Xmas Presents

[GretasLittleFriends]

While I understand your point Mac60, I have to say it's up to the provider. Personally I think the children should be grateful to get anything at all, whether their parents have paid or not. The presents I have chosen to give each of my children will be opened at their own home. Two reasons #1 Another child can't complain that he wanted the book and monkey when he got a book and turtle instead, and #2 if the child doesn't like the present I don't have to see the disappointed look on the child's face.

On a side note, our school district here, if the kid doesn't pay the kid doesn't eat. They'd go broke feeding children peanut butter sandwiches because the parents here would think, well, that's ok, my kids are still getting something to eat. Of course, better than 2/3 of the children k-12 are on reduced or free meals anyway.

[Chickenhauler]

Kind of reminds me of our school system when parents don't send in lunch money, you will get a peanut butter sandwich day after day.

I'd bet that PB&J is more food, and better for them than they are getting at home.


Never could figure that out.. (parents that can't "afford" to feed their kid lunch)...school lunch is CHEAP! $2 is what ours cost, and that includes an entree, veggie, fruit, and milk.

[tymaboy]

I hate the way our school system does lunch. My DS will choose to wait till he gets home to eat cuz we think someone else punches in a wrong number on the system then someone elses account gets charged. We think that happens to DS account but when he says something they dont do anything about it.

[mac60]

I hate the way our school system does lunch. My DS will choose to wait till he gets home to eat cuz we think someone else punches in a wrong number on the system then someone elses account gets charged. We think that happens to DS account but when he says something they dont do anything about it.

My kids were in high school when they started this at our school, and we had the same issues. We could go online and check their account to make sure deposits were made. I did that, and I also called on more than one occassion that his money was not in his account. We just lost the money. They even would ask us which "lady" it was given too.....when in fact there was just a "box" it was dropped in and "no lady". I got tired of the crap with our system. All it takes is the person to punch in 1 wrong number and the monies go into the wrong account. I know it happens.

My sister works at the elementary school and tells me the horror stories of the lunch room. How a kid will have maxed out their charges because parents did not send in money. And how they will get a pnt btr sandwich and a milk day after day for lunch because they have irresponsible parents who don't give a damn whether they eat or not. My sister has on many occassions paid for a childs lunch.

[jen]

I hate the way our school system does lunch. My DS will choose to wait till he gets home to eat cuz we think someone else punches in a wrong number on the system then someone elses account gets charged. We think that happens to DS account but when he says something they dont do anything about it.

I've had that happen...I called the school and got it squared away pretty easily. Maybe if you call instead they will be more proactive!

[jen]

I'd bet that PB&J is more food, and better for them than they are getting at home.


Never could figure that out.. (parents that can't "afford" to feed their kid lunch)...school lunch is CHEAP! $2 is what ours cost, and that includes an entree, veggie, fruit, and milk.

How many kids do you have? Don't get me wrong...I completely believe that they are MY children and MY responsbility to feed...however, for people who have had set-backs and have more than one child, lunch can get expensive. I've got 3 kids, lunch is 2.20/day, so if there are 20 school days in a month, the minimum is $132.

HOWEVER, our school has revamped the lunch menues to focus more on fruits and vegetable, and less on meats. Which is fine, unless you are 15, the starting point guard for the basetball team, and STARVING. In which case, you will also be paying for a 2nd entree...an additional $1.50 per day...

My biggest pet peeve...that they are offering additional "sides" of fruit roll-up, pop-tarts, cookies, water bottles....I called and put a hold on my kids account because they were going through lunch money like crazy!

[Chickenhauler]

I hate the way our school system does lunch. My DS will choose to wait till he gets home to eat cuz we think someone else punches in a wrong number on the system then someone elses account gets charged. We think that happens to DS account but when he says something they dont do anything about it.

My kids were in high school when they started this at our school, and we had the same issues. We could go online and check their account to make sure deposits were made. I did that, and I also called on more than one occassion that his money was not in his account. We just lost the money. They even would ask us which "lady" it was given too.....when in fact there was just a "box" it was dropped in and "no lady". I got tired of the crap with our system. All it takes is the person to punch in 1 wrong number and the monies go into the wrong account. I know it happens.

My sister works at the elementary school and tells me the horror stories of the lunch room. How a kid will have maxed out their charges because parents did not send in money. And how they will get a pnt btr sandwich and a milk day after day for lunch because they have irresponsible parents who don't give a damn whether they eat or not. My sister has on many occassions paid for a childs lunch.

When we lived in OR, we could "deposit" money into the kids lunch accounts using our debit cards, and the "code" was thumbprint....nobody else's kid could use my kids "code".

How many kids do you have? Don't get me wrong...I completely believe that they are MY children and MY responsbility to feed...however, for people who have had set-backs and have more than one child, lunch can get expensive. I've got 3 kids, lunch is 2.20/day, so if there are 20 school days in a month, the minimum is $132.

HOWEVER, our school has revamped the lunch menues to focus more on fruits and vegetable, and less on meats. Which is fine, unless you are 15, the starting point guard for the basetball team, and STARVING. In which case, you will also be paying for a 2nd entree...an additional $1.50 per day...

My biggest pet peeve...that they are offering additional "sides" of fruit roll-up, pop-tarts, cookies, water bottles....I called and put a hold on my kids account because they were going through lunch money like crazy!

I have two kids, and a third on the way.

Reason I say it's "CHEAP", even @ $2.20 per meal, where are you going to get ANYTHING for that, much less prepared and served hot?

Heck, even a frozen pizza that isn't cardboard with ketchup on it costs $5, and then you still gotta cook it and toss in a beverage (milk or juice).

Heck, I just dropped $10 on a Reuben, fries and a Sprite.

Can you feed 60 meals (3 kids, 20 school days) for $132, even at home? It'd be tough......


My take on "bottled water".....if the water at the fountain or tap is that unsafe, maybe it's time to drill a new well. Bottled water is the best marketing gimmick ever. Still mad I missed out on the ground floor on that scam.

[momofboys]

I'd bet that PB&J is more food, and better for them than they are getting at home.


Never could figure that out.. (parents that can't "afford" to feed their kid lunch)...school lunch is CHEAP! $2 is what ours cost, and that includes an entree, veggie, fruit, and milk.

Not cheap to me. But then I have two in school & it would cost us over $20 for the week (ours is $2.25!) That's why we pack almost everyday, !

[momma2girls]

I think ours is $2.50 each day as well.

[momofboys]

I hate the way our school system does lunch. My DS will choose to wait till he gets home to eat cuz we think someone else punches in a wrong number on the system then someone elses account gets charged. We think that happens to DS account but when he says something they dont do anything about it.

Oh my goodness! I think that happened to my son last year. We had paid in advance for up to 15 lunches for him. We usually pack 3-4 days a week anyway & I keep track of how many credits we still had at home. One day he came home from school saying he had no more credits & according to my calendar he still had 4 left!!!!! I wrote a note & complained to no avail. We were just out that $. So now since that happened I make him bring the $$$ in on the days he buys.

[seashell]

I usually get the kids the book and stuffed animal sets from Kohls. I went last night, and they $8. I was a happy girl at the savings and even bought a new toy for daycare!

[Chickenhauler]

Not cheap to me. But then I have two in school & it would cost us over $20 for the week (ours is $2.25!) That's why we pack almost everyday, !

Take the time to actually crunch the numbers once on what exactly goes into that bag lunch for the week, and I bet you'll find that you're spending more than $22.50.

Decent lunch meat costs $5 per package (and I don't count Oscar Mayer Bologna as "decent", unless we're talking dog treats).

[momofboys]

Take the time to actually crunch the numbers once on what exactly goes into that bag lunch for the week, and I bet you'll find that you're spending more than $22.50.

Decent lunch meat costs $5 per package (and I don't count Oscar Mayer Bologna as "decent", unless we're talking dog treats).

No, we'd never send an Oscar Mayer snack lunch. Yuck!!! Anyway,we have thermoses that the boys take which we put about 5-6 oz of milk in, very inexpensive considering milk in my area has been under $2 gallon lately. We make sandwiches (very cheap; we have an Amish Meat & Cheese store in town & live close to an Amish community which has several stores who compete against each other, they sell excellent deli lunch meat/cheese at GREAT prices $2.99/pound is the average- they always have 2 or three cheeses or meats at cheap sale prices to get you in the door-we simply buy the ones on sale & nothing else, ! The meat/cheese that is not on sale is well over $3 pound; we just don't buy those! ), include a miniature box of raisins (one bag costs $1.89 for about 12 boxes) & a small Kroger brand pack of yogurt (33 cents at my Kroger grocery store). By my calculations this should cost $1.50 each, probably less. I don't have time to do the math.
But I do understand your logic; we have to take the time to make the lunch, buy the groceries, & shop for good prices, etc. But saving the $$$ is more important to us at this time. Times are tough for many & we are no exception & since I only care for one family I don't bring in much $$$.

[Former Teacher]

hmmm how did we get from Christmas presents to lunches I don't know!

Anyway about lunches: I think I said in a earlier post about how on field trips parents would never bring their child a sack lunch. The director didn't want the children to go hungry so she would make a lunch...well one thing led to another and on 1 trip more than half didnt bring a lunch. They figured hey since the dc was already providing the lunch, they didnt need to bring it. Sad to say but the child(ren) were made to suffer because of stupidity of the parents. Needless to say, it stopped after that trip.

About Christmas gifts: Again its a shame the child is made to suffer. I use to ALWAYS give my kids something. And not no toy from the dollar store either. Never once did I get a thank you. Oh sure, over the years the special parents would give me a small trinket or something. But it would have been nice to maybe at least HEAR a real thank you. One year out of a class of 20, I got maybe 3 gifts tops. Again no thank yous. That was the last year I gave my class gifts.

Please don't get me wrong. I am NOT at all selfish or greedy. I just wanted to be appreciated, that's all. And I know that Christmas is not all about gifts. I am sure I sound like a bad person but again it goes back to I just wanted to be appreciated. It seems that the only time we appreciate the things and people in our lives is around the holiday season.

[Chickenhauler]

No, we'd never send an Oscar Mayer snack lunch. Yuck!!! Anyway,we have thermoses that the boys take which we put about 5-6 oz of milk in, very inexpensive considering milk in my area has been under $2 gallon lately. We make sandwiches (very cheap; we have an Amish Meat & Cheese store in town & live close to an Amish community which has several stores who compete against each other, they sell excellent deli lunch meat/cheese at GREAT prices $2.99/pound is the average- they always have 2 or three cheeses or meats at cheap sale prices to get you in the door-we simply buy the ones on sale & nothing else, ! The meat/cheese that is not on sale is well over $3 pound; we just don't buy those! ), include a miniature box of raisins (one bag costs $1.89 for about 12 boxes) & a small Kroger brand pack of yogurt (33 cents at my Kroger grocery store). By my calculations this should cost $1.50 each, probably less. I don't have time to do the math.
But I do understand your logic; we have to take the time to make the lunch, buy the groceries, & shop for good prices, etc. But saving the $$$ is more important to us at this time. Times are tough for many & we are no exception & since I only care for one family I don't bring in much $$$.

Then add in the value of eating a hot meal....especially this time of year. It's hard to put a dollar value on the difference between a hot meal and a cold sammich in the winter.

When we lived in OR, the school had a few dozen nukers in the lunchroom for the kids to use to heat up their sack lunches.....worked out awesome, as the kids could bring leftovers from home! Now that's saving a buck!