That groan heard throughout the USA is the surge of exasperation from parents once again attempting to pack their kids a school lunch that will be well received, nutritious, inexpensive, and eaten in its entirety.
Once you take into account your school’s policy on acceptable foods (currently, we struggle with a no gluten rule for snacks), accommodate your child’s preferences, adapt that to the amount of time you have in the mornings to pull it together, and try to maintain your grocery budget – you’ll be sweating from anxiety.
Let’s break down the different stressors:
Schools Policies: We absolutely understand the threat of food allergens for some students. But it is a sticky road to navigate for the unafflicted. Not only can these policies wreak havoc on your budget, but they can also create significant obstacles to providing your child with lunch and snack. You can’t default to PB&J if your school has a no peanuts rule, let alone a gluten free policy.
Pickiness: What is it about school lunch that takes an easy going, experimental child and creates a picky, snobby, beast of a kid? Our Plum typically loves a wide variety of foods. She’ll eat a PB&J as easily as a dish of gnocchi smothered in pesto. But try to ask what she wants for lunch and look out! Her nose wrinkles at the idea of a cheese sandwich with mustard and pickles. She literally sobs at the idea of leftovers from dinner: spaghetti, soup, or maybe a burrito. The only suggestions we get from her after a lot of cajoling are “left over pizza” or “veggie bologna.” Great! But these are items that we don’t stock up on during our weekly shopping, so they will not typically be available to pack for lunch.
Budget: Thanks to policies and pickiness, staying within an established grocery budget becomes a giant pain once school opens. Last year, a teacher sent home a snack list to accommodate a gluten sensitive child and requested that the parents rotate through the items each week. The list had only expensive name brand snacks found at specialty shops and organic specific produce. We had a good laugh over that one. And if you allow your child to buy a school lunch, that is a separate cost to factor into your budget. Then that choice raises a host of additional questions about the nutritional and environmental value of the cafeteria food. The only solid suggestion to tackle this budgeting dilemma is to plan, plan, and plan some more. And be prepared to put your foot down if needed.
In an attempt to navigate the mine field of school lunch, we’ve tasked fifth-grade Plum with creating a list of acceptable lunches and snacks from home. It is our go-to for selections when we have morning suggestions that are snubbed by Plum. If you don’t want the left-over avocado, cukes, and tomato for a sandwich, along with some grapes and pretzels, then pick something off the list. If you don’t want anything from the list either, you pay for school lunch with your own money. If you don’t have cash, you’re out of luck and packing something from home for your lunch, regardless of your level of enthusiasm.
We like that our Plum is more involved in this topic now. We like that she has more responsibility for her lunch and that she pays more attention to what goes in it. She has a better understanding of the budgetary and dietary aspects of her choices. But that said, she still brings home parts of her lunch that are essentially uneaten.
This has been our solution so far. We welcome additional ideas!