I have a "beef" about school lunches.

No pun intended... we're all a bit frightened by the news... but apparently not enough to stop serving sloppy joes on Tuesdays.

I never remember the hot lunch program being so strict and highly monitored back in my own school days. I actually have somewhat FOND memories of school lunches at Kyle Elementary School. Beef stew day was a favorite because that also meant homemade bun day. At the end of the meal I recall lunch ladies bringing trays around with extras if everyone had been served and there was food left they brought it around for seconds. It was wonderful. Here every little thing costs extra. I wouldn't be surprised if I got dinged for taking three ketchup packets instead of two.

We used actual silverware and trays and glasses for milk. Sure someone had to wash them at the end of the meal, but think of all the waste that is produced daily by a school district like ours that uses disposable trays and cutlery. I'm amazed it's even permitted in an environmentally conscious society. Could it be that no one knows?

I recall my mother having the monthly school menu taped to the fridge and I would check it out each day in preparation. (Meals have ALWAYS been a big deal for me) there were very few repeats, which was a bummer for me on some of my favorite meals. However, the school where I work has the same thing each week. It's basically a five day repeating meal schedule. There is some variance so it's probably more like a 10 day meal plan but the choices are so similar it's hardly a variety at all. Year in and year out, I am officially unable to swallow another bite of turkey tidbits.

My current complaint is more in the realm of what counts as a vegetable in a standard lunch meal in our school district. Our lunch lady, who is truly a saint, insists that she has to count french fries as a vegetable or our mashed potatoes on turkey tidbit day as our vegetable. Where I come from potatoes don't count as veggies. They are starches. Or am I just making that up? In a recent wellness class I attended we learned about the USDA food pyramid changes and I asked about the french fries and they looked at me like I was from Mars and said NO, french fries do NOT count as a vegetable and I suggested they mention that to our district lunch coordinator. I'm not suggesting we NOT serve french fries or mashed potatoes, just that we not be so "cheap" as to suggest that if a student opts for potatoes on which to put their meatballs and gravy, they not be penalized and have to pay extra for green beans since they "already have a vegetable."

Perhaps this is all just pettiness and nothing to "get worked up over" but it's long been a source of irritation and what fun is having a blog if I can't bitch a little now and then. Perhaps this is a reason to send kids to school with lunchboxes lest they begin demaning a trip to McDonalds when you encourage them to "eat their veggies"