For those kids getting free breakfast/lunches from the schools

[mommyoffive]

How does yours run? 

Do you have to go daily?  Or weekly?

What are the kinds of meals that yours has been giving?    Things they get at hot lunch at school?  Lots of packaged items? 

Have you been going?   Will you keep going or is it not useful for you? 

[katilac]

I don't get them, no younger kids, so this is what I have seen and heard on social media. 

People go daily. Nothing like hot lunch because they do not have access to the cafeteria. Not sure on packaged items but I would imagine yes. 

Families with food insecurity continue to go. Many other families find it too much of a hassle and potential risk. 

[mommyoffive]

Ours now does it one time a week on Mondays.  You get 5 breakfast and 5 lunches per kid.  

Today each kid got

half a gallon of milk 

5 juice boxes

1 doughnut

4 gogurts

a huge thing of cookies easily 24 or more large cookies

a lunchable like meal

a bag of frozen veggies

1 bag of chips

1 granola bar

1 apple

1 banana 

1 bag of mini pancakes

1 small bag of dried apples

1 cupcake

1 apple sauce, 2 fruit cups

And 4 meals that looked like hot lunch things.   Like chicken fingers and the sides to go along with that item, like BBQ sauce. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We get the emails.

Our meals are now dropped along our bus routes. I was given a specific time to meet the bus for my location. You get a hot lunch and a cold breakfast for the next day. These are assorted into bags.

I am not sure what the actual food is, because we are not getting the meals. 

[Arcadia]

My kids aren’t interested so we didn’t go even though the school is a short walk away. Collection on Monday for the whole week, collection on Thursday for the weekend. A child must be present, does not matter if the child is homeschool, private school or public school. I don’t think they check ID of accompanying adult since there is surplus but it’s supposed to be for those staying in the school district boundaries. 

[Sk8ermaiden]

So our local district is sandwich central. There are these packaged ham and chese croissant sandwiches, and that is lunch.

So for each child, for each day you get:

A croissant sandwich (occasionally it's a peanut free, packaged PBJ instead),
baby carrots and/or cut celery, 
a bag of chips or popcorn or goldfish,
an orange or an apple,
sometimes a cheese stick
an individual cereal or Danimals yogurt+granola
another orange or apple, usually the same as before, so 2x green apples.
2 milks, your preference of chocolate or white

The neighboring district does hot lunches and you will get:
A fried chicken drumstick, corn dog, swiss steak burger? regular burger, baby corn dogs?, or bean burrito
baby carrots or cherry tomatoes
chips
cereal or a pop tart
sometimes also a Danimals yogurt
2 milks, white only

Right now I have a dozen green apples no one eats, so I need to make an apple pie, I think.

[Ottakee]

I actually picked up today for my daughter with special needs, my grandson coming this week to be with me, and 3 neighbor girls.

Ours is pick up on Monday 10-1 or 4-6 at 4 locations throughout the district.  It was breakfast and lunch.  There were 10 milks, 5 juices, and then some of the following.....applesauce, grapes, apples, oranges, carrot sticks. cheese sticks, a yogurt and then the rest was packaged.....like mini waffles, mini cheeseburgers, mini sausage and egg biscuits, etc.  Overall, not the healthiest but food for the kids.

There were also 2 places with fresh produce pick ups as well (one central and one at an outlying school where there was the school food thing) that had lemons, limes, hashbrowns, bananas and yogurt.  They just asked how many in the family and gave you a package for that size family.  I was allowed to pick up for my neighbors, an elderly lady and another family with no problems.....it does help that I know the director there well and my son volunteers there so they know I am "legit" and driving the food around to those that can make good use of it.

[Lecka]

We were going but have skipped two times now because my kids are getting tired of the food.  Also our local stores are having more food in stock, thank goodness.  
 

We have pick-up on MWF between 10:00 and 12:00.  On MW we get two days of meals, with breakfast and lunch.  On Friday, one day of meals, but they ask if we are part of the backpack program.

We drive up by the school.  They are inside and through a window we call out the number of kids.  Then they set the sacks on a table.  Then we wait for them to go inside and we go pick the food up off the table.

This was more casual the first week, but over time it got to where they are sanitizing the table between people.  
 

The food is a mix.  The breakfasts always have a juice.  Then they have had things like a granola bar, cereal, cinnamon roll, etc.  Lunch has had apple or orange, vegetables including celery, baby carrots, and a plastic cup of spring mix.  A sandwich — we have had tuna salad, ham and cheese, and turkey and cheese.  Some fruit cups and strawberry cups (a strawberry purée thing) and peach cups.  Milk and chocolate milk.  Cinnamon apple sauce.  We have gotten yogurt I guess for breakfast.  
 

I plan to go back Wednesday and pick up packets also.  
 

Edit:  they say they will make arrangements with people who need food dropped off or can’t come at these times.  
 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Lecka

[historically accurate]

Ours are daily at 5 different schools throughout the district 9-11 am. The are handing out between 7000-8000 meals per week. 

All kids under age 18 are eligible to go 5x per week. I don't believe they have anything for weekends - they didn't have Friday since there wasn't supposed to be school on that day. If no child in the car, you can get 3 meals; if children are present, you can get as many as kids in car. Pull up in car, person brings bags to passenger side and puts on chair. 

We went last Wednesday for the first time. Two of my kids each received 1 bag for breakfast and 1 bag for lunch:

Lunch bag (to the best of my remembrance):

Ham & Cheese Sandwich, Carrot sticks, Single container of Applesauce, Cheetos, Little thing of Chocolate Milk

Breakfast Bag:

2 Graham Crackers, Cereal Bar, Small apple, Little thing of white milk - seems there was something else in here that I am forgetting.

We will probably go 1-3x per week. It's a nice break from what we have in the house. Like we have no cheetos or cereal bars here so it was nice to have them as treats. 

 

[historically accurate]

Morality question: if I don't take the kids, I can get 3 meals. Otherwise, I have 2 kids within the age limits. Would it be wrong to take the extra meal and share with family member who has no kids and is struggling with food security?

Edit: family member has no car as well so can't pick up food 

Edited April 13, 2020 by beckyjo

[Hilltopmom]

Ours is delivered by the school bus- keeping them drivers and aides employed and our district is large and families don’t have to go to the school this way.

We have been getting a mix of things-

chocolate and white milk, juice (I rarely buy those so they are excited)

yogurt

fresh fruit, canned fruit (we use in smoothies if they are things the kids don’t like)

mix of bagels, cereal (kinds I don’t but like Trix) , granola bars for breakfast

raw veggie

a few hot meals- chicken nuggets once and corn n baked beans

sandwiches or sandwhich fixings

I originally turned it down but the kids found out about it and wanted to try it. It’s actually been nice to not worry about running out of milk and they get a variety they don’t get from my stash at home. 

[TravelingChris]

I have no children at home and my children are all adults anyway.  Looked on the website and the food distribution seems to be only at a few schools and only on M, W and F.  But a later post thanked a bunch of churches for food distribution help- I am not sure what kind or if they are more places where food can be distributed.  Our schools were closed to the end of the school year on March 26th.

[Arcadia]

6 minutes ago, beckyjo said:

Morality question: if I don't take the kids, I can get 3 meals. Otherwise, I have 2 kids within the age limits. Would it be wrong to take the extra meal and share with family member who has no kids and is struggling with food security?

Our local coordinator/volunteer said there is surplus since many are not collecting and there are plenty of school age kids in my area so I won’t feel bad about it.

So in your case I would ask if there is surplus if you are comfortable asking, or look and see if there are plenty of leftovers at “closing time” 

16 minutes ago, beckyjo said:

Morality question: if I don't take the kids, I can get 3 meals. Otherwise, I have 2 kids within the age limits. Would it be wrong to take the extra meal and share with family member who has no kids and is struggling with food security?

Edit: family member has no car as well so can't pick up food 

I would have no problem with it since the person needs the food.  I am sure there are plenty of people not picking up.  Our district does it two days per week and children do not need to be present and children do not have to be registered in the district or even live in the district.  We homeschool so our kids are not registered.  I have toyed with picking up one day since they have been having leftovers.

[vonfirmath]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

How does yours run? 

Do you have to go daily?  Or weekly?

What are the kinds of meals that yours has been giving?    Things they get at hot lunch at school?  Lots of packaged items? 

Have you been going?   Will you keep going or is it not useful for you? 

 

Ours does Breakfast, lunch and dinner. We have gone some days and not others. (trying to stretch our supplies)  It has varied a lot. The baggies of vegetables end up usualy being put into a soup with meat we have here. The sandwiches get eaten. Sometimes the cereal gets eaten. Sometimes it gets trashed. My son likes the fruit and the cheese sticks. The hot dogs were soggy and had a hard time finding people to eat them. The milk and juice gets drunk. My son liked the cheese "pizza" roll like things.  So it varies a lot depending on what they send. we don't go often because we don't strictly need it and the room it takes up in the fridge we don't always have it.

 

(we have to show some proof we have kids in the appropriate age levels -- I use attendance records for the school but birth certificates are also acceptable)

Edited April 13, 2020 by vonfirmath

[Tanaqui]

All people in NYC can get three meals a day, five days a week, by going to their nearest drop-off center (school). People with children go in the mornings. They do not have to have their entire family with them. People without children go in the afternoons. They also do not have to have their entire family with them. You simply tell the staff how many people you're feeding, and they give you that many meals x 3. It looks like cereal and sandwiches, the same sorts of things the summer lunch program gives out.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Our district has so many low-income students that the whole district is automatically free lunch. They do two meal distributions per week, Monday and Thursday. We went to two pick ups but decided it wasn't worth it.

Each kid receives 2 lunches and a breakfast at each meal distribution. The most useful parts were the milk cartons, fresh bagged vegetables, and string cheese. We have so many applesauce cups, and no one here really likes applesauce. There were Doritos, Poptarts, and Uncrustables (2 sizes, 300 or 600 calories). The kids were happy with those choices.

The district stated that only parents with kids in the district could pick up. But they require absolutely no proof at all. You just drive up, tell them how many kids, and they hand you the food.

 

 

 

 

 

[hippiemamato3]

7 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I actually picked up today for my daughter with special needs, my grandson coming this week to be with me, and 3 neighbor girls.

Ours is pick up on Monday 10-1 or 4-6 at 4 locations throughout the district.  It was breakfast and lunch.  There were 10 milks, 5 juices, and then some of the following.....applesauce, grapes, apples, oranges, carrot sticks. cheese sticks, a yogurt and then the rest was packaged.....like mini waffles, mini cheeseburgers, mini sausage and egg biscuits, etc.  Overall, not the healthiest but food for the kids.

There were also 2 places with fresh produce pick ups as well (one central and one at an outlying school where there was the school food thing) that had lemons, limes, hashbrowns, bananas and yogurt.  They just asked how many in the family and gave you a package for that size family.  I was allowed to pick up for my neighbors, an elderly lady and another family with no problems.....it does help that I know the director there well and my son volunteers there so they know I am "legit" and driving the food around to those that can make good use of it.

I've never heard of these programs being for adults. Interesting. 

[Ottakee]

8 hours ago, hippiemamato3 said:

I've never heard of these programs being for adults. Interesting. 

The fresh produce pick up was hosted by a local area wide ministry/food bank that helps supply smaller food banks.  They offered the pick up at their location and then at one of the more needy/rural school lunch program pick ups.

They are separate programs, just done at the same time.  Only kids 0-18 (plus special Ed 19-26) got the school meals.  Everyone though could get the produce pick up.  The idea was to get fresh produce into the hands of those that needed it and make it more like one stop shopping.   One school lunch area and then drive farther down the parking lot to the produce pick up area.

[ashfern]

I don't get them but I do get the calls about them. Our county was dropping them off at homes via the bus routes and had pick-up locations. That lasted about 2 weeks before they went to just the pick-up locations. They are supplying food twice a week (Mon & Thurs). I know originally they were doing sack lunches so I presume they have continued with that. I would think that they are providing multiple days of food at a time. I know that there are some complaints as the pick-up time is mid-day and many people have to work or cannot get rides to the locations.

[mommyoffive]

I just heard this 

North Carolina they just got approved for an extra $250 EBT payment per kid that qualified for free/reduced eating at school. Even if you don’t already get snap, they’re going to mail out cards/details

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/community/north-carolina-coronavirus-food-benefits-for-children/275-7c11091a-2095-4a67-ba7c-e7ec91f76738

I heard it is also going on in Arizona and Michigan.

I don't know if more states are doing this. 

[historically accurate]

57 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

I just heard this 

North Carolina they just got approved for an extra $250 EBT payment per kid that qualified for free/reduced eating at school. Even if you don’t already get snap, they’re going to mail out cards/details

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/community/north-carolina-coronavirus-food-benefits-for-children/275-7c11091a-2095-4a67-ba7c-e7ec91f76738

I heard it is also going on in Arizona and Michigan.

I don't know if more states are doing this. 

Illinois is going to be starting it as well. I don't know how much $ it will provide - it will just be added to your existing LINK card if you already receive benefits. If you don't receive benefits, there's supposed to be a "streamlined" application loading up next week. 

[gardenmom5]

I haven't gone, but have some awareness through a local parent group.

nothing hot, packaged, picked up every day. initially under 18 students had to go with, now they don't.

yesterday I received a phone call from the district "informing" me about the availability. initially it was just for those on free/reduced.  now - it's open to all children in the district.

[Emba]

We’ve picked up a lunch from the school once. It was a warm biscuit/chicken tenders sandwich, milk, an orange, and a yogurt. The yogurt I think was not supposed to be part of the lunch, but was a snack, since they are billing this as lunch and a snack. 

[historically accurate]

On 4/13/2020 at 9:12 PM, OH_Homeschooler said:

Our district has so many low-income students that the whole district is automatically free lunch. They do two meal distributions per week, Monday and Thursday. We went to two pick ups but decided it wasn't worth it.

Each kid receives 2 lunches and a breakfast at each meal distribution. The most useful parts were the milk cartons, fresh bagged vegetables, and string cheese. We have so many applesauce cups, and no one here really likes applesauce. There were Doritos, Poptarts, and Uncrustables (2 sizes, 300 or 600 calories). The kids were happy with those choices.

The district stated that only parents with kids in the district could pick up. But they require absolutely no proof at all. You just drive up, tell them how many kids, and they hand you the food.

 

 

 

 

 

I use applesauce for half the amount of oil in baked goods. So, if muffins say 1 cup oil, I use 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce. That would be one way to use it up if you were to get it in a meal. 

We've done a few more pickups, and the workers said that I could pick up 3 meals with no questions asked, so I am making sure to go to the school before I drop other things at my relative's house. I'm currently covering his groceries, so being able to get him some food that is free is very, very helpful to my budget. Some of the items we've gotten in the past two weeks include frozen fruit cups (youngest hides these from her sisters, she loves them so much LOL), peas, corn (I used these instead of a can of corn in tacos the other night), tator tots, waffles, chicken patty sandwiches, tortilla chips, and cheese sticks. The two days we went this week, all 3 meals were different, so I think they are having leftovers at the end of the day and recycling the food to the next drop off. 

Some of the other food places in my area: the YMCA the next county over is having meal pickup in 6 different places around town M-W-F (this is very similar to the school lunch items - I have a former student helping run this program). And starting tonight, the Muslim Association of the large town next to us will be having grocery boxes or hot meals available for pickup to celebrate the month of Ramadan.  

[LucyStoner]

We don't qualify for free or reduced lunch but the meals are free to all children here.  We have done it a few times, mostly so my younger son could see his school building.  We also have a lot of neighbors who are on free and reduced lunch.  

Here ordering is online the night before.  They have 30+ sites for pick up in a suburban district, including several of the larger apartment complexes and the trailer parks where there is a high density of low income children.  

At first, it was two choices (meat and vegetarian), with one or both lunches being served warm.  

During spring break, they dropped it to cold and only vegetarian.  

Now, it is back to two options (meat and veg) but both are served cold/ready/safe to eat but somethings may be heated at home if desired.  

Everyone gets a lunch for that day with a breakfast for the next day.  Every meal has included fresh fruit and a vegetable.  Kids are usually getting 2 milks and 1-2 juices.  

Now they are also sending kids home with 3 days worth of food on Fridays.  

Some of the districts here are doing a weeks worth of food on Monday.  This has been met with some degree of objection because not everyone can come on Mondays.  

This is a typical choice, grabbed from their website.  I have noticed that the veg option is that same Chobani yogurt option more and more often.   

Edited April 23, 2020 by LucyStoner

[OH_Homeschooler]

55 minutes ago, beckyjo said:

I use applesauce for half the amount of oil in baked goods. So, if muffins say 1 cup oil, I use 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce. That would be one way to use it up if you were to get it in a meal. 

 

Ha, that's exactly what I did last weekend with a cake I made. It was a hit! 

[ChocolateReignRemix]

On 4/13/2020 at 3:37 PM, beckyjo said:

Morality question: if I don't take the kids, I can get 3 meals. Otherwise, I have 2 kids within the age limits. Would it be wrong to take the extra meal and share with family member who has no kids and is struggling with food security?

Edit: family member has no car as well so can't pick up food 

My rule of thumb is that it is never wrong to accept something you are entitled to receive in order to share it with someone who needs it, 

[AmandaVT]

The district I work for is dropping off food along the bus route 3 times a week with enough meals each time to last to the next time if that makes sense. Lunches are for anyone under the age of 18 in the towns the school serves, regardless if they attend. I was working at school one day last week and on that day, they had either ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches, a side salad (made in the kitchen that morning), apple slices w/ cinnamon (fresh cut that day), milk and I think for breakfast the following day there was a yogurt parfait w/ blueberries and a homemade muffin. Every 2 weeks, our district gets a huge donation from the local farms through the foodbank and big bags of produce go home to families as well. Teachers are encouraged to take produce too, to model healthy eating, so we get bags too. Last week was about a dozen apples, 8 oranges, a pineapple and carrots. Last time, the bags had more veggies and less fruit. Local farms donate to the foodbank, where they bag everything up and donate to schools in poorer districts. 

For our very needy families, local restaurants are also donating weekly. This is something we discuss weekly at one of our meetings - figuring out which families need food. Thankfully right now, there are more restaurants wanting to give food than we have families needing it. The day I was at school, my friend was getting ready to deliver to a family I work with. She had an entire backseat filled with milk, homemade frozen soups, breads, cereal, produce, whole cooked and frozen meals and snacks. It was awesome to see. 

[ktgrok]

It is 5 days a week here, pick up at various schools. 

We have not gone, because it isn't food I'd normally get, and it isn't gluten free. It is available to anyone, kids have to be in the car. 

Breakfasts are things like poptarts and cereal bars, full of sugar. Plus low fat milk, not sure if it is flavored or not. Lunches are uncrustable sandwiches or nuggets, with chips and a fruit cup and juice and low fat milk. I've seen multiple people post photos and there are no fresh fruits of veggies. All processed stuff, usually FULL of sugar. Which is the normal fare for the kids in schools here. 

[mommyoffive]

Ours was really good this last week.  We get a menu on how to put together the items in the bags.  Of course you can do your own thing.  But for lunches it is things like fish sticks, taco meat with all the fixings, cubed meat and on and on.   Breakfasts are things like pancakes, french toast, bagel cheese and meat bagel.   There were not things with lots of sugar in them.  Fresh fruit, canned fruit, and frozen or fresh veggies.  

[mommyoffive]

6 hours ago, beckyjo said:

Illinois is going to be starting it as well. I don't know how much $ it will provide - it will just be added to your existing LINK card if you already receive benefits. If you don't receive benefits, there's supposed to be a "streamlined" application loading up next week. 

 

Oh I hadn't heard about IL.  Good to know.  

[Jentrovert]

I'm in Oklahoma. A bus comes Monday - Thursday (normal school days) and drops off food. The kids were in the front yard playing the first day they came, but haven't always been present since then. They said it is for all kids, not just public school students. 

I've been pleasantly surprised with how helpful it's been, especially given that I'm trying to space out grocery trips. It's not great food, but cuts down the amount of food I need to have available. The most useful things have been milk and fruit. A few recent breakfasts: pancakes, sausage wraps, cold cereal, sausage biscuits. Lunches: sandwiches, burritos, pizza, chicken nuggets. There is usually one veggie and fruit. Always milk and juice. Portions are often small; both my kids sometimes eat twice as much as is provided.

 

[Ottakee]

Ours is a pick up on Mondays...10-1 or 4-6.  Kids get a breakfast bag and a lunch bag.  Each one has 5 meals worth of food.  Milk, juice, some fresh fruit and then packaged foods.  Not overly healthy but great fillers and snacks.

You just drive up, tell them how many kids, they place it in your vehicle (I open van sliding door just before it is my turn) and you continue on.

Here it is for all kids 0-18 plus special Ed kids 19-26.  I usually go and get for my daughter and then for the 3 neighbor girls so their mom doesn't have to load them up to go out 

 

[mommyoffive]

4 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

Ours is a pick up on Mondays...10-1 or 4-6.  Kids get a breakfast bag and a lunch bag.  Each one has 5 meals worth of food.  Milk, juice, some fresh fruit and then packaged foods.  Not overly healthy but great fillers and snacks.

You just drive up, tell them how many kids, they place it in your vehicle (I open van sliding door just before it is my turn) and you continue on.

Here it is for all kids 0-18 plus special Ed kids 19-26.  I usually go and get for my daughter and then for the 3 neighbor girls so their mom doesn't have to load them up to go out 

 

 

That is really great that they are doing that.   I haven't heard of that anywhere before.  I hope others start that too. 

[Ottakee]

5 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

That is really great that they are doing that.   I haven't heard of that anywhere before.  I hope others start that too. 

I would ask in your area.  Almost all posters, etc all say 0-18 but it IS to 26 for special education students because in Michigan they attend public school until age 26...esp those with more severe special needs.

[vonfirmath]

2 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

It is 5 days a week here, pick up at various schools. 

We have not gone, because it isn't food I'd normally get, and it isn't gluten free. It is available to anyone, kids have to be in the car. 

Breakfasts are things like poptarts and cereal bars, full of sugar. Plus low fat milk, not sure if it is flavored or not. Lunches are uncrustable sandwiches or nuggets, with chips and a fruit cup and juice and low fat milk. I've seen multiple people post photos and there are no fresh fruits of veggies. All processed stuff, usually FULL of sugar. Which is the normal fare for the kids in schools here. 

 

Ours has had fresh fruit AND veggies various times I've gone. Little baggies of baby carrots a lot, less often: cucumbers, broccoli.  (very little of this gets eaten in our house so it gets put aside in a bag to use in future soups, or I have discovered the baby carrots work well dipped in ranch for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up) Oranges and apples and little containers of canned pineapple, canned peaches, etc.

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by vonfirmath

[Farrar]

I've heard that ours is like a little grocery bag. It rotates where you go to pick it up, though our high school a few blocks away is one site. We haven't been in need so I haven't gone to get it.

Additionally, if you're home isolating because of covid, they'll just deliver groceries and meals for you, regardless of age.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Farrar

[hippiemamato3]

11 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I would ask in your area.  Almost all posters, etc all say 0-18 but it IS to 26 for special education students because in Michigan they attend public school until age 26...esp those with more severe special needs.

Wow 26? Here SPED goes to age 21. I can't imagine 26 year olds in high school with 14 year olds?

[Soror]

We went Wed. for the first time,  the kids were excited to get out of the house, even if I made them stay in the van. Ours is Mon-Fri and they have several locations they deliver too, it isn't the full bus route but throughout the district. It is for every kid up to 18. I was impressed it was as good as it was and there were at least a couple things my gf kid could eat. Everything was good except the cucumbers, evidently they had gotten frozen at some point so were mushy and watery.

The kids each got:

2 fresh fruit- bana/apple/orange

2 fresh veggies- ind. serv. size bags- cucumber, carrot, tomato

banana muffin

hot bowl of spaghetti w/ meat sauce

cold ham & cheese sandwich

cheese stick

2 small cartoons milk; 1 cartoon chocolate milk; 1 cartoon apple juice

[LucyStoner]

42 minutes ago, hippiemamato3 said:

Wow 26? Here SPED goes to age 21. I can't imagine 26 year olds in high school with 14 year olds?

Sped students with high needs who attend school until 21 or (in Michigan until 26) are generally not mainstreamed.  Some are in group homes or adult daycare type facilities.  My cousin’s 20 yo son is in a school program like this.  He has high needs for daily living activities and will never live alone.  In most states, these services are handled through the school districts until they transition to adult services but unfortunately in many states, the services for adults are underfunded or even just missing all together.  

[Ottakee]

1 hour ago, hippiemamato3 said:

Wow 26? Here SPED goes to age 21. I can't imagine 26 year olds in high school with 14 year olds?

They are not.   This is mostly for those with more severe needs....no learning disabilities, ADHD, etc.  My class is in a building downtown in a local community.  We have a classroom and a large kitchen .  I have students 18-26 with IQ scores of 45-65.  We work on navigating the community, shopping, cooking, job skills, etc.   We have 19 such classrooms around the county based on where students live and their needs.   

Then there is the regional (county wide) center program that has ages 3-26 with severe needs.....mostly (likely all) IQ below 40, those with severe physical impairments (think total care/wheelchair) and/or severe autism (severe cognitive impairment with autism and severe behavioral outbursts).

Likely 90+ % of special education kids do end at 18/19 when they complete highschool.

[hippiemamato3]

36 minutes ago, LucyStoner said:

Sped students with high needs who attend school until 21 or (in Michigan until 26) are generally not mainstreamed.  Some are in group homes or adult daycare type facilities.  My cousin’s 20 yo son is in a school program like this.  He has high needs for daily living activities and will never live alone.  In most states, these services are handled through the school districts until they transition to adult services but unfortunately in many states, the services for adults are underfunded or even just missing all together.  

Ah - at our schools they are mainstreamed (maybe not in academic classrooms but definitely for specials, etc) but it stops right at age 21. And, IMO, 20 years olds don't belong in classrooms with 14 year olds either.

Edited April 24, 2020 by hippiemamato3

[LucyStoner]

5 hours ago, hippiemamato3 said:

Ah - at our schools they are mainstreamed (maybe not in academic classrooms but definitely for specials, etc) but it stops right at age 21. And, IMO, 20 years olds don't belong in classrooms with 14 year olds either.

Age and developmental ability are way different things.  A 20 year old with severe developmental delays is not the same thing as having a NT 20 yo in a class with a 14 year old.  My cousin was never mainstreamed other than extracurriculars, with lots of support.  His main contact with typically developing peers was through a program where some NT students volunteered to read to or do art with my cousin’s class.  

There are kids with a level of needs that are not “mainstreamed” other than having a classroom at a school building.  

Edited April 24, 2020 by LucyStoner

[hippiemamato3]

28 minutes ago, LucyStoner said:

Age and developmental ability are way different things.  A 20 year old with severe developmental delays is not the same thing as having a NT 20 yo in a class with a 14 year old.  My cousin was never mainstreamed other than extracurriculars.  His main contact with typically developing peers was through a program where some NT students volunteered to read to or do art with my cousin’s class.  

There are kids with a level of needs that are not “mainstreamed” other than having a classroom at a school building.  

Agreed, but there are "kids" with disabilities whose bodies/hormones are still very much their real age at 20, and they are still in classes with 14 year olds. 

[maize]

2 hours ago, soror said:

We went Wed. for the first time,  the kids were excited to get out of the house, even if I made them stay in the van. Ours is Mon-Fri and they have several locations they deliver too, it isn't the full bus route but throughout the district. It is for every kid up to 18. I was impressed it was as good as it was and there were at least a couple things my gf kid could eat. Everything was good except the cucumbers, evidently they had gotten frozen at some point so were mushy and watery.

The kids each got:

2 fresh fruit- bana/apple/orange

2 fresh veggies- ind. serv. size bags- cucumber, carrot, tomato

banana muffin

hot bowl of spaghetti w/ meat sauce

cold ham & cheese sandwich

cheese stick

2 small cartoons milk; 1 cartoon chocolate milk; 1 cartoon apple juice

That's more than they are handing out here. Typical breakfast+lunch seems to be 1 small milk carton, 1 juice box, 1 piece of fruit, small bag with a few pieces of broccoli, 1 breakfast bar, 1 frozen corn dog.

It's better than nothing but I worry about kids who may depend on this for most of their nutrition needs. Total of maybe 600 calories to cover two meals?

Meals are being handed out at most schools, from the list I think the only exception is when two schools are right next to each other (for example, an elementary and a junior high right across the street from each other) in which case only one school does distribution. I don't know if there are any delivery options, there may be in areas where access would be a problem--I'm pretty sure I read something like that but don't remember if it was for our district or not. I'm receiving information for three different districts because some of my kids are enrolled in virtual school options through districts we don't live in. They're all handling things differently; one district is doing only Monday and Thursday distributions, so providing meals for several days at a time. They're more rural so it is probably harder for people to access distribution points every day.

 

 

[LucyStoner]

We picked up food today so it was for today + the weekend, breakfast and lunches.  The lunch entrees were chicken sandwich, pizza and chicken drumsticks.  Each lunch also came with milk, fresh fruit and a fresh veggie + what appears to be a frozen sorbet dessert for one of the days?  The three breakfasts are heat and serve pancakes, muffin and cereal.  Each breakfast also came with milk, juice and fresh fruit.  There was also some cheese, animal crackers and yogurt.  

Edited April 24, 2020 by LucyStoner

[LucyStoner]

4 hours ago, hippiemamato3 said:

Agreed, but there are "kids" with disabilities whose bodies/hormones are still very much their real age at 20, and they are still in classes with 14 year olds. 

 

It has not been my observation or experience that young adults with severe disabilities and receiving transition services as described are commonly placed into mainstream elective classes.  

[hippiemamato3]

32 minutes ago, LucyStoner said:

 

It has not been my observation or experience that young adults with severe disabilities and receiving transition services as described are commonly placed into mainstream elective classes.  

That has been my experience. They are considered "repeat seniors."

[LucyStoner]

24 minutes ago, hippiemamato3 said:

That has been my experience. They are considered "repeat seniors."

I’m not sure if we are talking about the same students.  I’m not talking about students with IEPs who have challenges and take an extra year  or two to graduate.  I am talking about the same students that Okatee describes.