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?

I laughed reading your reply. I am not sure how some people can not seem to understand that a persons circumstances can change just like that. Anybody can fall on hard times, that does not mean that before things changed for the worst, people had not managed to have accumulated some nice things. Are they supposed to shun what they had in their wardrobes and instead don shabby rags? Unreal.

@00100001 but more and more people who aren't eligble for UC ARE struggling. My husband and I are just over being eligible so we can't claim and we're struggling.

Give all school children free breakfast and lunch. Open school for breakfast at 8 for all. This gives more parents time to get to work at 9 without needed to pay for childcare. Kids with less don't feel singled out as it's not just them there. Plus just giving a free lunch means they might still spend the first 2/3 of the learning day distracted by hunger. It is easy to serve healthy breakfast pretty cheaply: porridge, wholemeal toast, eggs, fibre rich cereal etc. Certainly cheaper than years of poverty related support and lack of taxes later on.

To be fair, there are community food banks in my area that advertise as “no referral required”. I COULD walk in and get a bag of food no questions asked. However they are beginning to notice a lower level of donations where everyone is beginning to adjust their giving. I’m afraid I have reduced my donations increased household costs eat into my disposable (and therefore donateable) income.

Our closest food bank is a £5 bus ride away. The food bank is only open Wed and Fri. My lovely Headteacher broke the rules and took a minibus of parents to it on the last day of term. He’s being hauled over the coals this week

Why is he?

We have students in the building before 8am every day. We have a breakfast service. We can't afford to provide free breakfast though.

There is a food bank place near me that you can go everyday, free meal on a Saturday too. Also we have a cafe that uses waste in date food, that you pay whatever you want( only pay for drinks). Great places.

That's great! But the NHS in Wales is suffering more than in the rest of the UK though , isn't it?

I dont think school meals are more efficient. They have to cover staffing costs and a profit margin for the company. The meals arent that great..

I suppose i have more faith that most parents would feed their children if they had money.

Our school meals are catered in house. There is no profit to be made for a company.

Then you are lucky. The three big academy chains here use two different companies. The food quality has really gone downhill over the time i have worked in schools.

@zaffa
And who is going to pay for it all?

Many other first world nations pay much higher taxes. I support higher taxes. However, any political party that suggests higher taxes will not get voted in.

We are a nation of low taxation and less state intervention.

By all means let's have a Scandi rate of around 35% for an average salary .

@moreyoudoknow because we aren’t insured to transport parents.

FSM threads on here always work on the assumption that children are not eating at all (or if they are, very sparsely) outside of the school lunch, and that’s not the case.

They may not always be eating meals you or I would provide but they eat.

We're LA funded. No profits ever to be made. The food isn't great but we're not subbing fat cats so I'll take crap lasagne...

All three of my childrens schools have their own fully functioning kitchens and cook onsite. Two of which actually provide free breakfast for any child who wants to grab a bit to eat during first registration. Completely cost effective in those schools.

also a bagel or a slice of toast wouldn’t require a fully equipped kitchen just a couple of toasters in the staff room kind of thing. Our kitchen staff went down one day covid, was a Friday. The office staff went out to Tesco and purchased stuff, prepared sandwiches, bulk purchased crips, and then prepped the already delivered fruit and sorted drinks. That was a last minute thing so with a plan it could easily be done as a grab bag to go for even snack after a proper lunch and breakfast at school.

it’s fine hoping to trust the parents and as nice and that would be the ones who would suffer still for the few parents who are shit would be the children. So feed the children directly.

Tories love the idea of a hungry child. They read Dickens and want us to go back to those times. With them overseeing the workhouses of course

But you get it on higher wages. Eg 16000 or less. Whereas UC it is something ridiculous like £6000. Uc is way harsher.

But if you work 16 hours or more you should qualify for working tax credit and you are then not entitled to free school meals.

When a school has fully equipped kitchen on site, it doesnt mean its not operated by a commercial company, even LA schools will have commercial services running their kitchens. Obviously not always but I cant think of any school in my area that actually runs its own kitchen. Its a contractor.

The worry for me, with more efficient, is you end up at the workhouse eventually as being the most efficient way to safely house and feed the poor because clearly they are all to untrustworthy to feed their children if you gave them adequete benefits to do so.

also a bagel or a slice of toast wouldn’t require a fully equipped kitchen just a couple of toasters in the staff room kind of thing. Our kitchen staff went down one day covid, was a Friday. The office staff went out to Tesco and purchased stuff, prepared sandwiches, bulk purchased crips, and then prepped the already delivered fruit and sorted drinks.
We don't have a staffroom, much less toasters. The office staff have their own jobs to do.
Schools need properly funding so they they can do the things they need to do, not by dragging the attendance officer away from her job to sort out drinks.

Hyperbole 😂

Phew! I was about to get very affronted!

Thanks, @HebeMumsnet

I don't get a subsidised lunch either, so not the killer argument you think it is.

Yes sorry I should have said. Higher taxes. I am absolutely in support of higher taxes.
I also think that actually they shouldn't lower the fuel duty, but they should use the increased earnings to support those who are struggling most. Whilst that will include some drivers, it will also include a lot of non drivers. I know how hard increased fuel prices are, but a lot of us still have choices despite the rising costs. They're not nice choices but they are choices (using car less, walking more, eating more frugally, finding free days out, second hand clothes / toys). Those who are affected most are out of choices and they need the help more than I do, even though I would also benefit from a significant reduction to fuel bills or petrol.
I have no issue with paying more tax if there is a societal benefit to it. I don't need to personally benefit financially (or childcare etc) but if society as a whole benefits then we all ultimately do.