Well done Blod! Hello Long Island!

First a thank you to Harshi for all her brilliant posts. You live in India and I live in Scotland yet we both love cheese! One of my favourite's is Gouda and you have it in your photograph. I don't know why everyone in the photo is looking away. I would be staring at the cheese! The school dinners from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are my favourites but I will add your Indian food as well now because it looks so tempting to try. I like your expression "Every morsel of food you waste today represents hunger later in your life". It has made me think. Thank you. If you are in Germany, France (do you have snails at school), Denmark or Spain please ask your teacher to help you guest blog for a week! NeverSeconds@gmail.com

We have been fund raising in school this week as well for Mary's Meals. We've already had sales of porridge, flapjacks and oatcakes. Mr Kipling wrote to me offering to send me some cakes because I won the Observer Award. I asked if I could sell them at a cake stall for Mary's Meals and he said yes. They were meant to arrive today but haven't but I hope they arrive tomorrow early so I can add them to the cake stall. We are also having a non uniform day like Blod but I don't know if we will raise more than your £150! Thank you everyone at Ysgol Kingsland and well done Blod's mum!

Joe, Polly and I gave a presentation at school today about Mary's Meals and Malawi. A lady from Mary's Meals came as well. It was nice to do it with my brother and sister because I wasn't alone. We got help with the microphone as we are all different heights. My headteacher gave me a certificate in a wooden frame to say well done. I went a little red.

I am going to the Halloween School disco tonight dressed as dad! That's scary enough I think.

Our next guest bloggers are from Long Island, New York.

VEG


Hi Veg! I’m Ms. El and I work in a school on Long Island, New York. This public school only has three grades in it: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and First Grade. I asked a couple of our First grade students if they would like to tell you about their lunches for a week. They enthusiastically replied, “Yes!” So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Zee and Sunflower.

“Hi! My name is Sunflower and I am 6. I am in first grade, and I like to play with my brothers, (Ms. El asked, “What about your twin?”) and alright, my sister too. So far my favorite part of first grade is outdoor recess. Today I had pizza for lunch. I had an apple, cheese crackers, and my drink was chocolate milk. I like this pizza because when I tried it, it was good. Because it’s not very sweet. Sometimes the pizza is sweet, but I like it not too sweet. I had a cardboard tray it has a lot of little spaces on it, and one big space. The apple is super healthy!”

“Hi, my name is Zee, and I am 6 too. I am in the same class as Sunflower in first grade. My favorite part of first grade is playing in Centers (On special days, the first graders can have some free choice playtime, Zee likes the small wooden geometric blocks). Pizza is the best food that I like. Because the cheese is so good. First I ate my apple. I ate it first because apples are my favorite fruit. Water is better than milk because water is more healthier. (At this point the children at Zee’s lunch table discussed the health benefits of water. One boy told the table, “Water keeps our kidneys safe.” And, another child announced, “Water is the healthiest drink on earth.”) I got the Pop-tart because I like cinnamon, but I didn’t get to eat it. I’m going to eat it at home today.”

Zee and Sunflower:
Food-o-meter: 8/10
Mouthfuls: Sunflower ate her entire pizza, she counted 53 bites.
Health meter: 7/10
Recess: Indoor, it was raining. We watched a video about children with food allergies so we know not to share food with each other. Sometimes if it’s raining we play crab-soccer.
Price: $2.60 (£1.62) for students $3.75 (£2.34) for adults (some students are eligible for reduce-fare or free lunch).

I (Ms. El) had a school lunch as well. I chose pizza just like Zee and Sunflower.

The lettuce salad had cucumbers and carrots in it, and the chickpeas were dressed with red onion and herbs. I chose an orange over the apple and fat-free milk. The kids had these options as well. They must have one fruit serving and one vegetable. The US government famously ruled last fall that tomato sauce on pizza is to be counted as a vegetable serving. So, both Zee and Sunflower had their fruit and vegetable serving today. The cheese crackers, Pop-tart, and water bottle were not included in the price of lunch; their parents allow them to buy extra snacks today.

French bread whole wheat crust Pizza was the “A” lunch option today. The “B” lunch offered was Turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread. The cafeteria also offers peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, and salad every day.

The lunch line:

We had so much fun writing about our lunch experience! Can’t wait to tell you about lunch tomorrow.

Ms. El, Sunflower, and Zee.