My daughter is in the 4th grade (soon to be the fifth grade) and we buy the hot meal plan from the school. So she gets this little debit card and she swipes it to receive a lunch in the lunch room. If she can’t swipe the card, she has the 8 digit number memorized (ie her student number) so she can enter it via a key pad. The computer monitors her balance and when she gets below a certain dollar amount and letter is generated to notify parents that she only has x dollars left in her account and we send in a check to recharge her fund.
Now, this got me to remembering how we bought our lunches when I was in the 4th grade. I will say it wasn’t with fancy debit cards and bank accounts. At Valley View Elementary School, we had to bring good ol’ coin. Yep. Two quarters. And I think it later became 75 cents. If you wanted milk without a lunch that was 10 cents (later it would be 25). Now we didn’t pay at the cafeteria. During the early morning roll call, the teacher would ask for any lunch buyers. She would collect our 50 (or 75) cents and hand us a little red ticket. The little red ticket. One would trade one lunch ticket for one lunch. It was the prized Lunch Ticket.
Ms. Anderson sits at her desk at the back of the room. She calls out to the class, who wants lunch tickets. Collecting quarters and making change from crisp $1 dollar bills. The big manila folder fills with clanging and jingling change. Some pay in dimes and nickels. She sets the big roll of lunch tickets on her desk. Bright red tickets sharply torn from a long strip of tickets. Tiny numbers printed on the sides, and the words One Ticket printed boldly in the center. The lunch bell rings. We race to the cafeteria (cafeteria at lunch, gym all the other times). At the front of the lunch line, a big wooden box sat, with a little slot. Dropping our tickets in the box, we grab a napkin and fork. The lunch lady fills our trays with the Spaghetti, peanut butter bars, roll and green beans.
Some kids had the issue of loosing the Lunch Ticket. If that was the case, you were out of luck unless you wanted to purchase another lunch ticket. There even were rumors of bullies taking Lunch Tickets from the weaker kids too. I can’t recall ever having my lunch ticket stolen from me but I know I did loose it from time to time. And when it happened you just suffered through. I never admitted to loosing it. I would make something up like I didn’t feel like eating that day or I was going to use the money to play a couple rounds of Karate Champ. But for a few seconds as you check your pockets, a small fear would arise if you didn’t find it right away.
Yes, there’s a more efficient way of doing today but there was something cool about buy that ticket and trading it for your lunch…(oh and we pay a $1.85 for my daughters lunch today, wish it was that 50 cents of yesteryear)...
