Jam sandwiches at wraparound care

OP, if you tell the school that your DD mustn't have jam then they won't give it to her. Mine wouldn't be given ham (pescetarian) and you could easily make that stipulation if you want to. I wouldn't bother myself.

I'm surprised that your DD doesn't eat anything later. What time are you giving her tea/dinner/supper? Maybe give only protein and veggies at that point.

Totally agree with this.

If you want the hummus and cucumber sticks, then supply that yourself.

Omg 😂 I worked in a youth club for 20 yrs and for some strange reason the council decided only bottles of water and fruit was to be offered at the youth club for tuck shop , the young people went to the local shop before they came in to get their sugar rush we decided better they get sugared up in the youth club so we bought in tuck shop , there’s nowt wrong with a jelly piece .

I'm astonished so many people think that it's unreasonable to expect parents to do a bit better than is feasible for mass catering. Of course I can much more easily provide a healthy, balanced lunch or snack for my child, at low cost and with minimal food waste, than I could for 50 children! I can also make a nicer dinner than my work canteen can.

I should also add that my son is now a young adult and hates most fruit, as he was made to eat poor quality ‘free fruit’ at primary school. He can’t even look at an apple and pears make him feel a bit queasy.

he’ll happily eat all the fruit he was never served at school.

I agree OP, out school wraparound is the same. Luckily my DD only goes one day a week now but if she were attending 4, like yours, I wouldn't be happy either. Mine is also too full for a proper twa at home. The thing is, she will happily eat veg sticks, cheese, fruit etc but if there's jam and cake on offer then she doesn't see healthier options.

It is!! my mum made the best home made jam - strawberry or plum on thick brown bread!!

Or just accept the jam.

My friend is incredibly conscious of her child’s diet. She hasn’t worked for 10 years but her child has home made bread, home grown vegetables and no sugar. Her (privileged) choice.

Another friend works full time and spends pretty much all her spare time on meal prep.

I work too but balance convenience with a healthy diet. In this case I’d let the jam go.

Schools are cutting staff because they have no budget for teachers or TAs. They should not be spending their money on humous and staff to cut up peppers and cucumber (out of sight of the children they are caring for due to sharp knives) ao you are not ‘inconvenienced’ in your busy important job by having to provide an alternative that pleases you.

That after school club is essential for many parents, most of whom couldn’t withstand price increases for the extra supplies and staff to suit your snack requirements.

Is this thread making anyone else fancy an old fashioned jam sandwich? I haven't had one for years.

Not at all, I just don’t think I can get worked up about jam sandwiches!!!

Talk to the after school club and say she has tea when she gets home can she just have 1 or 2 things.

In which case it's probably low-sugar, low flavour cake and the tiniest smear of jam on a piece of cheap bread.

It's probably low sugar jam and designed to be an option for those who can't have anything else (vegans or specific allergies).

I don't understand why they would be "full of jam and cake" it is an after school clubs it will be 2 slices of bread and a muffin or something, not exactly afternoon tea is it ?

Maybe you raised your children in an era of wider food choices & less junk food advertising.
We all seem to think there is a huge range of food in our supermarkets but research shows there is much less choice of nutritious food now.
School meals are really important, for lots of children they are the only meals they have & for others they represent the only opportunity for a nutritious meal. You are right it is about moderation, and a good meal/snack in School ensures there is moderation. A lot of children eat sugar cereal for breakfast ( if they get a breakfast) and pizza or sandwich at home, adding a jam sandwich to that in School is not great so you can see why the midday meal and any snack/after school snack is important.
The noise being made people in support of healthy food access is nothing in comparison to the noise made by mega corporations to get your money for their junk food offerings, but people tend to only get concerned about the requests for good food.

Except if they are full of jam sandwiches and cake they aren’t actually eating what they should eat 4 days per week.

I know both ds and dd at that age wouldn’t have had anything else that evening after eating jam sandwiches and cake.

Cheese... not suitable for dairy allergies
Honey... sugar
Peanut butter... allergies
Marmite.... salt

Not exactly a lot better than jam...

I’m sure op said it is provided by the school, not externally. Our school applies its policies to its clubs after school too, so I imagine this would be similar.

Maybe if they had answered the first email she wouldn’t have had to email 3 times

Surely they are going against their own policies.
If they think sugar and sweet foods like jam sandwiches and cake are bad then why are they serving jam sandwiches and cake.

Again it is a jam sandwich a little sugar boost after school isn't harmful something sweet isn't going to harm a child in the grand scheme of things especially if they have had a healthier school lunch.

Yes, schools are - but this isn't school, it's an optional extra added on to the school day, often provided by external staff and providers. It's not the same thing.

It's the hypocrisy that would get to me.

I'd send the school an email asking them to clarify if jam sandwiches are permitted at lunch time, and if not, why they're allowed in the after school club.

I echo the person who said be careful what you wish for. Good, well priced wrap around is hard to find. Pull too many threads and the whole thing might fall apart.

The issue is not that the food isn't available, the issue is that your DC isn't choosing it. So I think your only option is to send in a packed lunch and strict instructions that this is what she eats.

Yes it was always a piece of cake or bread and jam type snacks when we returned from school with the family meal later. When mine returned from school it was toast, cake etc as they walked in the door and the family meal later.

Astonishingly we all grew up without food obsessions or weight problems.

Its not unreasonable to raise it with the provider, but if the child is unable to eat her meal in the evening then I would try varying the time of that meal. It may be too soon after the club to be hungry or too late and she is tired. Its possible that she is eating too many sandwiches but usually portions are limited at such places.

I agree with pp - if the club is on a very tight budget then a cheap processed cheese or ham sandwich is unlikely to be more nutritious than jam. You can always send in food for after school. Every morsel passing a 4 year old’s lips does not need to be nutritionally balanced, its the overall diet which matters.

Yes definitely, I did see one woman open a sugar packet and put it over her breakfast cake i thought oo too far 😀

In my experience, school food is just for the odd days that you can’t prepare a packed lunch. You are not providing a healthy diet to your child if they eat school meals 5 days/week. It’s the sad reality.