I figured this was a good forum to reach a random sampling of the country - haha. If your child usually eats lunch at school in a cafeteria and they are back in school now for lunch time....
How does lunch work? What changes happened as a result of COVID?
I teach at a high school that doesn't currently have lunch and I'm trying to visualize what it could look like in the fall when we are back in the building for the full day.
nectarine / 2018 posts
Our district has been hybrid since the start of the school year and elementary kids have been going four half days a week - so no lunch. But we are going back full time after April vacation. They will be using the cafeteria and one of the gyms for lunch. The cafeteria has a divider wall that can be used to create two spaces (which gets us around the indoor gathering limits). They are going to use individual desks instead of tables, the desks will be placed six feet apart all facing the same direction. Lunches will start at 10:30 and go until 1 or 1:30 in order to cycle everyone through. Snacks will take place outside unless the weather is bad, then they will happen in the gym and cafeteria during non lunch hours.
Our middle school and high school have been hybrid but on a different schedule so they have been doing lunch at school. But with only half the students in the building. Students have to pre order food that morning if they are buying, so that it can be ready to be picked up at the proper lunch period. Both schools have streamlined their menus. I believe the middle school has been using the cafeteria with spaced out seats and multiple lunch periods. They are going back full time in May and I believe their plan is similar to the elementary school plan. The high school has open campus during lunch, so students are spread out normally. Due to Covid the cafeteria has marked spots and they have marked (and properly spaced) places kids can be around the campus. When the weather is good they can also eat outside. But teachers have to mark where kids are eating for contact tracing purposes, so it's still a bit challenging. They aren't going back full time until the first week in June, and are still figuring out their lunch plans.
pear / 1548 posts
My son goes to kinder at the school where I teach. We’ve been in person since September. Each grade (K-5) has 30 minutes to eat lunch back to back, so there is no overlapping with other grade levels.
We have tables that can seat 8 students, but currently only 2 students sit at a table across from each other. Every table in the cafeteria ends up being used because of this seating. Each student has an assigned seat at their table so they sit at the same seat every day. This makes it easier to contact trace if necessary.
nectarine / 2436 posts
I teach at a high school and they eat 6' apart in the cafeteria! Nothing changed but we are hybrid so we only have about 50% of kids present per day. We have a high community rate of covid and no cases have spread from school! It's shocking. We mandate masks at all time no exception.
All the schools around me have the kids eat at school, usually in a classroom socially distanced.
My son at outdoor school has lunch at school.... 6' apart on their little stumps almost always outside.
pear / 1718 posts
My Kindergartener has been in school since September and they eat lunch in their classroom. They would normally eat in the cafeteria. In their classroom, they are only allowed to be unmasked at their table, so their table is basically their cohort.
Aftercare is K-2 and they have their snack in the cafeteria, 6 feet apart.
grapefruit / 4361 posts
They eat in the classroom, 3-4 feet apart, with flimsy plastic barriers the CDC says are not effective. The paraprofessionals have to watch over them during this time because it's also the teacher's lunch time. The paras have had the chance to get vaccinated for months now, but 2 of the 4 haven't.
We're in AZ, and could easily eat outside October-April.
But no, they won't move the tables outside to do that.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@meadow: my kids are full time in person at our elementary and have been since late October. They have 4 lunch periods and instead of everyone eating in the cafeteria they divided up the classes among 3 areas, the cafeteria and 2 outdoor patio-type areas with tables. At each there are stickers for where to sit/not to sit so they can stay six feet apart.
We do have great weather to make this work but the school has also done an amazing job with safety protocols and consistency.
pomegranate / 3272 posts
My kids just went back full time last week. Prior to this, they only went to school for 4 hours specifically so they didn't need to deal with lunch/recess. Kindergarten and 1st grade now eat in the library where they put desks all spaced 6' a part. The rest of the school (2-5) eat in their class. However, when it's nice outside, they kids eat outside.
We had a HS student as our afternoon babysitter for awhile and while they went back hybrid, she said they ate in the cafeteria at the tables but spaced out.
kiwi / 705 posts
My kids have been in-person since October and they eat lunch outside. My kinder son has plastic dividers on the picnic tables and my 2nd grader sits in chairs with lunch on her lap and they all face the same direction. It rains pretty infrequently but when it does they eat in the classroom which is already spaced with plastic dividers.
pomegranate / 3127 posts
They eat in school. One school has the kids eat in the classrooms. At the other one, they eat in the cafeteria but with plastic dividers. No outbreaks in either case. FWIW, both schools are elementary and we're in NYC so quite a few kids may already be immune, which may or may not be a factor.
coffee bean / 32 posts
I am amazed at how many people are back in person. I feel like I live in a parallel universe because my kiddo went back in person two weeks ago! It's only for 2 hours 4 days a week so no lunch.
I know of how private school around here where the kids are in person full time and they've been eating lunch outside now that the weather is getting nice - picnic style.
pomelo / 5257 posts
My kids have been in school for months—they eat in their classrooms when they’d normally all do lunch in the cafeteria. No dividers or anything, though they do space them out as much as possible. The kids aren’t distanced the rest of the school day, but they do wear masks.
pomelo / 5258 posts
@julie31: You're not alone. We're on a similar schedule, 2 hours x 4 days per week.
eggplant / 11716 posts
My kids have been in school all year. But I LOVE their school’s creativity because unlike my old school in Texas, they didn’t just throw up their hands and act like Covid doesn’t exist—they got creative. They moved gym class outdoors year round, or in case of heavy rain, to individual classrooms. And the gym was repurposed to have tables where kids spread out and have plexiglass dividers. They don’t go through a cafeteria line if they get school lunch, it’s brought to them. So they remain seated the whole time in their designated spot.
Our gym is bigger and has better ventilation than the cafeteria so they have more space to spread out.
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
my kids have been in-person most of the year with isolated cases but no transmission. both eat in their classrooms; one with kids sharing their desks with plexiglass dividers, and the other with all the kids spaced out 6 feet apart
apricot / 286 posts
My kids have been in school full time all year.m and they eat lunch in the cafeteria still. The only change is they used to be able to sit wherever they want and with whoever they wanted, but now they need to sit at an assigned table with their classroom bubble (15 kids). They don’t need to social distance within that bubble so no plexiglass or anything. Oh, and the cafeteria now only has one option a day. If you buy it the lunch is brought to you instead of waiting in line to get it.
nectarine / 2210 posts
We’ve been back since August. The cafeteria brings food to the classrooms each day. When the weather is nice they’ll eat picnics outside. Also due to grants lunch has been free the whole year.
Also they’ll normally have breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning, but haven’t had it available this year.
honeydew / 7235 posts
My kids have been in school the entire year -- my 2nd grader has to bring lunch everyday and they sit outside with their classroom most days. And my preschooler also brings lunch and sits with his class indoors. My 2nd grader misses the cafeteria food, haha.
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