Slow Down With The Fast Food, Folks

About 45 minutes ago, principal Laurie Norton sent the following email to parents of students at Highland Park Middle School/McCulloch Intermediate School. If the reasons she lists for not delivering fast food to the campus don’t deter you, think of how my feelings will be hurt if no one lines up to eat the cafeteria fare I’ll be dishing out Thursday.

Dear MIS and HPMS Parents,

We are asking for your assistance with a cafeteria issue.  The number of parents delivering lunches from fast food restaurants to students has greatly escalated the last few weeks.  These deliveries are causing some problems due to the high volume of food deliveries to the office, students leaving the cafeteria/class to come to the office to pick up food, parents delivering food from the back parking lot (and asking students to leave the cafeteria to pick up the lunches in the back parking lot), students feeling left out, parents feeling pressured to bring lunches, and even parents delivering lunches on a cart to the whole table and then taking up lunch money!

We know that students enjoy a special treat from time to time, but please consider the following guidance when deciding whether or not to deliver food to your student:

1.)  Please do not feel compelled or pressured to deliver food to your student in the cafeteria.  Lots of parents say no, and we appreciate it!  At a minimum, please limit food deliveries to your own child and to special occasions.

2.)  NEVER ask your child to leave the cafeteria to go to the back parking lot to pick up food from any car, including the parent’s.  This seriously compromises our school safety procedures.

We would truly appreciate your assistance in following these guidelines.

Thank you,

Laurie Norton
Principal

By Dan Koller Apr. 26, 2011 | 4:02 pm | 16 Comments | Comments RSS
16 comments to "Slow Down With The Fast Food, Folks"
  1. XT @ April 26, 2011 at 4:10 pm
    Makes total sense, but then, I’ve never understood this practice. A special treat on the weekend or while travelling? OK. But not brought to school.

  2. 1Zima2Many @ April 26, 2011 at 4:58 pm
    I’m with XT. Crappy school cafeteria food is a rite of passage. We’re taking coddling of our kids to a new level if we don’t even make them eat whatever is for lunch at school.

  3. ld @ April 26, 2011 at 5:46 pm
    Is the soggy delivered food really better than the cafeteria food?

  4. hpparent @ April 26, 2011 at 5:49 pm
    I’ve talked to the cafeteria manager about this and I understand that the number of people providing lunch to the kids is so great at times, and completely unpredictable, that she can no longer accurately plan for lunch, leading to lots of wasted food. Another angle, as if we needed one!

  5. Food Delivery is Not So Bad @ April 26, 2011 at 8:51 pm
    If a parent wants to bring lunch for their child once in a while, I think that’s ok. Doesn’t mean they are being “coddled”. Just doing a nice thing for your kid. I’ve done it lots of times, especially for birthdays or if there is something going on with my child and they just need a little extra loving. Bringing food for the whole lunch table is a little kooky and certainly if it’s happening daily is something fun that got out of hand. One more example of HP and our “over the top” parenting. I love HP and am proud to be from here, but this kind of stuff is what those outside the bubble laugh at us about.

  6. Neal @ April 26, 2011 at 10:58 pm
    Seriously? Can we set up anti-aircraft batteries around the school to ward off these awful helicopter moms? They are a plague, as are their spoiled and flabby children.

  7. It's not that bad! @ April 26, 2011 at 11:51 pm
    There are so many choices I can’t imagine a need to bring in food. It really should not be allowed. Yet another way to win more friends and the attention of those not included!

  8. SHB @ April 27, 2011 at 2:45 pm
    I am soooo happy the Principal has stepped up and sent this letter, as I am really pressured by my child to make these special deliveries and saying no is always an argument. How about the idea of allowing a birthdays – only, delivery at lunchtime, for the class/lunch group for cake, cupcakes, cookies, etc. ? A treat now and then is a treat…on demand, is no longer a “treat”. Good for you Principal Norton!

  9. WK @ April 27, 2011 at 4:30 pm
    …if you’ve ever been to the cafeteria during lunch hours then you will understand why they need lunches brought to them! The line is out of control and by the time they go through the line they have about 5 minutes to eat! Unfortunately the lunch hour is just way too short for them, so for the kids to be able to eat & sit they need to either bring their lunches or have it brought to them!

  10. UPMomofboys @ April 27, 2011 at 4:51 pm
    THANK YOU for sending this. I have been feeling like a HORRIBLE mother when I hear the lunches the kids have been getting…and I cannot imagine how people fit this into their schedule. I did agree to let him take a cold Jimmy John’s today for Taks – but it was bought last night and put in the fridge. He seemed satisfied.

  11. ld @ April 27, 2011 at 5:14 pm
    I know it’s not the cool thing to do, but how about packing your kids a lunch to bring to school? A sandwich, some chips and a dessert really isn’t hard to put together.

  12. Are these kids spoiled or what….? | Bikini Wax Chronicles @ April 27, 2011 at 5:40 pm
    [...] more: Slow Down With The Fast Food, Folks | Park Cities People http://www.parkcitiespeople.com/2011/04/26/slow-down-with-the-fast-food-folks/#ixzz1KlVt1Qon [...]

  13. hpparent @ April 27, 2011 at 5:49 pm
    @WK – not true. Long lines are processed extremely fast and kids are seated with plenty of time to eat.

  14. HPMOM @ April 27, 2011 at 5:58 pm
    @WK-The line is now moving quite quickly. Every child has plenty of time to eat as well as wait in line for dessert if they desire. I work the cafeteria at least 2-3 times a month and have seen the positive effects of the new system.

  15. Alum in shock @ April 27, 2011 at 11:32 pm
    Isn’t it wonderful to see how the parents have control of their children, they ARE CHILDREN, and how the students are not ordering their parents around!!!!!!! This is nauseating!!!! Not to mention tragic that the parents are trying to be popular with their kids!!!!! SICK!!!!!!! A bworn paper sack for lunch made at home,,,, healthy, now there’s a revolutionary concept!!!!!!

  16. E22 @ April 28, 2011 at 10:22 am
    It’s not just the middle school! My elementary kid wants me to bring him lunch all the time! I do bring it a lot of the time because he’s my youngest and I know in a few years he wont want me within a mile of the school. If I just drop it and don’t stay he gets upset — though I think that has more to do with getting to eat outside with a friend :) Also, I have a private school kid and make her a sack lunch EVERY day of the school year — it’s hectic but well worth knowing she has a healthy lunch and wont be starving by the time she gets home at 4 p.m.

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