Angry over salad bar for free school meals

[Jotim02]

My son gets free school meals in KS1, the school lets them choose salad bar or hot school dinner. We thought he had been eating a hot dinner, until his friend came home for a play and told us he had salad bar.

Today he had a wrap - probably with added salt and sugar, cheese, raisins and carrots. For this the government was charged £2:30. Am I unreasonable to think the government are giving kids free school meals so they can have a hot dinner, not a sandwich?

The school say it's the kids choice what they have. My very unfussy son, has now become fussy because his friends have salad bar, so he wants it too and - doesn't like hot dinners.

I am really furious and thinking of writing to the catering company and David Cameron. It's mostly about the principle that the government is paying for this crap...

I'm assuming hot meals don't have added salt and sugar which wraps do. It's the fact it's called salad bar, yet mostly eat bread and cheese. My kids don't eat salad, a few carrots excepted!

Another one failing to see the problem.

I'd bet what he's eaten was healthier than a lot of the hot options.

At our school you can have salad and a hot lunch, I've seen a few roasts with a bit of salad and cheese on the side.

I'm assuming hot meals don't have added salt and sugar which wraps do.

Have you had much experience of school meals?

Is this real??youre going to complain that your son chose and enjoy his lunch, it's just not the right choice ( accordibg to you)
Be happy your son is enjoying his lunch!
Though i would so love to read the letter

Why are Brits people so obsessed with 'hot meals' - a salad/wrap/fruit can be much more nutritious than chicken nuggets and chips for example.

No one needs hot meals - yes, it might be nice to have a hot meal but it is not essentail.

Why don't you provide him with meals if you think you can do better?

Yabu

He's being fed at no direct cost to you, and he's got a good choice of what to have. Temperature is not a food group. The hot choice is likely to be similar nutritional value.

If it bothers you that much, send s packed lunch for him to probably not eat...

So effectively you're saying that children on free school meals aren't good enough to be allowed to choose their own food while kids with more affluent parents can have what they want?

Ask them to bung the wrap in the microwave next time. Problem solved.

Effectively you're saying that children on free school meals aren't good enough to choose their own meals so the government should force a hot meal on them?

Bollocks-apologies for the double post.

We look at the menus at the weekend and then talk about what they would like to choose. My two dd are in schools in different counties but both have the menus online.

Hot school meals don't have added salt and sugar? Are you deluded? Have you looked at a school menu recently?

I don't get your issue either. The days of forcing children to eat what they don't want are over I thought. He has chosen the salad. If you're not pleased stop the dinners and give him a packed lunch. Then you'll be more in control.

Cheese and raisins. Yum.

Do let us see your letter.

🙄

I wonder if hot salad instantly becomes nutritious? Tbh I always thought it was fairly nutritious as is but on mn I learned burger and chips is far superior.

I agree with others, hot isn't inherently better. If you want to micro manage what your child eats, then you're going to have to train/discipline him into choosing what you want him to eat.

Your son is choosing the healthy option. You are getting it free. How great is that?

YABU

You seem to be conflating two different issues here. One, you think it's intrinsically wrong for FSM to cover a salad bar option and it should only be a hot lunch. Which is ridiculous. And two, you feel the salad bar isn't up to the standard it should be. Which may or may not be valid, impossible for anyone on here to tell you whether you're BU unless they've seen it. Anyway I'd focus your energies on number two. A salad bar is a valid, positive option for the children but only if it's good enough. The same is also true of hot meals of course.

Microwaved cheese and carrot wrap.

Would you rather that kids on fsm were limited to hot meals and made to stand out like sore thumbs? Food is food, whatever the temperature and I'm pretty certain the hot meals will be just as lacking in nutrition as the salad bar!

Not sure how your school operates school meals, but the few schools I have experience of in my area, the school meals are three options, a hot meat one, a hot vegetarian one and a rotation of sandwich and jacket potato. Then there is a hot and cold pudding and a yoghurt option, and there is a bread bowl to choose different types of breads from.

All children also have access to a salad bar which consists of the usual lettuce/tomato/cucumber/peppers and usually beetroot, egg and often a pasta salad. No child is allowed o eat solely from the salad bar.

Are you sure your son didn't choose a sandwich then go to the salad bar?