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...

giles

It's entirely appropriate on this thread to say it's free stop your nonsence because the op has no legit problem with the meal provided.

She's pissed off because her child took what most people would percieve to be the healthy option because it wasn't hot and in her head salad has added sugar and salt.

If the op said portion control was bad or the food was burnt or anything valid then I'm sure her thread would have gone compleatly the other way and it's unlikely anybody would have used that line.

But as it happens in this case it sounds like she's just a prat

I haven't read all the thread but just wanted to say that DD attended a very high quality independent school where the lunch was expensive, and every Wednesday's were salad day. Healthy nutritious and the kids could choose which veg they wanted. Never saw an issue with it. Check what the hot options and ask your child why he prefers the salad.

Sorry, don't fancy wading through 9 pages worth of posts but just to say, the children wouldn't know who has and who hasn't submitted a claim for free school meals, and like others will have told you, all children get their dinner for free now anyway up to Year 2.

I have seen children go and line up for dinner and only want rice or potatoes and the likes and point blank refuse to have the meat/other hop options available. What your son chose sounds fine to me. Now that really is a waste of money but you cant force them to eat it. even if you put it on their plate they still wont eat it/might take a tiny bite if made to.

Maybe you should direct your energies into providing for your children instead of relying on the Government to do it for you and moaning about what you get for free?

You also have to remember that although the cost is £2.30 or whatever, the outlay to make that item.
So if you think you can do better - source food, pay staff wages, running costs, wear and tear of equipment, washing up materials etc. then go for it.

Also iirc the full cost isn't paid by the local authority. Instead a proportion hence the quality of food in some areas has decreased.

A letter to David Cameron!

Who really gives a shit whether his food is hot or cold? He's getting a reasonably nutritious, balanced, filling lunch of his choice and you don't have to pay for it. No doubt if he didn't get the choice of hot or cold and he didn't like what was available for the hot meal you'd still be moaning.

Your child might not be fussy but lots of kids are, and if they weren't supplied with food they liked and were familiar with (ie. wraps and cheese and raisins) then they'd refuse to eat it and go hungry and their parents would be wanting to write to David Cameron about it.

Your child is choosing the salad bar because he likes the food on the salad bar, not because his friends are choosing it. Get over yourself and stop being so flipping entitled.

Pack him a flask. no didn't think so