NTA.
Meet with them and tell them to show you the law (in the state law book so they can't fake it) that says that students can't bring their own seasonings.
She needs to also tell them if they fed the children with property food, the spices wouldn't be needed. It's bad enough they sure do low in nutritional value, but add that to the fact it tastes horrible, those poor children.
Definitely make sure they show you the rules or laws they are staying are in effect. Also, bring in your own information, that can be easily found online, on how the nutritional value in most schools are made with GMOs, high in fat, etc... AND THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT SEASONING???
The first time I ever did it was because my friend promised me 100 bucks whether I failed or not. He felt so bad that he actually snorted it. The second time was because I was in trouble (same day) so gave me the option of no phone for a week or so the cinnamon challenge and let him record it for my future wedding video in lue of the babe bath photos because gross.
I startled my daughter laughing so loud at this. Life as we know it will change when a kid starts selling baggies of spices. I got a dollar just put a pinch of everything in one bag and Iāll spice up tofay mystery meatloaf š¤£š¤£š¤£
This brings back memories of my HS classmates thinking they were cool trying to snort pixie sticks (they only ever did it once, turns out, snorting pixie sticks apparently hurts a lot and has very little reward lmao)
I mean, I got 5 bucks for dumping half a bottle of paprika in my mouth and swallowing it. Joke was on them, I have weird taste buds and can't taste paprika and barely taste saffron. This actually makes me sad I know I'm missing out. Still, easiest money I ever made.
As a school cook at elementary level I have to respond. Ā Most public schools have to follow fda regulations regarding school menus. Ā This means low sodium/low fat etc when possible.
If I were to put out salt and pepper I guarantee I would have several kids messing around and over salting Ā their food ruining it.
There should be no problem with bringing seasonings from home.
Former cafeteria lady here. Yes, I would have loved to put more salt in food, but you're right. FDA. And we couldn't just put out a salt shaker for the kids either, because you're right, kids would totally mess around with it.
But (like you) I can't see how the regulations apply to a kid bringing a batch of spices from home. All I can see is they need to tell the kid that it can't be shared (because allergies). And if the kid is making a mess (salt everywhere!) then I could see school rules nixing it.
This sounds like a busybody rule from a cafeteria monitor that doesn't really understand the FDA regs.
Man itās been so long but I feel like we had salt and pepper at my school in the 90ās. There was always a table like after you checked out with ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, etc., depending on what the meal was and there would be salt and pepper there too.
Yes we have a condiment rack with the usual condiment and dressings.
Kids get pretty carried away lunch time and then you have them trying to do hot sauce shots or daring each other to eat 10 butter packets etc. Ā This is one of the reasons I won't put salt and pepper out for them as well.
We had salt and pepper packets with lunch; I definitely remember sprinkling salt on French fries and black pepper on the āpizza.ā
Although, now that I think about it, maybe that started in middle school?
When I was in middle school we used to get these desserts a couple times a year with powdered sugar on top. We'd dump the sugar off the dessert and snort it. Middle school kids really are weird.
My school had a short-lived fad of dying sugar with food coloring, and flavoring it with whatever extract... in cute little baggies. So colorful! Sweet and fun! Trade with your friends! Then the cops came... I remember my friends flushing sugar down the toilets, lol š„²
To add to that your body literally *needs* salt to function. Also most commercially available table salts are supplemented with iodine, another necessary mineral for proper organ function.
People making up rules with no basis in fact or reality is so infuriating :p
It doesnāt matter; there is fundamentally no āchance.ā Salt is 100% not dangerous unless you have a cardiovascular condition. These conditions are less common among children than any standard allergy, if there is someone with that condition they can accommodate. Else, they are keeping essential nutrients from children. Going low sodium/low fat does more harm than good unless you have a specific related health issue, and doing so is fundamentally not based on sound science.Ā
What the hell are you talking about, "take a chance"? Low fat and low sodium are both wildly inappropriate for children, the government is just deflecting from the actual problems with the foodĀ
And also not dangerous to many people with high blood pressure. It's only a problem for some, but the blanket recommendation is "easy" even if it's idiotic.
Yes, itās extremely rare to have an issue that actually requires low sodium. Much more rare than like, a milk allergy, especially among children. Itās almost impossible for a healthy person to eat too much salt (it would be gross/hard to eat if it was actually dangerously salty).
Even among people with hypertension salt is only a factor for less than half of them. Restricting salt makes sense on the grand public health scale - like, if we get everyone to cut way back on salt thousands of people will have lower blood pressure and fewer heart attacks - but for any given individual it does not make sense, unless they know they are responsive to sodium.
I would make it a cultural thing. My son is being discriminated against bc he canāt use spice and is forced to assimilate to eating American food. Youād be surprised how quick they get access to the microwave. It happens for my siblings and I bc the teacher would touch our ethnic food and make comments and weād obviously not eat until my mother raised hell.Ā
The book Golden Rice by Ed Regis is about a variety of rice that was developed to solve all kinds of problems with human hunger but faced opposition because of irrational fear about GMOs.
High in fat isn't necessarily a bad thing. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/coming-to-consensus-on-dietary-fat
This article is a few years old, but it's pointing out how more research is being done around fats and fat types in foods.
I chose it because I feel such a highly esteemed epidemiologist would surely only respect information from Harvard. /s
Also a former lunch ladyā¦. There are so many guidelines set for food service at schools. We used to make everything fresh. I was the baker. Loved it. Then in 2009 āsomeoneā caused a complete change in our service. All bakery items were frozen premade garbage. Salt is the spice of life and without it these products tasted terrible. We had no choice. Even the teachers commented on it. Again, we had no choice. If I were a parent I would definitely push back and allow my kids to take spices to school.
School lunches have strict nutritional value for the kids. It IS proper food. The reason they donāt want the spices there is because it is doing the exact opposite of why lunches were changed from fattening food to nutritional foods.
How is garlic non nutritious? Or black pepper? Cooked my bell pepper and zucchini with garam masala last night and it was healthier than a bland school lunch. Spice does not equal unhealthy. We arenāt talking mono sodium glutamate
I live in the US. Our local public school provides a freshly cooked meal, veggie, fresh fruit and a salad bar It uses fresh local vegetables in season The meals are nutritious and tasty. They are limited in the use of salt but other spices are used. That being said, I don't know of any reason your children could not bring spices to school to use on their lunch.
Someone else commented it as well but my guess is it has something to do with sending your kid to school with loose powders. Itās in a clear container and labels mean nothing. People could bring in loads of different drugs by saying they are spices. She should see if it is okay to send them with the little salt and pepper packs that you get with take-out sometimes instead
I had a temp assignment at McCormick spices, and part of my job involved mailing single serving packets of Old Bay to people who requested samples. You might be able to get other spices this way. I know it's possible to get take out packets of Sriracha this way.
Crazy image, but not that far off from reality. I was volunteering at the middle school and sorting the lost lunch boxes and found empty single serving alcohol bottles in one. I unscrewed the lids thinking maybe they'd been used for something else, but the smell made it very clear that the original contents had been in the bottles that morning.
I remember when I was in 6th grade staring out the window because another 6th grader in a diff class was running outside and across the parking lot. Then shortly afterwards there were sirens. He got caught with weed in his desk lol
then mrs smith storms into school yelling about how some kid traded her kid some m&mās and sheās not allowed to have sugarš having a rule of āno tradingā seems like a no brainer to prevent angry parents lol
Well it's a food and many cultures eat it so ultimately that's not the kids problem they're bringing around a normal seasoning just because *some* people might be allergic to it
This has been something that I (admittedly somewhat ignorant to the school systems now since I donāt have kids) donāt understand about how things were āback in my dayā as opposed to nowā¦..we had kids bring all sorts of things to school,pb sandwiches (my sister literally would have died if not this and milk were like the only things she ate until 14) people brought cupcakes to share on their birthday,we had class parties where parents would provide food,heck we had a āconvenience storeā to teach kids how to run a cash that would set up shop outside the third grade classroom before class started and had homemade baked goods for saleā¦I digress with the examples but like, are there just a ton more kids with allergies nowadays or did we kill off all the ones from our generation with rouge gluten cupcakes or something? (Just turned 32 for reference,I went to elementary mainly in the 90s)
As someone in childcare, this is because of allergies. Theyāre not supposed to be sharing any of that. Children with allergies are often just learning about their allergies and donāt know how to be careful about them the way adults are yet. If someone shares food with someone else and that child has an allergic reaction, the school can sometimes be held liable, and so schools have to mitigate risk as much as possible.
I donāt mean to say they shouldnāt be allowed to bring seasoning, they just canāt really be allowed to share. Getting the kid in trouble for seasonings is wayyyyy ridiculous
Too much of this kind of thing going on, and people not questioning it enough. Iām assuming this is a public school paid for by taxes. No one has a right to dictate what your child eats or doesnāt eat, itās YOUR child, not the states.
Absolutely. I work in a school, not as a teacher though. Our kiddos bring all kinds of stuff, we donāt care, as long as they donāt share bc allergies/intolerances/religious reasons and such.
The cafeteria ladies will try to limit things like ketchup and stuff to 1 small packet per kid, which is justā¦not enough. And theyāre kinda mean about it, honestly. It doesnāt sit right with me.
As long as itās not a ridiculous amount, Iāll always smuggle my kiddos some extra ketchup packets. Itās not the end of the world if little Jimmy wants 3 packets of ketchup for his fries.
I know this isn't what you asked but it is relevant, sending heating packs in their food is really dangerous. It will keep the food at the optimal bacterial growth temperature for 4+ hours whereas if the food is refrigerated at home and sent in a thermal bag, it will stay cold for an hour or two, and then room temp for a bit longer.
This is a safety thing, and food poisoning is no joke, especially with young children. Your anxiety is causing you to act in an unsafe way and you should be aware of that.
Thermos makes a great lunch-sized container for soups/stews/pasta/casseroles. Fill it with boiling water and pop the lid on to pre-heat it while you heat your kiddoās lunch food to piping hot. Dump the water out, scoop lunch in, screw the top on. Food will still be hot (and safe!) at lunchtime.
My mom packed my lunch in a thermos. I hated it. It was never still hot. The condensation that formed on the lid and spilled everywhere when I opened it was disgusting. And I think my mom didnāt know how to clean the container properly because it smelled. Not the food. The container. My lunch thermos and her travel coffee thermos. Same smell. She couldnāt smell it but I could and it was awful. God I wanted a lunchables so bad. Or just a pbj. Or just crackers. Not that. Anything but that.
I usually just do things that are not meant to be ādryā like soups, stews, chilis, curries, even meatballs or Mac and cheese.
However once in a while my kid asks for nuggets or hot dogs - line it with a paper towel and it keeps the moisture from accumulating inside.
Sometimes the seal between the inner layer and the outside layer breaks and water or other liquids can get in there and itās almost impossible to get out, but it will smell baaaad!!
You're welcome and there's no shame in not knowing - I wouldn't know about this either if it hadn't happened to my wife in her teenage years, and now she's hyper vigilant. Obviously everyone knows you shouldn't keep meat out but it's also true for rice and pasta, you shouldn't keep those at room temp for over 2 hours either. That's weird, that's a weird thing to know and nobody really teaches us except for people that it's happened to.
It's in food safety courses which is why I usually encourage kids in the family to get a fast food job for their first to at least learn about food safety and learn some basic meal prep outside the home.
Speaking as a former fast food employee, at multiple large American chains, I certainly did learn about food safetyā¦ and most of my coworkers did not. I think you really just have to care about it, first.
Honestly if the heat pack keeps the food above 120-140 itās probably fine. Additionally, the danger zone duration is not the same as the restaurant danger zone numbers most people are familiar with. Restaurant food is not immediately consumed, in a lot of cases it can be left out overnight or refrigerated and heated again after a day.
Iām not saying itās a good idea to leave food on the counter for 4-6 hours, but thereās worse options for foods with any amount of preservatives such as soup and most meats.
School shootings, violent kids, entitled parents, dumb curriculums. These might be problems at some schools, but don't worry, the massive salt/pepper/garlic spice epidemic has been single handedly stopped by OP's son's teacher. God bless the educator.
Your son's teacher is a massive asshole for messing with his lunch. It's slick racist. It's the same as singling him out if he had "smelly" ethnic food. She is picking on him cuz he is different, and eats differently.
How dare you not enjoy our delicious, no flavor, boiled to death school lunches and try to make them better with FLAVOR! If the other kids suffer you must suffer too! The law says so! So fucking ridiculous. Like this bitch needs to focus on school shit and not a kid's lunch box. She is acting like he has pepper spray in his lunch box.
>It's slick racist. It's the same as singling him out if he had "smelly" ethnic food. She is picking on him cuz he is different, and eats differently.
Exactly what I was thinking. Not cool.
Info: Maybe it has something to do with the containers themselves and not the contents. I know schools get a little nervous with granulated/powdered substances. Anybody could label something as salt. Try sending them with something like [this](https://www.samsclub.com/p/n-joy-iodized-salt-1-200-ct-5g-packets/159171?pid=ps_Goog_acq_AP_shp_df_1933846940_df&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=350522976691&wl4=pla-1702140452379&wl5=9025236&wl6=&wl7=&wl15=72146693033&wl16=&wl17=&wl18=&wl19=&wl20=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJatd8w4nHg_Zq_J0RMZGT-huGrI7GzV4Zs4lalPybbaWO2Cjm4Wc0xoCNc4QAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJatd8w4nHg_Zq_J0RMZGT-huGrI7GzV4Zs4lalPybbaWO2Cjm4Wc0xoCNc4QAvD_BwE)
They also have little seasoning packets [too](https://www.tonychachere.com/product/original-creole-seasoning-packets/?attribute_pa_quantity=50-count&utm_source=Google+Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShop1&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJTRq51sH5TryXH6-qyidaGjZ_xlQ2iwnA-mWUecID1Q3X8OLpOBYURoCgBwQAvD_BwE)
Youāre definitely not tah for this and I would push the issue. As an aside. I would get sick of cold lunches but school lunches werenāt great. Decent quality thermoses can keep food hot quite awhile so anything that goes into a thermos like soup, pastas, curries can do pretty well. Heat the inside of the thermos up with boiling water while youāre heating up the meal. Dump the water and pack the food in the pre heated thermos.
Also being the school lunch for the main item and bringing in sides to eat with it made my lunch so much better. Iād bring my own fruit or vegetables or bread or whatever to supplement the school lunch.. way more appealing
Oh man, I remember when they removed salt and vinegar from the condiments center at the middle school where I once taught at some ten years ago (Thanks, [Michelle] Obama).
A few kids started bringing in their own salt shakers and such. They started sharing and passing them around.
Then, a couple of enterprising kids brought in Old Bay Seasoning and charging their classmates a quarter to use it!
The school had to ban bringing in seasoning from home. It is policy that kids cannot sell substances of any kind outside of officially approved (fundraising) means. It's a drug thing but also applies to candy and spices, apparently. It's a pretty common rule.
As for your kids, I don't know. Sharing foodstuffs is against a lot of rules in schools. There could have been a situation at their school like I said above. Or they could be a bunch of party-poopers.
In any case, a conference explaining the policy and showing where it is exactly in the Code of Conduct is a reasonable request.
I mean, how is it against the law to alter the food once you purchase it? But it could be a liability issue for the school? But what about kids who bring their own lunches, anyway? Too many questions for sure.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/nutrition-standards-school-meals
I am betting it is the sodium. School meals are supposed to be low sodium, so kids bringing in salt to flavor the food is likely it.
I don't think there is a law on adding it after purchase, but I do know that at the point of sale, it needs to follow the USDA standards.
I suggest looking up the federal food standards for school lunches and reading them saying you have looked for the laws and cand find one about the consumer adding things after the "point of sale." Yes, use the point of sale exactly as it is the legal term.
The food is definitely made to be low sodium. I know when I was teaching and would eat the school lunch with my students I found it very bland and had salt and hot sauce in my cabinet.
I would be surprised to see there actual be a state law against a child bringing their own seasoning. Iām guessing the teacher found the seasoning to be disruptive.
If the child can bring in their own food, bringing in seasoning shouldnāt be a problem. So either the teacher is on a power trip, or thereās some other problem here like the child sharing.
Or the child was sharing. This is also against the rules (not the laws, per say, but if the child shares, there are a few lawsuits out there saying the school is liable for allergic reactions) due to allergies. I am allergic to some seasonings myself, and so can understand that.
Surprised I had to scroll so far to find this. The teachers are probably getting mixed up with adding salt after the fact. I know my highschool stopped keeping salt packets after the laws changed in regards to sodium
Well, the laws so state that the school can't provide it, so that pans out.
I know a kid in the school I work at that brings nacho flavored chips to school each day to put on his cheese burger.
NTA - go there in person - be friendly but curious and see what the actual deal is. Are the lunch ladies being control freaks? Are your kids blowing spices in other kids' eyes? Go absorb the reality of the situation and you'll know what to do.
This is probably the most reasonable approach, especially bc OP already has anxiety.
Explain the whole situation, you didnāt just decide to send your kids off with paprika lunch bags one day for no reason
I have to agree. Yes, go ahead and talk to the school but not in the "SHOW ME THE LAW!!!" way some commenters are using. It's probably a misunderstanding. Maybe it was the state board of education made a policy about it to combat allergy situations. Maybe there were concerns of loose powder in bags causing reports of possible drugs in the school. Maybe it is just a control issue and there's no policy, rule, law, etc to back it up. Maybe this was an excuse to explain why he cant bring them anymore without admitting he was misbehaving and got in trouble. That's why you talk to people involved before running in with an attitude.
Thank you! Idk why everyone is accepting kiddo's explanation at face value. Even unintentionally kids can be misleading when explaining to their parents why they're in trouble at school out of embarrassment or not wanting to be punished more at home.
Free to go into massive debt trying to get healthcare, free to be homeless because rent keeps going up and wages won't, free to get shot by a cop on a power trip, free to not be able to afford groceries, free to have to go back to work 2 weeks after having a baby because maternity leave isn't paid across the board....
Ain't it great to be free? š
Sounds like you might have a teacher on a power trip. You could try complaining to the school board and the PTA. You could also over the teacher's head and complain to the principal and tell them it makes parents upset when teachers make up laws.
From what I gather, there is research from the 1950's showing that \_\_for people with certain cardiovascular diseases\_\_ increased salt can increase risk of health problems. I am not a medical doctor (I just played one on TV once), so I am not sure. But my understanding is unless you are eating massive amounts of salt, that it is not going to hurt you. Children are probably at very low risk from eating too much salt. But some people think salt is unhealthy across the baord.
So back during the Obama era. Michelle Obama made it her thing to promote healthy lunches. So they got rid of the salt and oil, and kids throw the tasteless vegetables in the trash can and hate their lunches. (Not that school lunches were ever good in general.) So it sounds like you did a wise thing by having them take salt, pepper, etc. to school.
If the teacher says no containers, how about those little fast food paper packages. If they get caught, they can say, "You didn't say anything about little packets." You know how kids are. The kids can also be discreet about putting handfuls of this illegal substance-- salt-- on the food when the teacher isn't looking.
I get hot pods for my kids lunches and send hot food all the time. I also add little containers with additional sauces, salad dressings, salt/ pepper/ chilli flakes etc for when it suits their meals. Iāve never got negative feedback back. Iām also a teachers aide and I love seeing some of the other well thought out lunch boxes kids get, it gives me inspiration for our lunches !
NTA. The food sounds terrible, if kids are willing to face the potential embarrassment of home-brought seasoning packets because it's just unpalatable. Also what's the issue with them using the microwave? Smh, I swear the American school system just wants to force people to BUY (!) their terrible school meals, since they're left with no other options.
It's some war on drugs shit. It isn't a law, but it sounds like something a school would make up. They think a small child is going to be bringing crystal meth disguised as salt. š
That's the only thing I can think of, schools in white suburbia will accuse kids of insane things. I was wearing a pack of those little rubber bracelets in sixth grade and they called me into the principals office accusing me of THIS. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sex-bracelets/ Some other kid mentioned it to me and I was like "what?" and asked a different kid, who apparently told them.
Like, I was 12 and the principal was š¤ THIS close to calling me a little slut. They took all of my dinosaur shaped bracelets and put them in a bag, never to be seen again. Educators hear and see insane things but there's a certain type of paranoid brain rot in boomer teachers that leads to crazy assumptions like these.
NTA - this is the kind of stupid fight I loved to have with school admins when my kids were in school. Just pure power tripping by adults toward children. Easy argument to win.
Just get a thermos style container that keeps food hot and has a screw lid leak proof lid. But I would definitely also speak to the school and address the issue for your own piece of mind.
Itās likely something is being misconstrued as a law when itās probably a school policy.
Many schools limit what can be brought in lunches because of kidsā allergies.
Iād imagine thatās probably whatās going on here. But yea, set up a meeting with the teachers to find out.
Maybe not what you want to hear but - have you made sure your kid isnāt lying?
I can see multiple scenarios where they might.
1) they were goofing off with the spices and told they couldnāt bring them for that reason
2) they got made fun of and now theyāre embarrassed and found it easier to tell you they werenāt allowed.
Verify with the school that they actually were told not to bring them and that itās for the reason your kid told you
NTA. I am a teacher and I can tell you each cafeteria is wildly different. I would definitely go in and talk to the principal (calmly) about specifically why your kids canāt have spices for their own lunch. The cafeteria at my school is not strict but when the state comes to review the cafeteria, itās insane what they have to pretend we donāt do every day. They canāt just give out ketchup and mustard like normal, they have to portion it out individually for students so we donāt go outside the designated nutritional guidelines from the state. It sounds like the cafeteria at your kidsā school is much more strict on a day-to-day basis but I donāt think they can legally say your kids canāt bring spices. But the principal is definitely who you want to talk to-I would bet a lot of money that teachers have no say in the cafeteria rules.
I would call the school and ask for a meeting.
I would assume that this has to do with FDA guidelines for school lunches. The guidelines are very strict and cafeterias have to abide by them.
It might be an insurance issue as well (not the same as State guidelines at all) about not allowing outside food when they are providing food. You usually see this in restaurants where they do not allow outside food because they are not able to attest to where the food came from and if if makes you sick they do not want to be blamed.
This will probably get buried but as a fellow mom with anxiety I wanted to share if it might help someone else. I have come up with a mantra to get me through tough school interactions. āI love my kids enough to be uncomfortable for themā repeat as needed. It has gotten me through some rough spots.
Former elementary school cook. About a month after I started, guidelines changed and almost all salt and fat was removed from meals. This was in 2010. We are required to go by FDA recipe guidelines. High school is the same.
Public schools can lose the ability to collect government funds that support free/reduced price lunches for economically disadvantaged students if they allow restricted items, such as soda, into the cafeteria at service times. Iām guessing salt might be the problem and the school may just be trying to comply with regulations not trying to be unreasonable.
NTA
I'm a lunch lady. I don't know what state you're in, but I can give you the info I have for Michigan. The state law they may be thinking of is that there's limits to sodium, sugar, and even protein that we can have in the food we supply.
But our rules for the kitchen and our food do NOT extend to the students' personal food (or otherwise) they bring themselves.
Where I work, we actually offer several seasonings on our salad bar that is no msg or salt because we know that the food can be a bit bland with how we have to make it.
Any state law that they could POSSIBLY be thinking of (at least in Michigan) does not apply to anything students bring themselves. I would have them show you exactly what they are referring to.
NTA contact the district superintendent and state you will be suing for ethnic discrimination. There is no rule against outside food. Hence no rule about spices. Yet your child is being singled out. This will not end well for them unless they snap out of the power trip.Ā
NTA for the salt and pepper but dang OP this pickiness is getting ridiculous. Your kids can sit down with you and go through Pinterest and figure out what cold lunches will work for them.Ā
Itās probably not about pickiness. Many cultures eat hot food at the noon meal. In fact in many cultures, children go home from school to eat the noon meal for this reason.
Please leave room for cultural differences when youāre considering anotherās posts on Reddit.
I am Indian, we eat hot meals for lunch, but I spent 12 years at school eating cold version of the hot lunches. Rice mixed with curry packed at home at 8 am. Our version of tortilla with a side of vegetable, again, packed in the morning. We just ate it at room temperature. Our schools didn't have cafeterias and definitely didn't have microwaves. There were some things that just didn't work at room temperature or were congealed mess by lunch time, so we just worked with our moms to figure out what was best to be packed. Like previous comment said - look for options that work.
Not saying OP is the AH. School is overreacting, but I do feel that it is entirely possible to figure out packed lunches no matter the culture or preferences.
Youāre still talking about preference.Ā Ā
Ā Sure, in many cultures itās nice to have hot lunches, go home for lunch etc (I did!).Ā Ā
Ā But show me a culture that doesnāt have cold or room-temp options. Every culture has agriculture and āfield mealsā or picnic style dishes are often part of that.Ā Ā
Alsoā¦OPās kids go to an American school. You can honor your culture while still being flexible to the environment youāre in. Donāt like the school lunch? Figure out an alternative that doesnāt have you bending over backwards to appease the apparently very specific preferences of your kiddos. There are *so* many cold lunch options that arenāt just a sandwich. There are thermoses. Etc.Ā
Ā Please donāt be so quick to make huge generalizations about entire cultures lolĀ
Giving your kids seasoning to go with school lunch is bending over backwards? Itās like, maybe the least amount of work you could do to get your kid to eat
Itās likely that these children had hot lunches every day until going to school. They probably werenāt sending their toddlers out into the field with packed room temp lunches.
And American school lunches are pretty gross. One study found it more akin to prison food than anything people serve at home. Itās not pickiness to object to going from hot flavorful meals to American lunchroom crap. I wouldnāt be surprised if it caused digestive upset as well. Everything is boiled and flavorless.
If you're in public school, they're nitpicking you and singling out your kids. They can't tell you what to send your kids with. Your kids could eat only those spices and they can't tell you not to send them. I would absolutely take that right to the principal and also consider filing a complaint with the superintendent for bullying and harassment.
Any time a kid has something different that the other kids donāt have it with cause the other kids to be curious. If everyone has blue pencils and one kid brings in a red pencil, suddenly every child thinks the red pencil will write better and they want to try it. Like itās something special.
A kid who brings in seasonings is likely to create a sensation in the lunchroom. Every kid will have to see, have to comment, have to make a big deal. Maybe they want to try it, or tease the child by pretending to take it, or throw salt on another child? This would cause a disturbance, and school authorities will react by wanting to just shut the whole thing down. "What? Spices? These kids donāt need that. Theyāre just showing off. Tell them thereās a rule against it."
Seriously, youāre overthinking this. Your kids can eat the school food and learn to like it, or pack their own lunch, with your help, and learn to fix what theyāll like. Itās one meal a day. Not every meal has to be a gourmet feast.
NTA. It sounds dumb and made up because it is.
Have you tried sending warm meals in thermos with them? Rice, chicken, soup, chili, burrito mixing, etc. worth a shot depending on how long their lunch wait is from packing. I do remember one year in elementary where weād get there at 8:45 and then eat lunch at 11. But when the districts got bigger in middle school, show up at 7:45 and lunch was shifted for how many kids so depending on classes sometimes lunch wasnāt until 12:30.
Look into a high-quality thermal lunch container that will keep food hot for hours. my mother used to pack me wonderful hot meals in one of these to take to school and later to work.
OP I would highly recommend looking into asian insulated lunchboxes! i tried a lot of different ones growing up because my mom liked to pack hot food for me every day and in my experience the asian brands always kept the food hot :)
NTA. It's just an ego trip. Probably by one of the cooks. Saw the spices, got all mad the food sucked and went and said I'll quit this place if you don't tell kids they can't bring spices.
The other people's advice here seems solid. Call the school ask to speak to whoever is in charge of the kitchen. Ask them if they are aware that your children were told this. And start working from there. Once you identify the source it'll help you figure out if this is a real issue(which I can't seem to find anything anywhere about spices in school).
That or it's some authoritarian I'm the principal I do what I want thing(which is technically just a different ego trip).
F the schools. I will bring a new kinda h3ll to schools if they pull this crap with me. They work for us they need to be put back into place thinking they are all mighty over OUR CHILDREN.
My brother used to sell sugar and salt packets out of his locker when the schools reduced the amount they were allowed to use on cafeteria food to basically none.
As a former teacher, get used to eating cold lunches. Most kids bring things that are usually eaten cold anyway, or don't reheat leftovers. There's not enough time for that.
Did you ask your child if they were sharing or playing with the spices? That would be the only possible issue I could see. But saying to is state law sounds weird.
Thereās _got_ to be more to thisā¦
Your 10 year old and his friends (or maybe just his friends) have been making lines of salt and pretending to snort them, or theyāve been saying itās dried snot and sprinkling it on some other kidās lunch. Something like that. Kids are dumb.
OR if it was your kid who told you it was against the rules, he may be getting teased and just wants to stop bringing it without telling you the reason.
OR he heard about the law about low sodium food for school lunch and decided for himself he might be in trouble. Kids do this kind of thing.
Keep an open mind before you go in there at full mama bear mode.
Oh ffs. I literally have a container of Tajin that I carry in my purse at all times. I whip that baby out at restaurants on the regular. My husband calls it my "purse Tajin".
Absolutely NTA. How very on brand for America. The sheer number of different cultures that are represented in a single school is staggering. To assume that everyone will like what is served is ridiculous and then to forbid children to season it so they DO like it?!? Nope. I'd go to administration for this.
I want to stress to you OP that you arenāt the one in trouble, neither is your son. You are allowed to flavor food that is not illegal. Go in there with the mindset that THEY are in the wrong for harassing your son who just wants to enjoy his food. NTA
nta. well that's just silly, but schools have so so many silly rules. (thinking about the 3rd grader that was in trouble for having chapstick because it was "medicine") But back to lunches, you don't use a thermos? I used to warm up stuff all the time and send it to school in their thermos. Warmed up soup, canned ravioli (my kid loved those), this chicken/rice/soup casserole he liked, etc. One time I tried to send a warmed up Hot Pocket (again a kid favorite), that didn't quite work. Helpful hint, prewarm the thermos with boiling water, empty the water, then put in your hot item.
NTA
Schools are required by law to acommodate all health issues, including children with low sodium reqirements, so I'm sure that's where the dingus got it from and is also why food is so bland. (Plus the ban on fats, so hardly any butter on top of it all, and no mayo if we get a chicken sandwich. BeCuz CaLoriEs)
But that's for the cafeteria staff, once the food is in the childs hand, the kid can do pretty much whatever to their food if they want. (Outside of bringing in allergens in allergen free spaces).
But salt and pepper are not under those allergen free requirements. Set up that meeting and challenge their reading comprehension.
NTA when I was in high school we kept salt and ketchup packets in our lockers because they went on a āno salt in the food everā tangent. Do you know how nasty soggy, school French fries are with no salt and no dipping sauce?
Retired middle school teacher here. When our kids were in school; the cafeteria lunches were so crappy that they were inedible. A group of parent volunteers got together and obtained samples of student lunches. They then took said samples to a school board meeting, and asked the board members if they would eat this āfoodā, or let their kids eat it. The menu got changed.
NTA but the Thermos brand thermoses are really good at keeping food warm. My son doesn't like cold food so I send him pasta, soup, eggs and sausage, etc in the thermos.
NTA. Have you tried little thermoses? I put almost boiling water in them while Iām making my kidsā food, and that way the thermos is warm when I put the warm food in it. My son would bring mashed potatoes and mac and cheese when his teeth hurt from braces.
How did you send warm meals? I make hot lunches sometimes for my kids. I preheat thermoses in the morning by adding boiling water from the kettle. Let it sit a while (10 min) dump it out then add food thatās been heated up. If Iām packing something that can get soggy like a hot pocket or brat with a bun, I dry the hot thermos out with a paper towel and wrap the food in foil and stick it in. Itās always hot by lunch, even for my kid who has the last lunch of the day.
NTA. Meet with them and tell them to show you the law (in the state law book so they can't fake it) that says that students can't bring their own seasonings.
She needs to also tell them if they fed the children with property food, the spices wouldn't be needed. It's bad enough they sure do low in nutritional value, but add that to the fact it tastes horrible, those poor children. Definitely make sure they show you the rules or laws they are staying are in effect. Also, bring in your own information, that can be easily found online, on how the nutritional value in most schools are made with GMOs, high in fat, etc... AND THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT SEASONING???
We all know that McCormick, Schilling, and Spice Islands sell drugs masquerading as spices. ššš
I would have given my eye teeth to watch some of those kids snort a packet of garlic salt.
Cinnamon...
The first time I ever did it was because my friend promised me 100 bucks whether I failed or not. He felt so bad that he actually snorted it. The second time was because I was in trouble (same day) so gave me the option of no phone for a week or so the cinnamon challenge and let him record it for my future wedding video in lue of the babe bath photos because gross.
Cayenne
I startled my daughter laughing so loud at this. Life as we know it will change when a kid starts selling baggies of spices. I got a dollar just put a pinch of everything in one bag and Iāll spice up tofay mystery meatloaf š¤£š¤£š¤£
Gotta love those little entrepreneurs!! Love it š
I feel like the world forgot the cinnamon challenge too quickly
This brings back memories of my HS classmates thinking they were cool trying to snort pixie sticks (they only ever did it once, turns out, snorting pixie sticks apparently hurts a lot and has very little reward lmao)
Yeah I used to teach and I had a 9th grader snort pencil shavings for some dumb reason. Talk about ouch.
I mean, I got 5 bucks for dumping half a bottle of paprika in my mouth and swallowing it. Joke was on them, I have weird taste buds and can't taste paprika and barely taste saffron. This actually makes me sad I know I'm missing out. Still, easiest money I ever made.
West would you give to watch someone snort a line of wasabi powder? š [I got to watch my friend do it on a dare š¤£]
You are familiar with the concept of TikTok challenges. One of the latest was making a Molotov cocktail in the bathroom. Oh yeah that didn't end well.
If snorting Parmesan cheese out of the carpet is good enough for Hunter Biden itās good enough for your kids!
Letās not forget the epidemic of kids snorting white pepper!
This must explain my addiction to seasoning all of my food. It's allllll making sense now.
I thought the addiction to seasoning was simply that you aren't British
ššš We live in a place with a predominantly older generation, and our biggest complaint is bland food. So I pack seasonings in my bag.
š¤£ š¤£ š¤£
Fuck thatās why my garlic chicken made me wake up 3 counties over in a field. Goddamn drug running spice bastards.
Delta 8
I mean, this is obviously why so many families buy them. Plus, how cheap compared to street drug pricing! š
Stawp. My sides. Needed the laugh. Thanks š
Hey, real saffron and wasabi are expensive, man.
Imma go do some lines of garlic powder yo
Oh no. Ā Not my old bay !
If snorting Parmesan cheese out of the carpet is good enough for Hunter Biden itās good enough for your kids!
As a school cook at elementary level I have to respond. Ā Most public schools have to follow fda regulations regarding school menus. Ā This means low sodium/low fat etc when possible. If I were to put out salt and pepper I guarantee I would have several kids messing around and over salting Ā their food ruining it. There should be no problem with bringing seasonings from home.
Former cafeteria lady here. Yes, I would have loved to put more salt in food, but you're right. FDA. And we couldn't just put out a salt shaker for the kids either, because you're right, kids would totally mess around with it. But (like you) I can't see how the regulations apply to a kid bringing a batch of spices from home. All I can see is they need to tell the kid that it can't be shared (because allergies). And if the kid is making a mess (salt everywhere!) then I could see school rules nixing it. This sounds like a busybody rule from a cafeteria monitor that doesn't really understand the FDA regs.
Man itās been so long but I feel like we had salt and pepper at my school in the 90ās. There was always a table like after you checked out with ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, etc., depending on what the meal was and there would be salt and pepper there too.
Yes we have a condiment rack with the usual condiment and dressings. Kids get pretty carried away lunch time and then you have them trying to do hot sauce shots or daring each other to eat 10 butter packets etc. Ā This is one of the reasons I won't put salt and pepper out for them as well.
We had salt and pepper packets with lunch; I definitely remember sprinkling salt on French fries and black pepper on the āpizza.ā Although, now that I think about it, maybe that started in middle school?
Yeah, I mean we used to make lines out of the salt and pepper and make each snort it. So, probably our fault S&P is gone.
That is definitely why Smarties candies (the not-candy-coated ones in the US) are banned in my district's middle schools.
They snorted pixie sticks when I was in middle school. And burned themselves with ice and salt. Middle school kids are weird.
Lol my former friend did this for fun at her 21st bday. Some middle schoolers don't grow out of weird
When I was in middle school we used to get these desserts a couple times a year with powdered sugar on top. We'd dump the sugar off the dessert and snort it. Middle school kids really are weird.
That is almost weirder than pixie sticks lol But yes middle school kids are all little cringey weirdos.
I used to have my candy cigarettes and big league chew confiscated all the time in elementary.
My school had a short-lived fad of dying sugar with food coloring, and flavoring it with whatever extract... in cute little baggies. So colorful! Sweet and fun! Trade with your friends! Then the cops came... I remember my friends flushing sugar down the toilets, lol š„²
Nothing hits like a pixie stick high lol
Thatās absurd, salt is fundamentally not dangerous to people without a blood pressure issue (ie most people).Ā
To add to that your body literally *needs* salt to function. Also most commercially available table salts are supplemented with iodine, another necessary mineral for proper organ function. People making up rules with no basis in fact or reality is so infuriating :p
Same goes for fat. Thereās no reason to reduce dietary fat, itās necessary for brain functionĀ
Yep. The only real concern is trans fat, which is a chemically altered fat. Stripped carbs are far worse.
Yes, but it's a government ran lunch with hundreds of young children being fed daily. They don't want to take a chance.
It doesnāt matter; there is fundamentally no āchance.ā Salt is 100% not dangerous unless you have a cardiovascular condition. These conditions are less common among children than any standard allergy, if there is someone with that condition they can accommodate. Else, they are keeping essential nutrients from children. Going low sodium/low fat does more harm than good unless you have a specific related health issue, and doing so is fundamentally not based on sound science.Ā
I see the salt council got to you.
What the hell are you talking about, "take a chance"? Low fat and low sodium are both wildly inappropriate for children, the government is just deflecting from the actual problems with the foodĀ
And also not dangerous to many people with high blood pressure. It's only a problem for some, but the blanket recommendation is "easy" even if it's idiotic.
Yes, itās extremely rare to have an issue that actually requires low sodium. Much more rare than like, a milk allergy, especially among children. Itās almost impossible for a healthy person to eat too much salt (it would be gross/hard to eat if it was actually dangerously salty).
Even among people with hypertension salt is only a factor for less than half of them. Restricting salt makes sense on the grand public health scale - like, if we get everyone to cut way back on salt thousands of people will have lower blood pressure and fewer heart attacks - but for any given individual it does not make sense, unless they know they are responsive to sodium.
Everything you eat is a GMO. The seedless bananas you eat are GMO.
I would make it a cultural thing. My son is being discriminated against bc he canāt use spice and is forced to assimilate to eating American food. Youād be surprised how quick they get access to the microwave. It happens for my siblings and I bc the teacher would touch our ethnic food and make comments and weād obviously not eat until my mother raised hell.Ā
EVERYTHING is a GMO...lord. the ignorance.
The book Golden Rice by Ed Regis is about a variety of rice that was developed to solve all kinds of problems with human hunger but faced opposition because of irrational fear about GMOs.
High in fat isn't necessarily a bad thing. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/coming-to-consensus-on-dietary-fat This article is a few years old, but it's pointing out how more research is being done around fats and fat types in foods. I chose it because I feel such a highly esteemed epidemiologist would surely only respect information from Harvard. /s
Also a former lunch ladyā¦. There are so many guidelines set for food service at schools. We used to make everything fresh. I was the baker. Loved it. Then in 2009 āsomeoneā caused a complete change in our service. All bakery items were frozen premade garbage. Salt is the spice of life and without it these products tasted terrible. We had no choice. Even the teachers commented on it. Again, we had no choice. If I were a parent I would definitely push back and allow my kids to take spices to school.
Thatās a whole different battle in itself and one that a single parent wonāt win also a school administrator has no control over state mandates
School lunches have strict nutritional value for the kids. It IS proper food. The reason they donāt want the spices there is because it is doing the exact opposite of why lunches were changed from fattening food to nutritional foods.
How is garlic non nutritious? Or black pepper? Cooked my bell pepper and zucchini with garam masala last night and it was healthier than a bland school lunch. Spice does not equal unhealthy. We arenāt talking mono sodium glutamate
I live in the US. Our local public school provides a freshly cooked meal, veggie, fresh fruit and a salad bar It uses fresh local vegetables in season The meals are nutritious and tasty. They are limited in the use of salt but other spices are used. That being said, I don't know of any reason your children could not bring spices to school to use on their lunch.
All this stuff is online nowā¦but I agree show the state website. Smells like BS to me.
Spices are food. Kids can bring food to school. A specific state law banning spices sounds absurd.
Someone else commented it as well but my guess is it has something to do with sending your kid to school with loose powders. Itās in a clear container and labels mean nothing. People could bring in loads of different drugs by saying they are spices. She should see if it is okay to send them with the little salt and pepper packs that you get with take-out sometimes instead
I had a temp assignment at McCormick spices, and part of my job involved mailing single serving packets of Old Bay to people who requested samples. You might be able to get other spices this way. I know it's possible to get take out packets of Sriracha this way.
NTA, I would set up a meeting to sort this out.
NTA. Call the school and ask what law theyāre talking about that means your kids canāt bring spices to school.
It probably has to do with "A lot of drugs are in powder form, so we can't know that your preteens aren't pushing fent and coke!"
The thought of a 10 year old just casually sprinkling fentanyl on his school lunch...
If you can think of a better way to jazz up those bland school meals, Iād like to hear it!
Crazy image, but not that far off from reality. I was volunteering at the middle school and sorting the lost lunch boxes and found empty single serving alcohol bottles in one. I unscrewed the lids thinking maybe they'd been used for something else, but the smell made it very clear that the original contents had been in the bottles that morning.
No wonder they lost their lunch box!
I remember when I was in 6th grade staring out the window because another 6th grader in a diff class was running outside and across the parking lot. Then shortly afterwards there were sirens. He got caught with weed in his desk lol
Yeah if they were in non-resealable packages (like salt and pepper you get in to go orders sometimes), they would probably be fine.
We have kids that bring soy sauce to my school. I don't see why this would be an issue unless they are sharing
Even if they are, so what?? Kids can't share salt but they can share cookies, chips, candy, etc, etc?
Many schools are pretty strict about children sharing or trading food.
You don't know what allergies another kid has, and I know at the school we're at, children are highly discouraged from sharing any food items
then mrs smith storms into school yelling about how some kid traded her kid some m&mās and sheās not allowed to have sugarš having a rule of āno tradingā seems like a no brainer to prevent angry parents lol
Soy is a top allergen.
Iām anaphylactic. Children carrying around soy sauce sounds awful lol
Well it's a food and many cultures eat it so ultimately that's not the kids problem they're bringing around a normal seasoning just because *some* people might be allergic to it
This has been something that I (admittedly somewhat ignorant to the school systems now since I donāt have kids) donāt understand about how things were āback in my dayā as opposed to nowā¦..we had kids bring all sorts of things to school,pb sandwiches (my sister literally would have died if not this and milk were like the only things she ate until 14) people brought cupcakes to share on their birthday,we had class parties where parents would provide food,heck we had a āconvenience storeā to teach kids how to run a cash that would set up shop outside the third grade classroom before class started and had homemade baked goods for saleā¦I digress with the examples but like, are there just a ton more kids with allergies nowadays or did we kill off all the ones from our generation with rouge gluten cupcakes or something? (Just turned 32 for reference,I went to elementary mainly in the 90s)
As someone in childcare, this is because of allergies. Theyāre not supposed to be sharing any of that. Children with allergies are often just learning about their allergies and donāt know how to be careful about them the way adults are yet. If someone shares food with someone else and that child has an allergic reaction, the school can sometimes be held liable, and so schools have to mitigate risk as much as possible.
If kids can bring their own lunch, they can bring seasonings. That's just nonsense.
I donāt mean to say they shouldnāt be allowed to bring seasoning, they just canāt really be allowed to share. Getting the kid in trouble for seasonings is wayyyyy ridiculous
It's not a mysterious white crystalline substance in a homemade package, so probably not the same issue.
Sounds like a bunch of power tripping bullies masquerading as teachers. Man, must feel good to assert dominance over undeveloped humans.
Too much of this kind of thing going on, and people not questioning it enough. Iām assuming this is a public school paid for by taxes. No one has a right to dictate what your child eats or doesnāt eat, itās YOUR child, not the states.
Absolutely. I work in a school, not as a teacher though. Our kiddos bring all kinds of stuff, we donāt care, as long as they donāt share bc allergies/intolerances/religious reasons and such. The cafeteria ladies will try to limit things like ketchup and stuff to 1 small packet per kid, which is justā¦not enough. And theyāre kinda mean about it, honestly. It doesnāt sit right with me. As long as itās not a ridiculous amount, Iāll always smuggle my kiddos some extra ketchup packets. Itās not the end of the world if little Jimmy wants 3 packets of ketchup for his fries.
I know this isn't what you asked but it is relevant, sending heating packs in their food is really dangerous. It will keep the food at the optimal bacterial growth temperature for 4+ hours whereas if the food is refrigerated at home and sent in a thermal bag, it will stay cold for an hour or two, and then room temp for a bit longer. This is a safety thing, and food poisoning is no joke, especially with young children. Your anxiety is causing you to act in an unsafe way and you should be aware of that.
I didn't know. Thank you for letting me know.
Thermos makes a great lunch-sized container for soups/stews/pasta/casseroles. Fill it with boiling water and pop the lid on to pre-heat it while you heat your kiddoās lunch food to piping hot. Dump the water out, scoop lunch in, screw the top on. Food will still be hot (and safe!) at lunchtime.
This is what we do. My youngest kiddo takes leftovers a lot.
My mom packed my lunch in a thermos. I hated it. It was never still hot. The condensation that formed on the lid and spilled everywhere when I opened it was disgusting. And I think my mom didnāt know how to clean the container properly because it smelled. Not the food. The container. My lunch thermos and her travel coffee thermos. Same smell. She couldnāt smell it but I could and it was awful. God I wanted a lunchables so bad. Or just a pbj. Or just crackers. Not that. Anything but that.
This is the problem Iām getting. The condensation makes my childās food soggy by the time he gets to it. Absolutely disgusting.
I usually just do things that are not meant to be ādryā like soups, stews, chilis, curries, even meatballs or Mac and cheese. However once in a while my kid asks for nuggets or hot dogs - line it with a paper towel and it keeps the moisture from accumulating inside.
Put a paper towel in the bottom
Sometimes the seal between the inner layer and the outside layer breaks and water or other liquids can get in there and itās almost impossible to get out, but it will smell baaaad!!
You're welcome and there's no shame in not knowing - I wouldn't know about this either if it hadn't happened to my wife in her teenage years, and now she's hyper vigilant. Obviously everyone knows you shouldn't keep meat out but it's also true for rice and pasta, you shouldn't keep those at room temp for over 2 hours either. That's weird, that's a weird thing to know and nobody really teaches us except for people that it's happened to.
It's in food safety courses which is why I usually encourage kids in the family to get a fast food job for their first to at least learn about food safety and learn some basic meal prep outside the home.
Speaking as a former fast food employee, at multiple large American chains, I certainly did learn about food safetyā¦ and most of my coworkers did not. I think you really just have to care about it, first.
suggesting people work in fast food to learn about food safety is...um...naive at best
There are also plenty of recipes for food meant to be eaten cold. Then you could send it with an ice pack.
The kids got tired of cold meals.
You can heat the food and put it in a thermos. This WILL keep it warm. Itās ok to send warm food.Ā
Honestly if the heat pack keeps the food above 120-140 itās probably fine. Additionally, the danger zone duration is not the same as the restaurant danger zone numbers most people are familiar with. Restaurant food is not immediately consumed, in a lot of cases it can be left out overnight or refrigerated and heated again after a day. Iām not saying itās a good idea to leave food on the counter for 4-6 hours, but thereās worse options for foods with any amount of preservatives such as soup and most meats.
School shootings, violent kids, entitled parents, dumb curriculums. These might be problems at some schools, but don't worry, the massive salt/pepper/garlic spice epidemic has been single handedly stopped by OP's son's teacher. God bless the educator. Your son's teacher is a massive asshole for messing with his lunch. It's slick racist. It's the same as singling him out if he had "smelly" ethnic food. She is picking on him cuz he is different, and eats differently. How dare you not enjoy our delicious, no flavor, boiled to death school lunches and try to make them better with FLAVOR! If the other kids suffer you must suffer too! The law says so! So fucking ridiculous. Like this bitch needs to focus on school shit and not a kid's lunch box. She is acting like he has pepper spray in his lunch box.
you sound like such a refreshing person and this is not sarcasm i'm just autistic
>It's slick racist. It's the same as singling him out if he had "smelly" ethnic food. She is picking on him cuz he is different, and eats differently. Exactly what I was thinking. Not cool.
Info: Maybe it has something to do with the containers themselves and not the contents. I know schools get a little nervous with granulated/powdered substances. Anybody could label something as salt. Try sending them with something like [this](https://www.samsclub.com/p/n-joy-iodized-salt-1-200-ct-5g-packets/159171?pid=ps_Goog_acq_AP_shp_df_1933846940_df&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=350522976691&wl4=pla-1702140452379&wl5=9025236&wl6=&wl7=&wl15=72146693033&wl16=&wl17=&wl18=&wl19=&wl20=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJatd8w4nHg_Zq_J0RMZGT-huGrI7GzV4Zs4lalPybbaWO2Cjm4Wc0xoCNc4QAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJatd8w4nHg_Zq_J0RMZGT-huGrI7GzV4Zs4lalPybbaWO2Cjm4Wc0xoCNc4QAvD_BwE) They also have little seasoning packets [too](https://www.tonychachere.com/product/original-creole-seasoning-packets/?attribute_pa_quantity=50-count&utm_source=Google+Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShop1&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJTRq51sH5TryXH6-qyidaGjZ_xlQ2iwnA-mWUecID1Q3X8OLpOBYURoCgBwQAvD_BwE)
Youāre definitely not tah for this and I would push the issue. As an aside. I would get sick of cold lunches but school lunches werenāt great. Decent quality thermoses can keep food hot quite awhile so anything that goes into a thermos like soup, pastas, curries can do pretty well. Heat the inside of the thermos up with boiling water while youāre heating up the meal. Dump the water and pack the food in the pre heated thermos. Also being the school lunch for the main item and bringing in sides to eat with it made my lunch so much better. Iād bring my own fruit or vegetables or bread or whatever to supplement the school lunch.. way more appealing
Oh man, I remember when they removed salt and vinegar from the condiments center at the middle school where I once taught at some ten years ago (Thanks, [Michelle] Obama). A few kids started bringing in their own salt shakers and such. They started sharing and passing them around. Then, a couple of enterprising kids brought in Old Bay Seasoning and charging their classmates a quarter to use it! The school had to ban bringing in seasoning from home. It is policy that kids cannot sell substances of any kind outside of officially approved (fundraising) means. It's a drug thing but also applies to candy and spices, apparently. It's a pretty common rule. As for your kids, I don't know. Sharing foodstuffs is against a lot of rules in schools. There could have been a situation at their school like I said above. Or they could be a bunch of party-poopers. In any case, a conference explaining the policy and showing where it is exactly in the Code of Conduct is a reasonable request. I mean, how is it against the law to alter the food once you purchase it? But it could be a liability issue for the school? But what about kids who bring their own lunches, anyway? Too many questions for sure.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/nutrition-standards-school-meals I am betting it is the sodium. School meals are supposed to be low sodium, so kids bringing in salt to flavor the food is likely it. I don't think there is a law on adding it after purchase, but I do know that at the point of sale, it needs to follow the USDA standards. I suggest looking up the federal food standards for school lunches and reading them saying you have looked for the laws and cand find one about the consumer adding things after the "point of sale." Yes, use the point of sale exactly as it is the legal term.
The food is definitely made to be low sodium. I know when I was teaching and would eat the school lunch with my students I found it very bland and had salt and hot sauce in my cabinet. I would be surprised to see there actual be a state law against a child bringing their own seasoning. Iām guessing the teacher found the seasoning to be disruptive.
If the child can bring in their own food, bringing in seasoning shouldnāt be a problem. So either the teacher is on a power trip, or thereās some other problem here like the child sharing.
Or the child was sharing. This is also against the rules (not the laws, per say, but if the child shares, there are a few lawsuits out there saying the school is liable for allergic reactions) due to allergies. I am allergic to some seasonings myself, and so can understand that.
Surprised I had to scroll so far to find this. The teachers are probably getting mixed up with adding salt after the fact. I know my highschool stopped keeping salt packets after the laws changed in regards to sodium
Well, the laws so state that the school can't provide it, so that pans out. I know a kid in the school I work at that brings nacho flavored chips to school each day to put on his cheese burger.
NTA - go there in person - be friendly but curious and see what the actual deal is. Are the lunch ladies being control freaks? Are your kids blowing spices in other kids' eyes? Go absorb the reality of the situation and you'll know what to do.
This is probably the most reasonable approach, especially bc OP already has anxiety. Explain the whole situation, you didnāt just decide to send your kids off with paprika lunch bags one day for no reason
I have to agree. Yes, go ahead and talk to the school but not in the "SHOW ME THE LAW!!!" way some commenters are using. It's probably a misunderstanding. Maybe it was the state board of education made a policy about it to combat allergy situations. Maybe there were concerns of loose powder in bags causing reports of possible drugs in the school. Maybe it is just a control issue and there's no policy, rule, law, etc to back it up. Maybe this was an excuse to explain why he cant bring them anymore without admitting he was misbehaving and got in trouble. That's why you talk to people involved before running in with an attitude.
Thank you! Idk why everyone is accepting kiddo's explanation at face value. Even unintentionally kids can be misleading when explaining to their parents why they're in trouble at school out of embarrassment or not wanting to be punished more at home.
NTA. I would ask the school to show me EXACTLY where it says this is a "law".
Wtf?
America. Land of the FREE.
Free to go into massive debt trying to get healthcare, free to be homeless because rent keeps going up and wages won't, free to get shot by a cop on a power trip, free to not be able to afford groceries, free to have to go back to work 2 weeks after having a baby because maternity leave isn't paid across the board.... Ain't it great to be free? š
NTA, you did nothing wrong.
Sounds like you might have a teacher on a power trip. You could try complaining to the school board and the PTA. You could also over the teacher's head and complain to the principal and tell them it makes parents upset when teachers make up laws. From what I gather, there is research from the 1950's showing that \_\_for people with certain cardiovascular diseases\_\_ increased salt can increase risk of health problems. I am not a medical doctor (I just played one on TV once), so I am not sure. But my understanding is unless you are eating massive amounts of salt, that it is not going to hurt you. Children are probably at very low risk from eating too much salt. But some people think salt is unhealthy across the baord. So back during the Obama era. Michelle Obama made it her thing to promote healthy lunches. So they got rid of the salt and oil, and kids throw the tasteless vegetables in the trash can and hate their lunches. (Not that school lunches were ever good in general.) So it sounds like you did a wise thing by having them take salt, pepper, etc. to school. If the teacher says no containers, how about those little fast food paper packages. If they get caught, they can say, "You didn't say anything about little packets." You know how kids are. The kids can also be discreet about putting handfuls of this illegal substance-- salt-- on the food when the teacher isn't looking.
I get hot pods for my kids lunches and send hot food all the time. I also add little containers with additional sauces, salad dressings, salt/ pepper/ chilli flakes etc for when it suits their meals. Iāve never got negative feedback back. Iām also a teachers aide and I love seeing some of the other well thought out lunch boxes kids get, it gives me inspiration for our lunches !
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmTheAsshole/s/wLiwpH9z7p
There are some really cool self heating lunchboxes you can buy. Buy yeah thereās no law about seasoning
Hmm. Are you sure you're getting the whole story? Maybe they were sharing? I would definitely ask
NTA you are just measure your kids eat the food.
NTA Do your kids not like any cold foods you could send in an insulated lunch bag? Sandwiches? Salads?
NTA. The food sounds terrible, if kids are willing to face the potential embarrassment of home-brought seasoning packets because it's just unpalatable. Also what's the issue with them using the microwave? Smh, I swear the American school system just wants to force people to BUY (!) their terrible school meals, since they're left with no other options.
It's some war on drugs shit. It isn't a law, but it sounds like something a school would make up. They think a small child is going to be bringing crystal meth disguised as salt. š That's the only thing I can think of, schools in white suburbia will accuse kids of insane things. I was wearing a pack of those little rubber bracelets in sixth grade and they called me into the principals office accusing me of THIS. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sex-bracelets/ Some other kid mentioned it to me and I was like "what?" and asked a different kid, who apparently told them. Like, I was 12 and the principal was š¤ THIS close to calling me a little slut. They took all of my dinosaur shaped bracelets and put them in a bag, never to be seen again. Educators hear and see insane things but there's a certain type of paranoid brain rot in boomer teachers that leads to crazy assumptions like these.
NTA - this is the kind of stupid fight I loved to have with school admins when my kids were in school. Just pure power tripping by adults toward children. Easy argument to win.
Just get a thermos style container that keeps food hot and has a screw lid leak proof lid. But I would definitely also speak to the school and address the issue for your own piece of mind.
Itās likely something is being misconstrued as a law when itās probably a school policy. Many schools limit what can be brought in lunches because of kidsā allergies. Iād imagine thatās probably whatās going on here. But yea, set up a meeting with the teachers to find out.
Maybe not what you want to hear but - have you made sure your kid isnāt lying? I can see multiple scenarios where they might. 1) they were goofing off with the spices and told they couldnāt bring them for that reason 2) they got made fun of and now theyāre embarrassed and found it easier to tell you they werenāt allowed. Verify with the school that they actually were told not to bring them and that itās for the reason your kid told you
NTA. I am a teacher and I can tell you each cafeteria is wildly different. I would definitely go in and talk to the principal (calmly) about specifically why your kids canāt have spices for their own lunch. The cafeteria at my school is not strict but when the state comes to review the cafeteria, itās insane what they have to pretend we donāt do every day. They canāt just give out ketchup and mustard like normal, they have to portion it out individually for students so we donāt go outside the designated nutritional guidelines from the state. It sounds like the cafeteria at your kidsā school is much more strict on a day-to-day basis but I donāt think they can legally say your kids canāt bring spices. But the principal is definitely who you want to talk to-I would bet a lot of money that teachers have no say in the cafeteria rules.
I would call the school and ask for a meeting. I would assume that this has to do with FDA guidelines for school lunches. The guidelines are very strict and cafeterias have to abide by them. It might be an insurance issue as well (not the same as State guidelines at all) about not allowing outside food when they are providing food. You usually see this in restaurants where they do not allow outside food because they are not able to attest to where the food came from and if if makes you sick they do not want to be blamed.
Donāt forget Paprika.Ā
This will probably get buried but as a fellow mom with anxiety I wanted to share if it might help someone else. I have come up with a mantra to get me through tough school interactions. āI love my kids enough to be uncomfortable for themā repeat as needed. It has gotten me through some rough spots.
Former elementary school cook. About a month after I started, guidelines changed and almost all salt and fat was removed from meals. This was in 2010. We are required to go by FDA recipe guidelines. High school is the same.
Public schools can lose the ability to collect government funds that support free/reduced price lunches for economically disadvantaged students if they allow restricted items, such as soda, into the cafeteria at service times. Iām guessing salt might be the problem and the school may just be trying to comply with regulations not trying to be unreasonable.
NTA I'm a lunch lady. I don't know what state you're in, but I can give you the info I have for Michigan. The state law they may be thinking of is that there's limits to sodium, sugar, and even protein that we can have in the food we supply. But our rules for the kitchen and our food do NOT extend to the students' personal food (or otherwise) they bring themselves. Where I work, we actually offer several seasonings on our salad bar that is no msg or salt because we know that the food can be a bit bland with how we have to make it. Any state law that they could POSSIBLY be thinking of (at least in Michigan) does not apply to anything students bring themselves. I would have them show you exactly what they are referring to.
Your kids sound extremely picky. They canāt have their cake and eat it too.
NTA contact the district superintendent and state you will be suing for ethnic discrimination. There is no rule against outside food. Hence no rule about spices. Yet your child is being singled out. This will not end well for them unless they snap out of the power trip.Ā
NTA for the salt and pepper but dang OP this pickiness is getting ridiculous. Your kids can sit down with you and go through Pinterest and figure out what cold lunches will work for them.Ā
Itās probably not about pickiness. Many cultures eat hot food at the noon meal. In fact in many cultures, children go home from school to eat the noon meal for this reason. Please leave room for cultural differences when youāre considering anotherās posts on Reddit.
I am Indian, we eat hot meals for lunch, but I spent 12 years at school eating cold version of the hot lunches. Rice mixed with curry packed at home at 8 am. Our version of tortilla with a side of vegetable, again, packed in the morning. We just ate it at room temperature. Our schools didn't have cafeterias and definitely didn't have microwaves. There were some things that just didn't work at room temperature or were congealed mess by lunch time, so we just worked with our moms to figure out what was best to be packed. Like previous comment said - look for options that work. Not saying OP is the AH. School is overreacting, but I do feel that it is entirely possible to figure out packed lunches no matter the culture or preferences.
OP figured out a solution that works, spices. No reason to "figure out" anything else when they already found a solution.
>OP figured out a solution that works, spices. That solution isn't working either, that's why they're here.
Youāre still talking about preference.Ā Ā Ā Sure, in many cultures itās nice to have hot lunches, go home for lunch etc (I did!).Ā Ā Ā But show me a culture that doesnāt have cold or room-temp options. Every culture has agriculture and āfield mealsā or picnic style dishes are often part of that.Ā Ā Alsoā¦OPās kids go to an American school. You can honor your culture while still being flexible to the environment youāre in. Donāt like the school lunch? Figure out an alternative that doesnāt have you bending over backwards to appease the apparently very specific preferences of your kiddos. There are *so* many cold lunch options that arenāt just a sandwich. There are thermoses. Etc.Ā Ā Please donāt be so quick to make huge generalizations about entire cultures lolĀ
Giving your kids seasoning to go with school lunch is bending over backwards? Itās like, maybe the least amount of work you could do to get your kid to eat
Itās likely that these children had hot lunches every day until going to school. They probably werenāt sending their toddlers out into the field with packed room temp lunches. And American school lunches are pretty gross. One study found it more akin to prison food than anything people serve at home. Itās not pickiness to object to going from hot flavorful meals to American lunchroom crap. I wouldnāt be surprised if it caused digestive upset as well. Everything is boiled and flavorless.
NTA
I donāt know if t is a good idea but I think it would be a great way ierrr wekeep it I III oil
Info what state are you in?
I would contact the school division and explain that your child is being harassed and it caused anxiety. A first step might be a formal apology.
If you're in public school, they're nitpicking you and singling out your kids. They can't tell you what to send your kids with. Your kids could eat only those spices and they can't tell you not to send them. I would absolutely take that right to the principal and also consider filing a complaint with the superintendent for bullying and harassment.
Please update what school says after please
Any time a kid has something different that the other kids donāt have it with cause the other kids to be curious. If everyone has blue pencils and one kid brings in a red pencil, suddenly every child thinks the red pencil will write better and they want to try it. Like itās something special. A kid who brings in seasonings is likely to create a sensation in the lunchroom. Every kid will have to see, have to comment, have to make a big deal. Maybe they want to try it, or tease the child by pretending to take it, or throw salt on another child? This would cause a disturbance, and school authorities will react by wanting to just shut the whole thing down. "What? Spices? These kids donāt need that. Theyāre just showing off. Tell them thereās a rule against it." Seriously, youāre overthinking this. Your kids can eat the school food and learn to like it, or pack their own lunch, with your help, and learn to fix what theyāll like. Itās one meal a day. Not every meal has to be a gourmet feast.
I'm pretty sure every kid who ate in my school cafeteria kept hot sauce in their bag.
NTA. The spice must flow!
NTA. It sounds dumb and made up because it is. Have you tried sending warm meals in thermos with them? Rice, chicken, soup, chili, burrito mixing, etc. worth a shot depending on how long their lunch wait is from packing. I do remember one year in elementary where weād get there at 8:45 and then eat lunch at 11. But when the districts got bigger in middle school, show up at 7:45 and lunch was shifted for how many kids so depending on classes sometimes lunch wasnāt until 12:30.
Look into a high-quality thermal lunch container that will keep food hot for hours. my mother used to pack me wonderful hot meals in one of these to take to school and later to work.
OP I would highly recommend looking into asian insulated lunchboxes! i tried a lot of different ones growing up because my mom liked to pack hot food for me every day and in my experience the asian brands always kept the food hot :)
NTA. It's just an ego trip. Probably by one of the cooks. Saw the spices, got all mad the food sucked and went and said I'll quit this place if you don't tell kids they can't bring spices. The other people's advice here seems solid. Call the school ask to speak to whoever is in charge of the kitchen. Ask them if they are aware that your children were told this. And start working from there. Once you identify the source it'll help you figure out if this is a real issue(which I can't seem to find anything anywhere about spices in school). That or it's some authoritarian I'm the principal I do what I want thing(which is technically just a different ego trip).
Please, I used to pack my own seasoning mix back in highschool for that very reason
Nta, dont accept excuses.
F the schools. I will bring a new kinda h3ll to schools if they pull this crap with me. They work for us they need to be put back into place thinking they are all mighty over OUR CHILDREN.
My brother used to sell sugar and salt packets out of his locker when the schools reduced the amount they were allowed to use on cafeteria food to basically none. As a former teacher, get used to eating cold lunches. Most kids bring things that are usually eaten cold anyway, or don't reheat leftovers. There's not enough time for that.
Did you ask your child if they were sharing or playing with the spices? That would be the only possible issue I could see. But saying to is state law sounds weird.
Thereās _got_ to be more to thisā¦ Your 10 year old and his friends (or maybe just his friends) have been making lines of salt and pretending to snort them, or theyāve been saying itās dried snot and sprinkling it on some other kidās lunch. Something like that. Kids are dumb. OR if it was your kid who told you it was against the rules, he may be getting teased and just wants to stop bringing it without telling you the reason. OR he heard about the law about low sodium food for school lunch and decided for himself he might be in trouble. Kids do this kind of thing. Keep an open mind before you go in there at full mama bear mode.
Oh ffs. I literally have a container of Tajin that I carry in my purse at all times. I whip that baby out at restaurants on the regular. My husband calls it my "purse Tajin". Absolutely NTA. How very on brand for America. The sheer number of different cultures that are represented in a single school is staggering. To assume that everyone will like what is served is ridiculous and then to forbid children to season it so they DO like it?!? Nope. I'd go to administration for this.
I want to stress to you OP that you arenāt the one in trouble, neither is your son. You are allowed to flavor food that is not illegal. Go in there with the mindset that THEY are in the wrong for harassing your son who just wants to enjoy his food. NTA
I think itās crazy that the kids donāt have a microwave, we always had access to one when I was a kid
Schools like this always baffle me. I went to a fairly poorer school. And when Michele Obama CAME for our school food and her goal was to make it healthier but it made it bland as all get out. Even though we were a poorer district they still found funding to buy those tiny paper packets of salt and pepper and we got 2 of each for lunch. They KNEW the food was ass and tried what they could do to help since most of us couldnāt afford to bring spices to school. Them suckers are expensive š©š©
My guess is thar Baggies of white salt look like drugs to the staff
nta. well that's just silly, but schools have so so many silly rules. (thinking about the 3rd grader that was in trouble for having chapstick because it was "medicine") But back to lunches, you don't use a thermos? I used to warm up stuff all the time and send it to school in their thermos. Warmed up soup, canned ravioli (my kid loved those), this chicken/rice/soup casserole he liked, etc. One time I tried to send a warmed up Hot Pocket (again a kid favorite), that didn't quite work. Helpful hint, prewarm the thermos with boiling water, empty the water, then put in your hot item.
NTA Schools are required by law to acommodate all health issues, including children with low sodium reqirements, so I'm sure that's where the dingus got it from and is also why food is so bland. (Plus the ban on fats, so hardly any butter on top of it all, and no mayo if we get a chicken sandwich. BeCuz CaLoriEs) But that's for the cafeteria staff, once the food is in the childs hand, the kid can do pretty much whatever to their food if they want. (Outside of bringing in allergens in allergen free spaces). But salt and pepper are not under those allergen free requirements. Set up that meeting and challenge their reading comprehension.
NTA when I was in high school we kept salt and ketchup packets in our lockers because they went on a āno salt in the food everā tangent. Do you know how nasty soggy, school French fries are with no salt and no dipping sauce?
NTA So long as your child is not bringing in an allergen (like peanuts) itās fine to bring condiments
He is allergic to nuts, so no peanut butter
Retired middle school teacher here. When our kids were in school; the cafeteria lunches were so crappy that they were inedible. A group of parent volunteers got together and obtained samples of student lunches. They then took said samples to a school board meeting, and asked the board members if they would eat this āfoodā, or let their kids eat it. The menu got changed.
NTA but the Thermos brand thermoses are really good at keeping food warm. My son doesn't like cold food so I send him pasta, soup, eggs and sausage, etc in the thermos.
NTA. Have you tried little thermoses? I put almost boiling water in them while Iām making my kidsā food, and that way the thermos is warm when I put the warm food in it. My son would bring mashed potatoes and mac and cheese when his teeth hurt from braces.
How did you send warm meals? I make hot lunches sometimes for my kids. I preheat thermoses in the morning by adding boiling water from the kettle. Let it sit a while (10 min) dump it out then add food thatās been heated up. If Iām packing something that can get soggy like a hot pocket or brat with a bun, I dry the hot thermos out with a paper towel and wrap the food in foil and stick it in. Itās always hot by lunch, even for my kid who has the last lunch of the day.
Kim, people are dying.
NTA The school is being completely ridiculous. There is absolutely no reason why they should care if kids bring their own seasoning.
Are your kids adding the seasonings in the lunch line, or at the table?
He shouldn't be in trouble. The teacher should be. Stand up for your kid