Thursday, August 11, 2005

The Lunch List

No matter how vigorously I deny it, summer is more than half over. Talk around the table has turned to school lunches. With one child in high school, one in middle school and two in elementary school we need a plan. In general, the kids aren't fond of taking leftovers because they might "look wierd" or worse, "smell wierd."

Tonight I gave the kids an assignment, come up with a list of acceptable lunches and we'll see what we can do. The murmurs I've heard so far aren't at all outrageous, peanut butter and jelly, hummus, "cheese" spread. We'll see what they present me with over the next few days.

Meanwhile, I'm hitting the thrift stores and tag sales to make sure everyone has a water bottle and sandwich container. Last year we lost several sandwich containers to the mold monster that grows in middle school children's lockers. To combat this, everyones lunch containers will be labeled. If one is missing, at least I'll be able to figure out who's book bag to check in.

For carrying the lunches, we're using canvas lunch bags from Oriental Trading Company. I bought them last year and they held up well. Once a week I tossed them in with the regular laundry to keep them from getting scary. I've offered insulated bags but no one wants to carry them and they get funky in the corners if they aren't cleaned out well each time.

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