AIBU to think this is a rediculous about for a school DT lesson to cost?

[Theas18]

Just back from sainburys. Am an aldi shopper and £70 a week easily feeds 5of us....we are on a budget of sorts.

Dd2 is making Thai green curry on Monday. There has been no cooperation re ingredients ( previously they've cooked and organised in groups), so I have had to buy the whole list :

Green curry paste £1.99
Coconut milk £1.99
Fine green beans £1.50
Spring onions 70p
Lime 30p
Chicken breasts £4
Chilies £1.50

Skip the coriander. I hate it !

That'll be a cool £11.98 . For 1 meal, that almost certainly will not serve all 5 of us even.

Not to mention if we really should be eating chicken that's been dragged to school, cooked ( possible in adequately in a fixed lesson time) then either refrigerated whist hot or not refrigerated at all, been dragged on the bus to her piano lesson and finally home!

I am almost in tears- the eldest goes back to uni soon I can't afford to chuck £12 away ...

Why knowaboutit
Dcs school have in house catering, they just get the stuff from the kitchens.
They have enough to cart around school without extra ingredients.

DS made cookies last term which cost £6 in ingredients. Not necessary at all imo.

This all sounds crazy. Is it different in England? I teach Home Economics in Scotland and we get the food for pupils who pay a yearly sum. I can imagine the number of pupils not bringing in food would be high. They do have to bring a container to take food home in but that is all. Many pupils would miss practical every week if we did it that way. Much more economical buying for 200 people than for 1. Our dishes rarely cost more than 60p for the younger years and £1 for the older pupils. Pupils still weigh their own ingredients and collect from the trolley/fridge etc..

I argued for that in our school - and was told that teaching staff do not have enough time to shop.

It is part of the remit for our PT or department head. They get time allocated for food ordering. It just works out much cheaper as we can buy in bulk. Also saves time as no need to have pupils not being allowed to cook. I can imagine the school would need to have a small supply of food anyway for pupils whose parents couldn't afford the food. We have classroom assistants who set up our food trolleys in the morning and have fridges in the rooms for perishables.

Works great for us.

Yes had to do this with DS1 school, most annoying. But DS2 school asks for £7 to cover the term they do cooking which is a much better idea, no running around shops the night before like a headless chicken.

for those who dont have access to fridges at school (which is bad, as food hygeine, safety etc should figure in the lessons!) why not send an ice pack /cool bag - I know this is more to provide/carry, but no way would I be throwing away meals my child had cooked

or why not lobby to get the PTA to buy larger fridges? - they have several tall ones per classroom in DD'S school - all the kids chill their ingredients and finished products

(that said, we never did in my day and I came to no harm reheating half day old cottage pie, mince cobbler, quiche, pasta bakes)

I think it's the blase attitude of many schools that is the annoying thing; the assumption that everyone can go and spend a tenner on food for the lesson, then the attitude that it's just tough shit if it can't go in the fridge.

if the children don't bring in the ingredients in our school, they are excluded from that lesson. No joke.

Well, I've emailed school explaining the cost issues I have and suggesting that they do some organised sharing, as well as thinking about budgeting , with uni in mind.

I'll report back if I ever get a reply.

It's not that I "can't" afford it, it's just that there are so many demands on my money that I don't spend it on food that is this expensive. I can't recall the last time I made a meal that would cost out at £2.50/3 a head.

Yes we will eat it of course (hope she thinks to pop it in the fridge at the piano teachers house- she and it wont get home till 6.30!) . Rice and a salad is ideal of course, but another ? 50p a person...(and I'll have to go and buy the salad today/tomorrow!)

I'm sure my school used to have a big store cupboard with big pack of dry and preserved foods in it. so herbs, spices, flour, cereals, dried fruits, sugar, salt, pepper etcc., all came out of the store cupboard, we weighed and measured them ourselves from the Tupperware they were stored in. Then we brought in fruit veg and meat ourselves. We paid pennies each lesson for ingredients (kids who couldn't afford it didn't pay and extra costs were reembursed from the school office).

If its that time consuming couldn't a group of GCSE food tech students do it as a project on a monthly/termly basis?

My mum used to ask the school at the beginning of every half term what we were cooking. Then she'd make sure she got in advance and as cheaply as possible (on offers). Extras would go toward the household menu and thing we didn't have/wouldn't use that often we would see if our friends had/would use then we'd share everything out between us. Ie if we didn't use coconut milk but someone else did, we'd provide something we did have/they didn't use. School were fine with that so might be worth asking if yours could do the same.

That is a ridiculous cost, absolutely crazy. I think you do right to query it, if it is weekly that is £100 per term.

Update so far!

Well, she cooked it and she and ds ate it- yup it made 2 sodding portions even with rice!!

I got in from work after it had gone, but from a scrape of the pan deduced " sir" must be a woodwork teacher who can't cook..... Apparently he poured the oil in the pan, which is why my half bean and scrape of sauce was floating in oil.

She use half a jar of paste- by taste that was about twice too much. Than heavens she forgot to take the chili ... Oh and she didn't put all the coconut milk in " cos it would be too soupy " ( forgive me but green Thai curry I've had WAS soupy!

Oh, and half the hobs didn't work so she fint get hers in till late " sir said it was cooked though". Umm my bean wasn't !

Salmonella tomorrow?

Could eat out for £6 / head ..