It's summer, and it is therefore the season of free lunch and breakfast. The school district provides free meals to children under the age of 18 at various parks and schools. Adults can buy a lunch for $3. Adults are not permitted to eat off the kids' plates, and until this year, you were not supposed to remove food from the premises. This year, the kids may take one thing, such as their fruit or cookies.
I have tried this a couple of times in the past. I would go to the park, and it would frustrate me to no end to watch my children waste tax money by ignoring their food. I ceased and decided it was not worth it. Besides, I either had to feed myself first, pay $3, or wait till I came home to eat. With only 2 or even 3 kids, it wasn't worth it. This year, though, I have 4 eating kids of my own plus my wonderful neighbor. Going to the school saves me some money.
I totally agree with the motive behind the rules. The food is for the children. I believe in being honest and following the rules. BUT I also believe in being thrifty and not wasting food. Every time I go to the park, I have this major internal battle. I can justify disobeying the rules by arguing that the children will eat it later or that it would just end up in the trash anyway. Why is it worse to feed me than the garbage can? If they're not going to eat it, why shouldn't I? If I buy my own lunch, does that make me less guilty if I snitch unwanted food from my kids' bags? So this is my moral dilemma: Follow the rules or not waste food?
I'm glad that most days we can go to the school where food is served on a tray, and it would be hard to take the food with me even if I wanted. At the park, though, everything is prepackaged in a paper bag. Anything not eaten would be so easy to take home. And if I bring home Sunny's carrots, you can bet she won't eat them any better at home than she did at the park. So in the mean time, I think we'll keep eating at the school, and on Fridays, we will just eat at home to save me the dilemma!
By the way, I'm not sure how I feel about the whole program, but I'd be crazy not to take advantage of it since it's there!
How about you other mothers? Do you take your kids to free lunch? Do you ever snitch or keep stuff? What do you think about all this?
2 comments:
I've struggled with the rules on this too. I don't know the answer either. We always went to the park last year and only this year have we tried the lunches at the schools.
I like the idea that they can take one thing home with them now. It's easier for me to accept the rule that way. Usually, my kids eat pretty well, so they really only want one thing to take with them (cookie, chips, etc.) I agree that it is also easier to throw away what isn't eaten at the cafeteria than the park.
I usually pack my own (hot) lunch to take and eat - but I do get looks sometimes from the staff - watching me to make sure I'm not eating the kids food! I have paid to buy the lunches a couple times and sometimes feel a little more justified in packing up their extras in my "marked" bag that I'm allowed to carry off the premises :)
I would feel better if they allowed the kids to "return" the items that were not opened and that won't go bad (like chips, carrots, etc) - then at least those can be reused another day and not wasted. I like at the cafeteria that you take what you'll eat and if I know my kids won't eat something - I won't take it. (but all the extra is probably wasted at some point).
Anyway, that's my two cents - I struggle with the rule as well, but I guess I've come to accept it more and be okay with throwing things away.
I think if it is a free lunch, then it should all be free and you should be able to take the left overs home with you to eat later on. Why such a fuss over not taking it and letting it go to the garbage can... who will monitor the garbage can to make sure nobody gets that food? Will they object when the homeless people sift through it or the birds at the dumps get it? I say free should be free!!!
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