Really pleased now DC’s primary school has started free school dinners

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DC’s primary school FINALLY got school dinners! It’s day 2 and I’m already loving the fact that I don’t have to prepare a full lunch each morning! And saving a little on the food bill too as it’s free! Bloody delighted!! (We are in Ireland where this is only being rolled out now!)

Sounds wonderful.

It’s like a whole new world 🤣🤣

It’s great isn’t it. And the food my DC get is fantastic and great choices. I just changed my daughter’s order the other day as she was getting bored and I think they see what others are eating and want to try that.

It's wonderful! It is one less thing to have to think about in the morning. But also, having worked in a school years ago, I saw first-hand how much families rely on that meal to be the main one their child will have each day.
We live in a country where, really, no child should go hungry. I think free school meals throughout primary is one of the best things we offer to families. This and free milk should always be a thing.
Sorry! You just wanted to share your joy and relief, OP. And I've shown up on my high horse! 😆
I just think the free school meals are a great thing.

Sadiq Khan gets an awful lot of shit on here but the fact that all primary school children in London get free school meals is absolutely brilliant. It makes such a huge difference.

Just a shame these benefits are about Geography rather than either being universal, or based on need. Say, offered in the most deprived wards in the Country would be better than just in 'London' and 'NI' where I am sure there are plenty of wealthy families, middling families as well as families in poverty, if Universal free meals is considered too big a cost for the economy.

DS goes up to juniors in September and so won't get free meals anymore, we can afford to pack him lunches but I did like the idea of him having a hot meal at lunch especially in winter , shame it's not everywhere they get free lunches throughout primary, although we've already benefited from 3 years worth, glad you're getting them now!

Yup and cleaner air too. He can’t do right for wrong!

Its a great policy.

But that’s a matter of voting for a council/mayor who has that policy surely or advocating for change in your area? The free school meals in London comes from the Mayor’s budget, not a national budget. If the money wasn’t spent on free school meals in London, it would be spent on something else here, not distributed across the country.

AH free school dinners are great! Gutted DD is moving up to Yr3 in September so we lose them.

She's a fussy bugger, but eats more hot food than cold, her pack ups next year are going to be very unispiring.

All Scottish Schoolchildren are entitled to free school meals from Primary 1-5.

Except different parts of the country get very different amounts of money from each other. It's not that simple.

London generates an annual surplus of tens of billions above what it costs to run London which gets redistributed to other parts of the country.

We've had free school dinners in Scotland for years yet out of my class of 24, I'd probably only have 12 taking school dinners, 8 packed lunches and 4 going home