think they are still under $2. by how much I don't really know.
No vendors at schools here.

 

Sweden is a socialist country and therfore have free lunch in scholl (and high taxes).

 

The day care I used to run served "school" lunches to the Christian School. We sold them for 2.50 or 3.00, and were certainly worth their weight in gold. Best you could have around.

 

My children left school years ago, but I understand that school meals in my area cost about £1.70 a day, which a currency conversion site tells me is $3.15

 

my kids are at a small private school, so their lunches consist of whatever we pack them.

 

A typical $4 lunch at his high school would be: a slice of pizza, fruit, salad and a milk (chocolate or regular). Other days it may be a hamburger or burritto but with the same theme, fruit, a vegetable & tiny carton of milk.
There is a salad bar which comes with soup for $4 but you still have to buy a milk, OJ or water for $1 more. He says it tastes bad. He says all the lunches taste pretty bad.

The lunches are healthier off campus at some of the sandwich shops (fresh organic veges) and the local taco hut where they can get a burritto for less $$ with pure beans, organic and no animal fat. The local restaurants cater to the kids, trying to make lunches healthier. Like offering a slice of vegetarian pizza for $1 and a coke for $1 at the Pizza place.

We give our son about $150 a month for lunch. So that is a little over $7 a day. I don't know what he does with any leftover money, maybe uses it for gas. I think he treats some of his lady friends to lunch sometimes.

Governor Schwarzenegger got rid of the junk food in school lunches a few years ago :thumbs:

They have an hour lunch so the majority of kids go off campus to eat. The school is located right in the middle of town.

 

I forgot to add that it would probably save about $20-25 a month to pack a lunch (w/ a drink) vs. lunch from the school cafeteria.
About how much do you save in Alabama by bring a lunch to school?

 

With two in high school and average lunches at $5 or so, that's $200 per month total. So whatever we pack (normally sandwiches, chips, breakfast bars, water bottles, etc.) we still come out way ahead by packing lunch for them.

 

This is long, sorry. I was interested in the nutritional content of some of these items. Cherry Kool Aid contains two very dangerous drugs which are dyes. Kids really react to these, especially red #40. Your spaghetti O's appear to contain meth and/or antifreeze (ethanol) iodine and other drugs.

I know you said you don't pack pb& j much, but that appears the healthiest thing on your menu.

The ingredients listed in spaghettio's a product is meth not surprising- aka methanphetamine ( remember illegal drugs like crank and cocaine? That's it) iodine, antifreeze (ethanol). There are other drugs/poisons listed also. It also contans a ton of "sugars"which you can bet probably includes high fructose corn syrup.

Hygroscopic substances include sugar, honey, glycerol, ethanol, methanol, sulfuric acid, methamphetamine, iodine[1], many chloride and hydroxide salts, and a variety of other substances. Sodium chloride is not hygroscopic. The hygroscopy of table salt is caused by traces of magnesium chloride or other innocuous impurities.[2]

Though it is not stated which of these listed above are the exact ingredients, one or all are included. They are very dangerous poisons.

I would expect the average kid whom ate a whole can of Spaghetti O's to speed up for a while, then bomb. Add mood swings, withdraws, etc...overall it likely or can induce behavor problems in kids which otherwise wouldn't be present.

Maybe try Campbells Chicken Soup. A little salt. Includes protein with very few calories.

http://www.campbellwellness.com/product-list.asp?brandCatID=768&brandID=10&productID=11734&catID=347

SpaghettiOs® Canned Pasta
SpaghettiO’s® Original
Nutrition Facts*
Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 1 cup
Calories *180
Total Fat *1g
Sat. Fat *0g
Trans Fat *0g
Cholesterol* 5mg
Sodium *630mg
Total Carb. *37g
Dietary Fiber * 3g
Sugars * 13g
Protein * 6g
% Daily Values**
Vitamin A *10%
Vitamin C *0%
Vitamin D *0%
Calcium *2%
Iron *10%
Niacin *15%
Thiamin *10%
Riboflavin *15%
Folic Acid *25%
* The nutrition information contained in this list of Nutrition Facts is based on our current data. However, because the data may change from time to time, this information may not always be identical to the nutritional label information of products on shelf.
** % Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Campbell’s® Condensed Soups
Chicken NoodleO's® Soup
Nutrition Facts*
Amount Per Serving (serving size) = 1/2 cup condensed
Calories *80
Total Fat *2.5g
Sat. Fat *1g
Trans Fat *0g
Cholesterol* 10mg
Sodium *620mg
Total Carb. *12g
Dietary Fiber * 1g
Sugars * 2g
Protein * 4g
% Daily Values**
Vitamin A *15%
Vitamin C *0%
Calcium *0%
Iron *4%
* The nutrition information contained in this list of Nutrition Facts is based on our current data. However, because the data may change from time to time, this information may not always be identical to the nutritional label information of products on shelf.
** % Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.


KOOL-AID POWDERED - SOFT DRINK MIX - CHERRY UNSWEETENED
Ingredients: CITRIC ACID, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, RED 40, SALT, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), ARTIFICIAL COLOR, BLUE 1.




Here are some of the things I have, or planned on getting to pack lunches for our foster kids.
All ingredients have been examined, so I know it's all ok. I am not drugging them or causing them to be hyped up


All sandwiches should be made w/ whole wheat bread. Kids like Romano whole wheat bread. No white bread, that's awful stuff.


celery sticks with peanut butter
Whole Grain Fig Newton bars (cookies)
Trail Mix, freeze dried pinapple- get from health food sections.
Wheat thins with chunks of cheddar cheese
Snack size yogurt packs. -Junk food looking yogurt (like the ones with sprinkles such as Trix (cereal)) are healthy overall. So they pick their favorite kind of snack yogurts
Apple sauce in little cups, make sure no high fructose sugar is added. Check sugar content. Try to get organic if possible, that usually implies it's also healthier in general
Bananas, grapes, mellon, any fruit sliced up. Or we buy organic apples already sliced in packages


Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (organic peanut butter & jelly only (Simply fruit Jelly is very healthy)
Tuna Fish sandwiches-Tuna packed IN WATER (not oil) -Use season rice vinegar, poor tiny amount in bowl then poor it back out into the sink. You need only a dab for flavor or it's too strong)
Egg Salad Sandwiches- Use eggs from the local farmers market or a friend if possible. They taste much better
Cold slice of pizza, preferably vegetarian because it has loads of veges.

Could add A very cold V-8 Juice, make it almost freezing cold before you pack it in the morning so it will stay cold for lunch.

We add the blue ice to the lunch boxes so the sandwiches which contain mayo won't spoil.

 

I have to laugh at this one because I used the same logic on my kids to avoid buying lunchables. Then the school goes and raises prices on lunch and suddenly my argument against lunchables goes out the window.

We pay $2.70 and elementary school lunch, and $3.10 for a middle school lunch.


Bill

 

Our high school lunch raised to $2.75.