Today’s menu: hot dog, whole wheat buns, beans, fruit cup, milk
My spork was defective. You can see it is bent back and forth (reminds me of the cover of one of Augusten Burrough’s books — great writer by the way). It happened when I was tearing into my hot dog container. I tried stabbing my beans afterward and my spork just bounced off. I was desperate for beans! Luckily I was able to rip through the plastic after a little while.
I should be bringing silverware from home, but if I don’t grab a spork, I think I might blow my cover. I certainly won’t bring my titanium spork to work because what if someone found it? Plus I treasure it! (Oh yeah, I got word that Jamie Oliver got his titanium spork and likes it! So cool!)
I ate all the fruit cup and drank the juice too. I used to just sip the fruit cup, but now I guess I’m a die hard and I eat it all. My my, how things have changed.
I took a very quick informal poll with just a couple students to find out what they ate from today’s lunch. The hot dog was the only thing eaten along with chocolate milk. It appears that the beans and the fruit cup were just trashed. Really a shame.
It’s fun to get kids’ comments about the lunch, but I refrain from asking the kids about their lunch every day. I don’t want to be pushy and always ask them. And like I’ve stated before they lie to me and tell me what they think I want to hear.
***
I have been sick sporadically over the past couple months, but I haven’t kept track of how many colds we’ve had (I have young family so we do get everything). I’ve been on antibiotics once this Spring and that hadn’t happened in a long time. Facing school lunch while sick is very hard. Sometimes I just wanted soup, you know? But I push myself to get to school and not stay home so I can do my job and have the opportunity to eat school lunch for the project. It’s pretty screwed up that I’m doing that to myself.
This month a kid said to me, “You’re sick. You need to go to the office. You need to call somebody to come and get you.”
I almost melted. So sweet.
Of course I asked a follow-up after thanking my student.
“Who would come and get me?”
Big eyes. Deep in thought for minutes.
That question was quite the stumper!
He knew it wasn’t my mother, but who?
As soon as I saw the spork, I immediately thought of a video that I watched last week about plastics… it's heartwrenching:
http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/2010/05/our-today-is-forever.html
Bring your own!! Your cover won't be blown 🙂
Aw, what the little kid said was so cute ^-^
I love your blogs!
I admire you and what you're doing for all of us students. I totally feel your pain! I hate most of the lunch at my school. The only good thing is the lasagna and the food is so predictable. They give the same food every week. Honestly, the breakfast they give out is WAY better.
Keep up the good work Mrs. Q and take care 🙂
I love Augusten Burroughs!
When I read defective spork the first thing I thought of was when we used to get sporks that had no "handles" (?) "arms" (?). Idk, the part where your hand goes. (Yes, I heard your childish joke you were just thinking.) The plastic wrap machine, when they sealed the sporks in with a paper napkin, would very often decapitate said sporks.
So sad that the kids don't eat the fruit and the beans. I know that it is just a fruit cup, but some fruit is better than no fruit IMO.
What a waste of food too.
When I send my daughter to school we talk on the way there about what was packed in her lunch and how she is expected to eat what was packed. She knows that her body needs healthy food to be strong. Sad that these kids don't have parents who are teaching them about nutrition and what is good for them etc…
Keep soldiering on Mrs. Q – the school year is almost over! We only have a week and a half here left in Texas.
What if you bring your own silverware, but still take a spork from the cafeteria every day? (to avoid suspicion) Then you can just pile up all the unused sporks in a desk drawer or in a shoebox in your supply cabinet until the end of the year and recycle them.
I have been a faithful reader for a few months and I cannot believe all the trash that must be made at your school every day. Was everything brown yesterday? Hope today your lunch has some color besides brown.
You are doing an incredible job with your blog.
Mrs. Q, you've commented before about which parts of the meal the students eat and do not eat.
What do you think the reasons are for that? What should be done to "fix" that?
Thanks!
The story about the student stumped about who would pick you up was too cute.
I'm fascinated by this blog because I love anything related to psychology and what else impacts your life more than a physiological need like food?
I'll keep reading every day!
Mrs Q: Here's a tip for opening the containers the food comes in. Pinch a corner of the cardboard so that the plastic top bubbles a little. Then pull at the bubble and viola-the plastic comes right off without the use of any utensils. Hope this helps keep your spork in tact.
Just a tip for opening the food. If you pinch a corner of the paper container together the plastic will wrinkle up grab the wrinkle in the corner and you can pull the plastic off the whole package. It doesn't work so well on the Tex-Mex bowl though.
your kids are funny.
My biggest concern with the food in this blog is your health! (unless you always ate a lot of processed foods, but still) Also that the schools have everything in plastic, that so much food gets trashed. I can't believe it. I'd never let my child have these school lunches, they make me feel ill just looking at them.
Your blog has inspired me to not eat any brown food!!
People have probably noticed you eat lunch everyday, so they shouldn't be surprised if you bring your own utensils. I wouldn't worry about that.
I teach my kindergartners to go "ka-POW" and pierce the plastic with the handle end of the spork. That way, they don't struggle getting the plastic off and spork prongs don't get broken.
Antibiotics don't help against viral infections such as colds or flu. In fact taking them harms you and can provide immunity to surviving populations which can pass on the trait to more dangerous bacterial populations.
AWWW, so cute! What a darling…
PS: I LOVE Augusten Burroughs!