School lunches were a nightmare for me; the food was never any good, and it was always something I didn’t eat at home, which just left me hungrier for the rest of the day. The bright lights, the chit-chat of the other students, the horror of the food touching can make school lunches unbearable, but what makes them worse is that the food they serve is just not neurodivergent friendly.
The food, which was usually veggies and other foods that most kids do not like, but sometimes on a rare day, there is something comforting foods like pizza or chicken nuggets. Sometimes the foods do touch, though, and that can set someone off, especially if they have autism. Austics also thrive with having the same food every day, and when they go to school, and it’s something different, they can have a meltdown.
Then on school trips its usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because it’s easy, fast, and cheap, but that’s a problem with children with allergies. And the textures can be very hard on someone with autism as well. The mushiness of mashed potatoes, or bananas, the crunch of carrots, and the toughness of what the lunch ladies call salsbery stake. The foods are just not sensory-friendly, or repetitive, and that is a nightmare for neurodivergents.
I think schools should have special lunches for neurodivergent students because not everyone can afford to send their kid a packed lunch, and when a student doesn’t eat because of a disorder, they can’t focus in class because their belly might be growling. Students need nutritional food and not the junk that school lunches provides. None of its healthy for anyone besides maybe milk.
If they made school lunches maybe the same for each week that would help neurodivergents because then they won’t be surprised, that on a random day its pizza but the next week its chicken patty sandwich or something. Neurodivergents thrive on routine and when that is messed with they can’t thrive in the environment.
If we want to understand neurodivergents we have to start making places like school feel safe and a place they want to go to grow and learn.
