After reading the March 20, 2018 Toronto Star article entitled, “School lunch served with side order of chaos” by Andrea Gordon, a concerned Toronto parent sent us this email, reflecting on her own family’s experience with school lunchrooms:
Dear Fix Our Schools, I just read the article about lunchrooms in the Star and wanted to throw in a few comments:
1) Years ago at a School Council meeting where lunchtime chaos was brought up, a former principal commented (in an exasperated way), “they need to go home for lunch!”. My first thought was, “how does that support families with both parents working full time outside the home?” and, although some areas may have a higher number of stay-at-home parents, I don’t believe it’s the norm, even within more privileged postal codes. And big picture, it does not support women in the workplace. Not to mention the fact that lunch times are so short in many schools that many children could not make it home and back in time! I’ll never forget that comment.
2) I believe that some of my son’s challenges with picky eating and anxiety developed and were exacerbated by his lunchroom experience. I feel guilty that I did not grasp just how bad it was in the early years. I remained ignorant until it was too late. Perhaps I would have done something differently to minimize his exposure.
3) I also remember when they were first attending full day school, there would often be bathroom accidents on our walk home because they were afraid to use the school bathrooms so simply didn’t go while they were at school.
To be fair, I am aware many children are resilient enough they can tolerate these unnecessary conditions; my two other children were not as vulnerable to the chaos but will tell stories now that I find difficult to hear. My two other children also have an unsettling cynicism about the ongoing state of the bathrooms and the early lunchtime experiences that I find a little sad.
Lunchroom conditions and chaos impact children across Ontario. Classroom conditions also impact children across Ontario, although much of the disrepair included in the $15.9-billion capital repair backlog may not be as immediately evident as the poor lunchroom conditions many children experience each day. Certainly, lunchroom conditions are a clear indicator of how Ontario’s schools have been underfunded for far too long. Parents must come together to ensure that school conditions – both in classrooms and in lunchrooms – are safe, healthy and well-maintained.