I have a picky kid. There are only a few food items he eats, and they have to be prepared a certain way. One major requirement is that they must be hot, so no leftover pizza or chicken nuggets in the lunchbox for him.
It would probably make his day if a DoorDasher walked into his cafeteria daily with some McDonalds or Little Ceasars, but both my wallet and my compassion for his teacher and school staff say that’s just not happening.
Some kids, though, are still ordering food to schools regularly — and one thing teachers and delivery drivers have in common is that they’re not really happy about it.
Teacher’s TikTok Draws Mixed Feedback
Derek Anderson, who posts on TikTok under the name @thatblindmathteacher, posted his video back in 2023, but it’s been circulating again recently, and his frustration is palpable.
He’s calling on delivery services to refuse delivery to schools, because he has students asking permission to go to the bathroom, then coming back with Starbucks or a bag of fast food.
The responses from other TikTokers — students and teachers alike — are a bit mixed. For the most part, students say they want delivery, because they don’t want to eat cafeteria food, and teachers agree that it’s a distraction, though some say they don’t want deliveries blocked because they utilize the services themselves.
Ummmm I’m a teacher. What if I want to order lunch? Also, my school has time parameters for delivery time. It’s so not a big deal.
Many teachers also cite safety concerns, and DoorDash drivers even chime in to say it’s frustrating for them, too, but that the app doesn’t let them know the address until they accept an order.
Watch below:
The Same Conversation Echoes Through The Internet
Mr. Anderson isn’t the only teacher annoyed by DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats deliveries. Even banning kids from having their phones in school isn’t stopping it. One teacher shared on Reddit that when kids don’t have access to their phones, the parents order food delivered to the school instead!
Some teachers say that at their schools if the meals are delivered to the office, staff will eat them in front of the kids while reminding them that it’s against the rules to order delivery. Other teachers say that kids get around this by meeting the delivery driver at a side door or in a parking lot.
It’s not just during school hours, either. One teacher who handles theater kids after school shared their thoughts on Reddit, too, stunned that so many students are somehow finding the funds to order every single school day.
Delivery drivers aren’t any happier. On the same site, they complain that delivering to schools is complicated since the office may not accept the delivery, and meeting outside doesn’t work when the schedules don’t match up perfectly. There are also a lot of complaints that kids don’t tip (and those who never get their food are especially unlikely to do so!)
Safety Concerns Are Also An Issue
These days, many schools have tight security. Parents have to identify themselves with a camera to get inside, and anyone entering has to go through the office, or at least through a space visible to the office, to get anywhere else in the building.
However, not all schools are set up in ways ideal for such strong security measures, and students may still be able to open a side door, even if they have to prop it with a rock while they run out to meet a driver.
The safety concerns range from the possibility that someone with ill intent could pretend to be a driver to gain access to the building to the possibility that a kid might make a disappearance (willingly or otherwise) if unnecessary cars are frequent on campus to concerns about what’s being delivered. Writing for We Are Teachers, Kelly Treleaven points out:
Also, now that delivery services can run errands anywhere, we’re opening up schools to receive special deliveries of things like booze. Fireworks. Live crickets. I don’t know … GLITTER.
What Solutions Are Available?
Since food delivery apps became much more popular during the pandemic shutdowns, many schools have implemented rules to stop the deliveries.
One teacher shared that kids don’t get their food at their school, and they get written up for (presumably) having their phones in class. Others say they block deliveries.
Meanwhile, other schools have set up delivery areas to ensure safety (and that kids only get their food during permitted times).
Many commenters on Mr. Anderson’s TikTok seemed to think that the ideal solution would be for schools to provide more appealing meals.
One driver suggested that the app should implement a minimum age, which might help a little but wouldn’t stop kids from using their parents’ accounts, nor would it stop parents from ordering the deliveries.
So, what can schools do? Each one is left to choose between a crackdown or some regulation (with a lot of extra work).