AIBU to be concerned about my daughter's school lunch menu?

my sons in secondary school (state). There’s sausage rolls or bacon sarnies at break. Lunch is pasta with sauce, sandwich, pizza or the main choice which this week has been burger, curry, meatballs. Pudding is cake, brownie, cookie. It doesn’t seem massively healthy to me.

Increases your risk of cancer.

I would be furious really. I assume you’re paying substantial fees. My son is at an independent school in year one. They have a salad bar but there is no meat. Three courses which include daily homemade bread and soup, dessert is a selection of fruit with a more traditional sweet pudding on Fridays. Chips are once a week and served with chicken or fish. No processed meat at all. I highly doubt the menu they are serving your daughter would be allowed in a state school. I would certainly raise it and question their choices around meats which as you’ve rightly said have been proven to be cancer causing

I don’t think you are being precious…I would be annoyed about this too ESPECIALLY in an independent school! (Presume independent means you’re paying school fees?). One of the main benefits to sending children private is much better nutrition imo. Request a menu for the half term (they will have one) and then book a meeting with the school to raise it as a problem if it is as bad as your daughter is saying. I’m sure other parents would be thinking the same thing and will support you. In my cousins private school they had proper cooked dishes like chicken in sauce with rice, stir fry, and a big salad cart that looked like those ones at the Harvester restaurants, I was so jealous!

My kids (state) school meals aren’t great but they are fussy and so only have them two days a week. And generally choose pasta with veg sauce or jacket potato with cheese. Making a packed lunch is such a faff and my youngest is picky and won’t eat sandwiches or wraps etc so it takes ages to make his lunch. I wish school meals were better then I’d put mine on them five days a week but I’m not having them eat that much crap currently

My youngest started school last year and we did try school lunches for a while for ease but the menu's got even worse this year so I'm reluctantly doing packed lunches.
Pizza with chocolate mousse, macaroni cheese with cookies, sausage and mash with chocolate cake, fish fingers and chips with jelly and ice cream.
There's a 'roast' on Wednesday which is marginally better but it's still a 'loaded yorkshire pudding' rather than a proper roast.
Every week is pizza, pasta, sausages, fish fingers.

Was a sample menu not available at open events?

The picture attached is the next three weeks of meals at our sons previous uk primary school.

This weeks menu at his current school for vegetarians
monday stuffed tortellini with green leaf sauce and a tomato salad
tuesday falaffel with couscous and a greek salad
wednesday nachos with mixed beans and sweet potato wedges
today baked tofu and veg in a creamy curry sauce with rice and naan
tomorrow ‘meatballs’ mash, peas and gravy

Everyday they have soup to start, tomorrow spinach and egg, they also have unlimited salad bar everyday.

The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is strong evidence it can cause bowel cancer.

It does make a difference if they are not required to adhere to school food regulations. From your description there is no way that the school menu would be permitted in a state funded school. Which home country are you in? You can access the UK school food regulations for the home countries easily enough online, you could also ask the school about their food policy or health and wellbeing policy.

It does sound like a lot of pork products and very unimaginative.

Wait until she goes to secondary. It’s all baked goods and no sign of fruit and veg

Sounds like the kind of thing they used to serve at my comprehensive school in the 1980s. The food was one of the few good things about it. Their hot dogs with onions, ravioli, and burgers in gravy were amazing; also cake with pink icing for pudding, and cans of Panda Pop (including shandy and ginger beer)😊

This was of course the 80s so it didn't make anyone fat 😂

Ours is similar.

lots of the kids have packed lunch too.

It should be even better for a private school!

That’s very poor, I’d be annoyed too.

My son has a good hot food school menu but was picking the ham sandwich option each day instead, about 6 months ago we were watching a food show that showed how ham was made and he hasn’t touched it since, He’s 8… I think it was something about Ultra Process foods.

The mention of ravioli reminded me of my DD in Year R telling us she had teabags for lunch. Took a while to twig it was ravioli.

My ds' small independent school publishes a three week menu, publshed on their web site. There is a meat/fish option with vegetables every day, a veggie option, and a choice of sandwiches and jacket potatoes. I think that's fairly normal.

Ask the school for their meal plan or check their web site.

Dcs will always choose the food they prefer and ignore things they don't recognise so it maybe other things are on offer but your dd is not choosing them.

Is she in primary? My DCs were in state primary and their school lunches were definitely more balanced than this. We were given a copy of the menu options at the beginning of each year so we were able to see what was on offer. Salad was a staple with every meal. They didn’t get served any ham, but possibly that’s because we live in an area with a high Muslim population so all school meals were Halal. Only the other day my 14yo was reminiscing about how much he liked his primary school lunches!
Now secondary school is a whole other ball game..!

Strongly disagree with this. DD is in state school and it’s full of nutritious food

Love it! And mine, at a private junior convent in the late 50s , was Spam, dehydrated mash potato (like Smash but not as good!) and tinned peas. Don't remember pudding - a derail. The op's lunches sound grim for today.

As you have pointed out, you don’t actually know what is on offer as you haven’t seen a menu, you’re just relying on what your DD tells you. Also, you don’t know that no one else takes a packed lunch, you’re just assuming.
Just contact the school and request a weekly menu to be made available.

Processed meats are carcinogetic.
Why would ham or savaloys be on a school menu every day? Poached chicken, roast pork, beef, eggs, stews, tuna, cheese are other protein options.

Processed meats are sometimes foods, as are cakes.

Are the cakes full of grated vegetables?
Yes, you should join the school Parents Association and ask to examine the menu.

My ds also goes to the village state school and we pick his meals on an ap in advance. There's always a meat/fish option, a veggie option, baked potatoes or fruit, crackers, cheese etc.

Although they do have things like sausage and mash, burgers, fish fingers, pizza, it always has veg with it and grilled or baked. They also have pastas, curry, chilli, roast dinners, omelettes, wraps etc too. Puddings are a mix of fruit options, low sugar cakes/biscuits or vanilla ice cream.

Most private schools don’t allow packed lunches.

@Mrspepperpotpotcan you not just ask the school for a copy of the menu?
my DDs are also at an independent school and these are our menus on a 3 week rotation.
The salads and sandwiches are always available

Agree.

OP could she just be making poor choices and picking what she recognises or likes?

Do you give her a healthy breakfast and evening meal? Do you send a healthy snack for break time?

Id focus on the meals you provide and encourage her to try and pick better when she can but priority is she eats at lunch time. Many children don't/won't.