School dinners do they get enough?

[Fuzz01]

DS was previously on packed lunches but preferred at hot meal so has went on to school dinners. The cost of which is 2.05 a day 10.25 a week. The problem is the portions they are giving are not enough and DS and his friends are complaining about how hungary they are. Sample of portions are Two fish fingers one scoop of mash, one portion of cauliflower one portion of broccii and a pudding.

I work in a care home residents have a budget of 2.50 to cover THREE meals and snacks per resident. There is always plenty of food left over and staff often pay for a meal.

Aibu to bring in up to the school they currently been requesting feedback. DS isn't over weight and eats a very good diet but he is starving when he comes home. I understand budgets but given the food budget at work surely they can give the children abit more. DS has asked for more but is refused.

I should also mention that quite a few children eat hardly anything and loads goes in the bin (not just the younger children either).

Well both of mine are hungry when I pick them up, but I think that's normal. It's been 3hrs since they had lunch!!

I give them a protein rich breakfast like eggs, nut butter on toast etc and I think that helps.

But mine can be fussy with the school meals. DD 5, hates cheese, so options are limited as there seems to be cheese in a lot of the dinners, and my DS won't eat their puddings as it's not "like home". So even if they were offered the full 2 courses, I don't think they eat all of it.

I did question if he ate all the mash veg etc and he said he did the plate was clear.

I do question there portion size tho if a care home can have a budget of 2.50 for three meals a days per resident and parents pay 2.05 for a main meal and pudding.

Our school has started giving very small portions and only giving more if the child eats it and requests more.

The amount of waste is criminal so what looks like a very small amount is actually about as much as you're likely to get them to eat.

A care home providing three meals a day for £2.50 is not feeding their residents adequately IMO

Redhat you don't know how carehomes operate it majority operate on a similar budget to leep costs down. They do meet their nutrientals needs. Prisons will operate on a similar budget.

I don't run a care home. They may well provide three meals on 2.50 a day (whether they're decent meals is a different point).

Not entirely sure how that helps you though.

In general though the school has asked for feedback so it's perfectly legitimate to give feedback.

My gran was in a care home. She ate way less than food than your average 10 year old.

We discussed school dinners at a governors meeting I attended a few months ago at my daughters' school and the fact that there was a lot of waste in early years/ks1 and hungry kids in years 5 and 6.

The cook was requesting permission to serve smaller portions lower down the school and larger higher up. She needed our permission because everyone pays the same so should, theoretically, get the same amount of food.

We decided that most children who have school dinners have them throughout primary school so over the years they wouldn't lose out.

We agreed to buying three sets of serving spoons of increasing size and for dinners to be smaller in year 1 and foundation, the normal size in 2,3 and 4 and larger in 5 and 6 with the cook allowed discretion on moving between sizes if the year 1 or year 4 children were hungry towards the end of the school year.

It's worked well with no increase in cost but a big reduction in waste and in hungry children BUT we haven't told the parents that it's happened for fear of complaints about paying the same for different amounts of food.

I have seen them and yes they are tiny..However my DS was not eating packed lunch and as they let him go out and play when he hadn't finished so eats a lot more in hot dinners.

Our resource organic meat...I wish they didn't and had more..My DS doesn't eat anything organic at home so doubt it would make any difference to his diet

Don't they get 'seconds'? DS either eats like a horse or grabs something quickly so that he can go and play football at lunchtime and is always starving at pickup time.

Kids can be fussier with school dinners too so maybe not eat all the food given (I can still taste the 'chocolate' tapioca from 40 years ago).

freemanbatch your solution sounds great.

Fuzz yes give feedback, politely of course - why not?

Our school day day (abroad) finishes at lunch time but one of my kids now goes to homework/ afternoon club while I work - at an old people's / nursing home.

Funnily enough the food for our tiny school's afternoon club children comes from the old people's home where I work. There are only 20 kids/ places in the afternoon club so only 20 children to feed lunch - clearly not really viable to cook on site.

I don't know the budget for the old people's home food, but we throw vast amounts away - really, really huge amounts - most people don't finish a small plate of food, but seconds are available to the few who want them. Most are very sedentary inevitably - about half are in wheelchairs, most of those need to be pushed though a few can move themselves about in their wheel chairs, a lot are almost totally still most of the time, and only a few of those who can walk do so without a walking frame.

The elderly people without a single exception eat less than my madly sporty football playing outdoors every possible moment, physically can't keep still, very tall 8 year old, and almost all eat less than my fussy, picky, average for his age activity wise not quite 5 year old.

The budgets aren't really comparable - or shouldn't be.

My 8 yo can have as many helpings as he likes of lunch at afternoon club, but they serve a small portion then let kids come back for more. As a result they have only a fairly small amount of waste. Perhaps it wouldn't work with a whole big primary school coming back for more as any times as they wanted. Also lunch costs an eye watering €4 per day - I would send a packed lunch if he didn't love the food (he has very traditional tastes and prefers the meat and two veg meals aimed at the old people to what I cook in the evenings ) and always report having had more than one portion.

School dinners at my DS's school are £3.85 per day. I would be sending packed lunch if they were not getting a decent meal for this (although they can go for seconds).

3.85 thats expensive are you london based or are they in secondary school? Adults can get a meal deal for 3.00.

independent

The food is good though, roast dinners rather than snacky food

I think ALL children come home hungry TBH. It's completely normal. We used to do it as kids whether we'd had a packed lunch (as I think we did for the most part) or a school dinner. They exert a heck of a lot of energy in a school day. The teachers in my DD class (reception) were actually saying to a parent complaining about this the other day, that after snack time in the morning they're all asking for more food and asking when lunch is. They're just growing children with a lot of energy hence needing food often.
My DS and DD always choose a cheese sandwich, carrot sticks, cucumber and whatever pudding is available. Tbf this isn't any less than I'd give them for lunch at home. Lunch is supposed to be light. They don't want to be all heavy and bogged down in the afternoon.

I think they're a bargain for £2.

I've been a midday assistant, and was impressed by the portion sizes and quality of food. (And I'm really precious when it comes to food). As much salad as you want too.