Government refusing to feed hungry kids again

[noblegiraffe]

The new government food strategy out today should have included a plan to extend free school meals to all families on Universal Credit, as recommended by the review of the school system, and as requested by the teaching and head teaching unions among other educational professionals www.schoolfoodmatters.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Education%20letter%202022.pdf

It didn't.

Child poverty is at 30%, free school meal provision 22.5%, so there are children going hungry and this situation will only get worse with the cost of living crisis.

www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/heads-deeply-disappointed-lack-free-school-meal-extension

Don't worry about MPs going hungry though, with their subsidised restaurants and generous food allowance.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/food-poverty-parliament-mps-taxpayers-cost-of-living-subsidies/?saved

"Taxpayers have forked out £17m to subsidise bars and restaurants in the House of Commons over just three years, openDemocracy can reveal.

MPs have enjoyed cut-price meals, with the average cost of food in the Members’ Dining Room reduced by more than £1 between 2018 and 2021.

In fact, politicians could have a full three-course meal at the restaurant for as little as £10.41 last year."

Anyone else think that money could be better spent elsewhere?

did i say that? no i didn't....to be clear

We get a small amount of Universal Credit, I’d guess as a result of expensive nursery fees but we do not need free school meals. I’d guess there are lots of families in the same position, expanding it to everyone indiscriminately doesn’t seem the right thing to do.

’parents may well be in a position to feed them but prioritise that money elsewhere. its not always due to lack of income’

The criteria for receiving free school meals are income based.

Free school meals are available to pupils in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:
• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have
an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for
Working Tax Credit

I’m sure we could find the money to make all school meals free if we tried, quite honestly. KS1 already get that. Administering the means test for older years is expensive.

yes. that proves there is an income.

Money from where? We already don't have enough money for the NHS, etc.

To be honest i find the concept of free school meals very odd. It just makes more sense to ensure benefits are high enough that people can afford to feed their children. It smacks of mistrustung poor people to put their children first but only covers 1/3 of meals 5/7 of the week for 39/52 of the year.

It is such a difficult one. There are families struggling who do not claim UC or are above the FSM income level. However, children in London get free transport whilst outside London they have to pay. And then all infant children receive free school meals.

100% parents should be responsible for their children but most people do not want innocent children to suffer. It is not the fault of parents that minimum wage jobs are no longer viable for families since the expansion of zero hour contracts.

There is no best solution as someone loses out. The whole system needs to be reworked.

No idea if it would be possible but maybe reduce child benefit and give all children in schools a portion of fruit at breaktime, a choice of school dinner (either hot or cold) and a free bus pass to and from school.

Food should be sourced from UK. If possible from areas which are suffering from the loss of industry already. Yes it would mean retraining and a chunk to get going but for me the long term gains are more preferable.

Hopefully the end of FOM and the resulting wage rises will see fewer families relying on free school meals.

People who can't feed the children they have, shouldn't have more children, but it's unfair to blame the children for their parents feckless breeding.

Headteachers aren't going to be paying for any of this so I would take their views with a grain or salt. Are they prepared to sacrifice a percentage of their salary in order to pay for this?

I'm not against free school meals in general but in general, anything provided for free eventually just becomes an entitlement. I'd rather see subsidised school meals for all children, and proper kitchens serving proper food, meat, potatoes and 2 veg etc, cooked daily on the premises.

Attempting to teach hungry children is a waste of resources. An investment in school dinners would allow a better return on the costs involved in educating a child. To not do so makes as much sense as hiring a driver for a car with no fuel.

Let's let innocent children go hungry because their parents can't feed them... Nice.

"Parents' feckless breeding"?
Nice turn of phrase there

From the £17milliim spent on MPs dining

I work in a supermarket and parents who use these vouchers very rarely use them on school lunch items and tend to use them on clothes toys alcohol electronics ect. 2 kids £30 a week a loaf of bread a jar of jam or pack of ham some crisps and fruit thats about a fiver wheres the £25 going and if people don't have a spare fiver within their child benefit,tax credit and all other benefits they seriously need to learn to budget and think about what their spending their children's money on. People seem to forget we have an obesity problem in this country and not a starvation problem.

We have over a million jobs available, no one should be going hungry. We have food banks ( I fundraise for our local one) and we have church groups here that also support families, it is very well used. I don't actually think anyone in this country goes hungry unless they choose to. There are enough safety nets in place.

You couldn’t use the free school meals vouchers given out during lockdown to buy alcohol. As that is bullshit I’m just going to ignore you from now on.

Then why are teaching unions are saying there is a problem with hunger in schools cocktailsatsunset? For sport?

I agree for children on FSM, child benefits should be scrapped, and three meals offered to each child at breakfast club, lunch and after school club.
Vouchers can be given in the holidays that can ONLY be used for food and nothing else, ID needs to be provided at the time of using them.

Sounds like a typical Tory, tbh. Doesn't care if things are shit as long as they're shit for EVERYONE

’We have over a million jobs available, no one should be going hungry’

Excellent! I’m assuming you’re offering to provide the free transport and childcare to make taking those jobs possible?

I just offered my suggestion four The school should be reporting hungry children it is neglect. There are options to feed children free of charge already. No child should be hungry, it is the responsibility of the parents.

I got free school meals after my parents divorced because my Dad lied about how much he was earning, so he could give my Mum fuck all in child maintenance. The only job she could get during school hours was minimum wage. The people who think it's predominantly irresponsible parents popping out 10 kids to mooch off taxpayers are just thick. Even so, why allow children to suffer for their parents decisions?

Childcare is available through after school clubs and holiday clubs and schemes in the holidays, like everyone else in the world we seem to manage, and get a bike!
You can't move for available jobs here absolutely no one but the very sick and infirm should be on UC in the first place.

Cleaners here are charging 20.00 an hour plus some even more, that is 140 a day!

How many of those jobs pay a living wage or fit around school hours? You do realise that food banks everywhere are struggling to cope with the demand?