Good-bye Bagged Lunches!

Just imagine not having to pack school lunches.
We're living it!

The kids' school

For ~$2 a day (this amount was determined by our income and is paid to the city by e-transfer), our kids get to eat lunch at school in a cafeteria. We pay the highest amount (1.46 euros a day); the next income bracket down pays .73 euros a day, and below that bracket, meals are free.  The menu is very typical Portuguese, prepared on site, daily.  The menu is posted weekly for parents to see, reviewed and signed off by a licensed Dietitian, and each meal includes:

• a vegetable based soup
• main course (fish or meat with potatoes/rice/pasta/beans, there is a vegetarian option too)
• salad/vegetable
• fresh whole grain bread
• 2 fruit options

The first week's menu

Not only are my kids getting a healthy, balanced meal for a great price, they are also trying new foods that I don't make at home.  And yes, we don't have to make lunches (#parentsdoahappydance). We do have to send a snack.  We can send nuts!  I guess they do not have the same rate of nut allergies as back home.

Gabi's first reaction to lunch "I felt like a princess in a castle!  We sat at long tables, set with nice dishes, with our friends, and they served us, like in a restaurant. They asked if we wanted more, and even cleared our dishes. I ate everything, because I thought there was dessert, but there wasn't."

As Jonty only starts school in the afternoon, his first activity is lunch. Thankfully, he really likes the food and that is a motivator to get him out of the house!

We could get used to this!

Full disclosure--I am an advocate for government funded meals at school. Through my work as a Dietitian in Public Health, I see the opportunity for universal school meals to:

• provide healthy food rich in vegetables and fruit (which Canadian children are sorely lacking), 
• promote equity (all kids deserve to eat healthy food every day), 
• have kids try new, healthy foods (thanks to positive peer pressure), and 
• ensure kids get enough food to keep them focused at school (this helps everyone). 

An environmental bonus: when less foods high in fat, salt and sugar are consumed, the amount of food packaging waste goes down too.

(Psst Canadians--Universal School Meals are on some party platforms this election).