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...

This sounds much more healthy than the staple lunch at my primary school canteen circa 1990- sausage roll, chips and either an iced bun or arctic roll!

My DD chooses cheese and crackers for pudding most days instead of things like fudge tart or apple crumble and custard. Is that OK by your logic or does the hot meal need to include a 'proper' pudding?

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

Really? You are very naive!

If you heat up the wrap will the salt and sugar fall out of it?

Lol at this!!! Op get a grip!

Hot dinner.... Like pizza? Hotdogs?

So come on, what do you serve up at home?

Your child gets a free meal, you should think yourself lucky, dont kow what the problem is.

Its free, and it sounds fine. Why don't you send lunch in with him if you're not happy with it

I don't think I would take the children's word for it TBH. Ask a member of staff what he's actually having.

Dying to know what would be in the letter to David Cameron. Please post it on here, OP.

It's free, how about being grateful for that?

I wish my son could have free dinners!

It sounds fine. And it was free! Struggling to understand your point here.

Mr Cameron is quite a busy man you know. Maybe save your letter to him for something a little more weighty.

My dd did have hotdogs on Tuesday. No pizza till next Monday though!

YANBU for taking an active interest in what your child eats at school and wanting to make sure it's healthy (although I'm not sure I really agree with your assessment of what makes a good school lunch).

YABVU for thinking this is an issue for David Cameron!!

All the school has to provide for reception & KS1 children as a free school meal is a meal, it doesn't have to be hot. DS's school only provide a sandwich, a piece of fruit, some chopped veg and a frube or similar plus a bit of cake on a Friday. Apparently anything else is unaffordable. So YABU as I would be overjoyed were DS to have any choice at all.

Bloody hell, be grateful he gets a free school dinner.

YANBU at all. That'd piss me off too. If my child was on school dinners, I'd expect them to be having a hot meal.
I'd be paying for a school dinner and expecting a proper meal. If I wanted him to have sandwiches, I'd be taking a packed lunch in!

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YANBU at all. That'd piss me off too. If my child was on school dinners, I'd expect them to be having a hot meal.

So where hot and cold meals are available children on free school meals aren't allowed to have a choice which they have?

Why would you assume a hot meal doesn't contain added salt and sugar? So long as a meal contains protein, carbs and veg why does it matter if it's hot or cold.

I work on a primary school salad bar. It is a fucking nightmare getting the picky littlies to eat a healthy lunch, plus they tip their meals everywhere meaning lots of food gets ruined.

Our salad bar has 15 different options including coleslaw, pasta dishes, rice dishes & all the usual stuff you would expect.

The vast majority is made fresh in the kitchen every day. We don't make mayo for the potato salad for example, but the spuds are boiled, spring onions chopped, mixed with mayo etc. Just as you would at home.

The older kids aren't interested in salad, they are really hungry & want a proper hot meal, a lettuce leaf doesn't fill up a Y6 boy! ;)

OP I can assure you that in my school the wraps have no added salt or sugar, & even if your child did take lots of healthy stuff it will have probably ended up in the bin.

have a and calm your tits, OP.

Send him with a packed lunch if you don't like the wraps option. Weird.

Are you not serving him a hot meal in the evening?

I'd actually be quite pleased if my child, at that age, had made what appears to be a healthy choice for their school meal.