Lunch monitors
January 30th, 2013 by 
Alica
The Brandon Valley School District plans to hire two part-time people to monitor the kids at Robert Bennis and Fred Assam elementaries so they don’t throw away as much food as they do now at lunchtime.
Do you think this is a good idea?
Apparently, the kids are throwing away a lot of vegetables and fruit, which the federal government is saying they must take on their plates in the new school lunch guidelines.
Some may say that hiring more people is a waste of money. Others might say that it’s worth it to spend $14,000 in wages to save $50,000 in food.
What are your thoughts?
Posted in Uncategorized, School business | 
January 31st, 2013 at 7:49 am
This being a good or poor idea depends on what the district is going to do with the information. Are the monitors going to force children to eat the food before they are allowed to dump their tray?? I remember having that done to me when I was in elementary school and do not feel it is fair to the students. I agree that making kids try new foods is a good thing, but schools can’t undo habits that parents start at home.
If the monitors are going to make notes about which foods are going in the trash and which foods are being eaten so the school can plan more meals that are being eaten then I think it is a wonderful idea.
The best idea would be for the federal government to back off on their regulations–too often they have good intentions, but when put in practice the rules end up being more harmful than they are helpful.
January 31st, 2013 at 9:00 am
When I was in school. You had to finish your milk and at least try each food. Which is great you might find out you really like something!
I do like the new way of doing things though. Not giving as much of the fruit/vegetables and then offering free second on those. I know both of my kids have commented on how excited they were about getting seconds for free (as they are only allowed to buy seconds once a week mom’s rule)! But, maybe my kids are crazy for liking their fruits and veggies.
I have eaten at school with my kis and it did amaze me at how much went into the trash!!
If they are going to monitor what is thrown like the previous poster stated it would be better than forcing them to eat it all. However, a much cheaper way would be to send out a survey to each teacher to do with their class. If you had a choice b/n A&B which would you pick…and then look at that data.
January 31st, 2013 at 2:59 pm
I am wondering how this will work.
Will they just grab things that were untouched?
This doesn’t make sense to me.
January 31st, 2013 at 3:42 pm
The two new part time employees are not “monitors” they are adults on the serving line. The school district is focused on being more diligent about helping kids ask for the food they will eat. We do waste surveys on occassion and the effort is focused on reducing waste. However, we want to reduce waste before it goes on the student’s plate by helping them understand their options to refuse or limit the amount of foods they will not eat. Hope this helps clarify the issue.
January 31st, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Thank you for posting, Superintendent. The clarification is very helpful.
I am wondering why these lunch people are being hired for only two elementary schools and not all four. Would you please elaborate on that?
January 31st, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Speaking of lunch. Anyone ordered from Pizza Hut lately? They will not survive long with ther timeliness and quality. Last pizza was burnt to a crisp. Wings were raw and extras were missing from package. We need a thread for this. Pizza Ranch and Casey’s need some props.
February 1st, 2013 at 9:09 am
i had lunch with my kid a few months ago and i was amazed at the amount of food that these little kids were served! that will be half the battle cutting the amount way down then letting them have seconds if the eat what is served the first time around. remember food cost is not what is served it is the amount that is thrown away!!!!
February 5th, 2013 at 9:22 am
Topic: BV Challenger
Not sure where to post this, but I am to the point of cancelling my subscription to the Challenger. I cannot believe the errors in print. Just this morning, I skimmed the paper. Senior spotlight — mixed up name/picture of Peltier and Koehn. A quick glance by any paper staffer would have noticed that, as these two girls on in the paper on a weekly basis due to their achievements. The One Act Festival. Ronnetts receiving award. Listed within the Ronnetts were the kids that rec’d the award for operating the plant — Redford, Albertson, Turbak and Hensley (voice of plant). Then onto the honor roll. I’m pretty sure there were some 4.0s missing from your list. The kids I’m thinking of have always been on the A honor roll, I highly doubt they would not even make the A or B honor roll this quarter. I realize there are a lot of names and some can be missed. But if that’s the case, maybe refrain from printing any - I don’t have the answer. This was just me skimming the paper. I didn’t have the time before work to read the paper in its entirety. I realize the computer checks spelling and grammar, but sometimes old fashion human proofing still stands the test of time. Reconsidering renewing my subscription and yes, I probably have typos in my comments, but nobody is paying to read what I have to print./
February 11th, 2013 at 5:07 pm
Take from the little ones, give to the big ones.