All California students are fed at school:
California Universal Meals is the first of its kind in the country. Since the start of this meal program last year, children no longer need to pay for their lunches using cash, tickets or punching in their student identification. Breakfast and lunch are free at all California schools — no application is required.
It’s an important step to ensuring children are healthy, fed and ready to learn.
Research shows that receiving free or reduced school meals “reduces food insecurity, obesity rates, and poor health,” according to the Food Research and Action Center. Providing healthy options to students also has an impact on what students choose to consume, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables.
You know who can't get a lunch at school? Me.
Because students don't have to pay for lunch anymore, there's no mechanism to collect money anymore. Therefore, staff cannot buy lunch. And our person in charge of Food Services is adamant about that.
Can you imagine having a cafeteria at your workplace but being told you can't get a lunch there? And we get only 35 minutes for lunch, so there's not enough time to leave campus to get something. It's either bring something or go hungry.
It's just another of those small things that add up to a large quantity of disrespect directed from our district royalty towards the employees.
(Coda: some time maybe I'll post about the rules for students--for example, they are required to take one of everything. So many fruits and baby carrots end up in the garbage cans....)
One of the reasons I left the classroom, was for "civilized" lunches. The last High School I worked at we had effectively 20 minutes for lunch. And it was a huge chore to get anything out of the lunchroom.
ReplyDeleteNow, I get an hour, scheduled around my various eligibility meetings. So much happier with my life.
I get 30, but the thing that gets on my nerves is I can't actually take it. I could be just starting my lunch when dispatch can send me to a call. Now I have no issue with being preempted for an emergency call (Code 1, lights and sirens) or urgent call (Code 2, just enough lights and sirens to get you through faster), but if it's a three day old burglary report it won't be the end of the world if I can finish my lunch.
ReplyDeleteMy former employer allowed up 40 minutes, we had to get the approval of the dispatcher, and she would put us out at our location. Preempting was when needed.
Are you just bring in leftovers/sandwiches now?
Mike, sometimes I bring a salad!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first returned to teaching, the district I was in not only insured a duty free lunch, but on Mondays and Fridays, the cafeteria staff provided Iced tea, coffee, cocoa and cookies for free all day long. That was 23 years ago. By the time I retired-almost four years ago, we had the atrocious schedule with "Block Lunch" where teachers and students were supposed to use half an hour for lunch and the other half with tutorials, club meetings, etc. What actually happened is any teacher not teaching a core subject had three days a week on hall duty, monitoring the chaos that having every student out in the school roaming. What also happened is when you needed students to come for tutorials, they made excuses and didn't show up b/c it was just a big old recess for teenagers where fights were planned, drugs were sold and kids skipped out for nefarious activities. When I hid in the workroom to scarf down my homemade lunch, I was frequently interrupted with demands, not requests, to change my schedule to adjust to theirs. Also, band directors and coaches often used the tutorial time for sectionals and team meetings. So duty free lunch was a joke.
ReplyDeleteI just finished getting my salad ready, along with leftovers from the restaurant Friday night. Ain't adulthood grand! :)
ReplyDelete