Only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards of a school meal

[Ifailed]

According to a Government report www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53574164. Without Googling it, how many know what would constitute a "correct" packed lunch for a child - I know I wouldn't?

I’d imagine it would be some protein, dairy, 2/3 portions of fruit and veg.

No doubt it would also say low fat dairy 🙄

Jusldging by the shit I see on the school hot meals menu I don’t think it’s overly hard to pack a better lunch

I grew up hungry and would rather have had shit food than no food at all.

I would know what constitutes a good packed lunch- follow the eatwell plate. It's not exactly rocket science and we send home leaflets when parents get it wrong.

Also, the average kid on school dinners doesn't eat all of the school meal offered because they don't like some/much of it (usually, it's the veg that gets left and I don't blame the kids tbh- it tends to be boiled into a tasteless pulpy mush). Some kids will face a school dinner and literally just eat their allocated spoonful of rice or portion of chips.

Surely 'correct' depends on the other meals that you are giving your child. My dd doesn't have a huge packed lunch, but eats tons at breakfast including a portion of fruit. Because she doesn't really like salad veg, I find it much easier to give her veg in dinners - she'll happily eat peas, sweetcorn, brocoli, so although her lunchbox may only have 1 helping of fruit, over the day she does okay. Whereas a child who was having pizza or something may need a more veg heavy meal at lunchtime.

I don’t think it really matters what is in a packed lunch IF a kid has an all round decent diet. My kids eat shite at lunch time - they just wanna het lunch over quick and play/hang out with mates. Obvs not every family will be like this and some kids will be badly and underfed.

what percentage of a school lunch put in front of a child with food anxiety issues gets thrown away, vs what percentage of a lunch of known and familiar foods from home in a packed lunch?

for a child who eats 3 meals a day 365 days a year, school packed lunches are only 17% of the meals eaten by the child. it is really ok for a responsible parent to choose to put into the packed lunch that foods that meet the requirements that they will be eaten and will give the child the energy they need to get through the afternoon. There is no point to supplying a healthier and more balanced lunch that the child will either completely reject, or may only eat with 1:1 direct encouragement in a no-distractions environment as that will never be available at school. if the foods that will definitely be eaten at school don't tick all the boxes for balanced nutrition, the other 83% of the meals that the child eats will have plenty of opportunities to make up any differences.

and school dinners are the epitome of health...

I send dc with packed lunch because of dairy and soya allergies which the school caterers have repeatedly shown they cannot be trusted catering for. So the lunch wouldn’t have the recommended dairy intake for sure!

I could use my common sense and guess that some chicken/sandwich/wrap, a piece of cheese, cumcumber, yogurt and an appple would meet requirements? But lunches go unrefridgerated for hours so chicken, yogurt and cheese at room temp are not going to be appetising. Plus when the kids on school dinners are sat eating chocolate cake, those on packed lunch are going to feel cheated!

Fussy eater child here
Yoghurt cheese Most sandwich fillings Most fruit All veg come back untouched -

School told me I’d ‘be surprised’ what he would eat ‘if he was hungry’ - I would indeed.!
My boy would honestly rather be hungry than eat something he doesn’t like

So no his lunch box probably doesn’t meet ‘standards’ but since he won’t eat school dinner either it’s tricky

I do agree that children often don't eat their vegetables and parts of the school meal they don't like so it's not a fair comparison. By that standard you could stuff the lunchbox with organic broccoli and bean salad and it would probably be more healthy than the school lunch.

I was going to say! School dinners are pretty rubbish here so that shouldn’t be hard!

We do a small wholemeal roll with cheese, quorn sausage or hummus with grated carrot. Then a pot of veg (cucumber, celery, tomato), a pot of fruit, something extra (cheese or if his sandwich was cheese a falafel or something). Then a pudding thing - yoghurt, jelly or a bit of malt loaf or something.

The school dinners were good pre- Covid and DS has them but there’s no way the current offering
(Cheese in a white burger bun with crisps and fruit and a muffin is pretty typical) is better than what most people send.

Fruit, veg sticks, yoghurt, cheese or ham sandwich. And a treat. Also fruit/veg for snack too.

Kids, mine definitely, need fat and sugar in their lives, just as they need protein etc.

One is a spectacularly awkward eater, she has a tiny appetite and doesn't eat most meat, cheese or yoghurts, and tbh I struggle with her. She'd happily eat plain bread.

School dinners are ok where they are. There is (or was) a choice of pudding each day - tray bake/fruit salad/jelly/no fat yoghurt or fruit. And a salad bar for additional veg with a meal.

So long as children aren't hungry and get an overall balance.

School meals may be nutritionally balanced on paper but many kids will not be getting the full nutritional benefit because they don’t eat all of it. it. A huge amount of food is thrown away daily in schools because children will eat the rice and chicken or whatever and leave the vegetables.

In aus a packed lunch is the norm for every kid. If they want a hot lunch its the canteen via a lunch order
Most parents pack what gets eaten and isnt overly messy or time consuming to eat.
Its all well and good to put together some planned out bento box thing, but if your kid wont eat it, its a waste of time, money and effort.
Sandwiches, fruit, veg sticks, salami, cheese, cookies, chips/crisps, baked snack bars, pouch yogurt, fruit boxes are the norm for our area
Most schools nut free entirely, some also say no to certain fruits.
On keeping it cool, insulated lunchbox and freezer bricks. Can also freeze the fruit boxes and yogurt

Canteen at school has pies, nuggets, wedges and gravy, 2 minute noodles, hot dogs, baked potatoes, soups, sausage rolls, flavored milk, juice, milkshakes, cookies, lollies, choc mousse
There healthy options but in dd class at least they not often chosen. If sports day is an indicator, its the salads and stuff left over after all the pies, hot dogs, hot chips are gone

What school dinners offer and what children choose are entirely different.
There are always salad, bread and fruit on offer at DS school....but if the choice is fruit or a biscuit, a lot of kids will choose the biscuit!! DS is pretty healthy (he doesnt like most cakes or sweets unlike me) and eats a reasonable amount of veg, but he would never choose salad in a million years.
Often he had fish fingers and chips on fridays at school, I cant imagine that's a whole lot healthier than what he has in pack lunches.

As long as a child has food in their lunch box I'm happy. I'm not there to judge. People are struggling at the moment
Let's be kind

The other 99% surpass the standards?

The other 99% surpass the standards?

I wouldn't quite say that!

Is it the sugar and salt content?
Lots of parents rely on processed foods for packed lunches. I think if there are Ham/Dairylea/Pepperami/white bread/crisps/ Frubes etc that's understandable.
Keeping it simple with cheddar, tuna or houmous sandwiches, a boiled egg, a piece of fruit, home made scones or flapjacks, popcorn etc. I can imagine this might score more highly?

@Moonmelodies

The other 99% surpass the standards?

Eh? No, 99% fail the standards apparently

Ha ha. Is that because the standards for school dinners include being produced in a kitchen with relevant food hygiene certification?

Don't UK school meal regulations require things like low fat milk and dairy? That is pretty sketchy advice for infant school age children and many parents will deliberately make different decisions because the advice is not necessarily right for younger children especially. It's the old high carb, low fat advice isn't it? "Fruit deserts" = 50% fruit, 50% any old rubbish required several times per week?