How frequently does your school age LO buy a school lunch?

[georgiegirl]

Never. My kids are in 3rd and K. DD has never been interested in hot lunch, and our lunches aren't exactly the healthiest. So in 3.5 years of public school, DD has had zero school lunches. DS1 would love to have hot lunch because he thinks it's cool and they have some junk food from time to time. But I like having control over what his good choices are, so I pack lunch every day.

This year our school started offering a salad bar option, and I looked at it the other day, and it actually looks decent. DD would probably really like it. They have lettuce, a bunch of veggie toppings, cheeses, black beans, and meats. But I don't feel like DS would be able to manage serving himself salad bar (he's 5) and I don't think there's a way I can control whether he picks salad bar or regular hot lunch, and it wouldn't be fair to just get one of them school lunch, so I'm packing lunch forever.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My guy refuses, which really bothers me! Our school nutrition is FANTASTIC! We try to eat healthfully, but the school has me beat big time. The kids grow lots of their own vegetables in the school garden, and everything else, including meat, comes as often as possible from local farms. Everything there is home made, nothing processed. There are always vegan and gluten free options, and they still manage to make kid-appealing foods. If I could eat there daily, I absolutely would!!!

DS has had school lunch three times so far this year. The third time was a consequence of his dawdling and making me too late to pack his lunch in the morning, so it was sort of a punishment. Poor child had to eat his school lunch choice of whole wheat pizza with a salad, fruit, and milk. He ate it and enjoyed it but still doesn't want to buy school lunch. Sigh.

Yours only has us slightly beat bc gluten free isn't an option and vegan only sometimes (always a vegetarian option though). Very similar otherwise! I would eat there! I have been known to do just that when I am volunteering.

[AnnieW625]

In kindergarten and first grade DD1 bought school lunch about 2-3 times a month. At the beginning of 2nd grade the company said my credit card had expired, which it hadn't, but I never got around to calling them so she hasn't had it in almost 2 yrs. . Our school uses a private company. She does get hot lunch when they have special days like In N Out Burger or the day of the fair when they can get a burger or pizza from the fair food booths (fair food booths are handled by parent volunteers, and must meet license requirements by the city health department).

[essnce629]

Our charter elementary and middle school have a great lunch program with over a dozen lunch choices to choose from a day. Some of the choices are California rolls, cheese enchiladas, salads, bbq chicken, shepard's pie, spaghetti with meatballs, cesar wraps, tikka masala, as well as kid loved items like baked chicken breast pieces, pizza, yogurt parfaits, lasagna, etc. The kids have unlimited access to fresh fruit and veggies daily-- grapes, orange slices, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, edamame, cucumber slices, baby carrots, etc plus a snack (sunflower seeds, corn nuts, dried seaweed, string cheese, etc). The only drink offered is plain milk. No juice or chocolate milk. There's gluten free and vegetarian options daily.

Needless to say, we love our lunch program and both kids buy school lunch daily.

When DS1 was at his old school, which had your standard school lunch, he never bought once in 2 years.

[Melaine]

We have a two day per week hybrid school and we can buy lunches, but we can't afford to so haven't this year. I prefer to save our food budget for eating out as a family or grabbing a pizza that actually gets me out of cooking. I'm sure that 5 days a week of packing lunches would get old though.

[Tenasparkl]

DD bought the morning snack/breakfast once and has never bought lunch. She made a plan with her best friend to buy lunch one day and then asked us to make her a lunch at the last minute. We leave a few dollars in her backpack and have told her that she can buy lunch if she wants to one day, but she doesn't seem too interested so far.

[gatorsmom]

Each of my kids is different. My youngest takes school lunch everyday. DS2 never, ever takes it. The other two take it between 1-3x per week.

The food isn't terrible. They do have a salad bar but it's always the same things and never very exciting. On average I pack 2 meals each day.

[JElaineB]

Every day. He enjoys the school lunches and the variety.

[calebsmama03]

Mine buy whenever it is pizza day, so 1-2x/month. I find it pricey for what it is, and not very nutritious so it's a treat.

[citymama]

About 2-4 times a month. She likes a few of the quasi-Asian dishes (potstickers, chow mein) but she won't eat the pizza or nuggets or Mac n cheese. Our school district is ranked highly nation-wide for its school lunches, which makes me worry about the state of our school lunches nation-wide! It does have a good salad bar and veggie options daily.