To not understand how it's cheaper to send dc to school with a cold happy meal than a packed lunch?

[bobstersmum]

In the news this week, an article about children in deprived areas being sent to school with a cold happy meal. Then parents in another article defending the reasons for it, saying that sometimes it's all they can afford. I just can't understand it? A happy meal is 2.99 I think? But a cheap loaf of bread is 50p, a cheap pack of sandwich meat or cheese is less than a pound, bag of bananas a pound multipack of crisps a pound, that's lunches for the week for around the same cost?

Online shopping is out of reach for many because they don’t have broadband or any internet access at all at home. 20% of UK adults don’t have smartphones.

When I was on holiday in rural Wales I was (naively ) amazed at how far the nearest supermarket was

But there wasn't a McDonalds, or probably not a lot of other takeaways either was there?

And basics from the expensive village store were still cheaper than whatever takeaways were available, including things like cup a soup or pot noodles if you want something hot?

Obviously some people are unable to adequately to feed their DC, but to automatically assume that it's always due to lack of money through no fault of their own simply does not stack up because there are ways of making small amounts of money go much further than expensive takeaways.

It could be due to mental health issues, lack of support etc, so you can still argue that 'it's all the evil tory government's fault' if that's what you want to do but the argument that 'people are eating cold takeaways because that's the only food they can afford' simply does not stack up.

Maybe they're sick of value bread and cheese sandwiches and wanted a change?
Kind of tough isn’t it, if your that poor you eat what you can which means sandwiches for a week and not 1 happy meal.

Maybe they only had £3 left until payday the next day and thought they'd get McDonald's instead?
Again if your that poor you only have £3 left to pay day then you would spend it a bit wiser then sending a cold happy meal to school for lunch.

Maybe they don't live near a shop that sells bread for 55p - plenty of people don't, and have said as much on here
Free delivery slots online to get food delivered. No excuse and at worst spend a £1.

Maybe the parent works for McDonald's and used their free lunch allowance to treat their child for a change?
Of course you would pick a happy meal instead of a grown up meal that had more food in and it wouldn’t be much of a treat as the kid left it the night before so didn’t want it.
And a cold happy meal is not a treat.

It’s just pure laziness and shit parenting and your just making excuses for people that can’t be bothered to parent properly.

I am appalled at the blinkers live with and the rank judgement. Poverty; insecure, inadequate housing (e.g.b&b with no food storage); domestic violence; older siblings/other family scoffing the packed lunch makings; health issues (mental and physical). I'm as middle class as you come and have never eaten a cold mcds or send my DC to school with one.

Well due to actually living in an area where all of those things are actual issues - rather than just reading from a 'middle class position', I can honestly say the decent, caring, non-lazy parents living in piss poor poverty, would never ever send their kids to school with a box full of cold junk food.

Be as appalled as you like at lazy parenting but please do not insult poverty stricken parents by assuming that has anything to do with it

@EmmaOvary - yes my children have had McDonald’s. They eat it there and then. Leftovers go in the bin. I wouldn’t send it to school the next day Or the same day because it’s vile and cold and shit parenting.

No excuses for such stupidly and laziness. Poverty, my arse.

stupidity

People saying bread and spreads cost a fortune, if you have a McDonald's you likely have a Poundland who sell loafs and bread and various other fillings.

If you can afford a macdonalds stop kidding yourself you live in poverty it's a choice.

All this while everyone misses that the article actually said “items from a happy meal” - like a cheeseburger, which is about 90p.

And people suggesting free delivery from Iceland as the obvious solution to not being able to get to a supermarket to get value for your £3, when you have to spend £25 to get free delivery.

And on it goes. Poor people are obviously, always to blame. It can never be poverty.

Has anybody actually noticed yet that the McDonalds part of the story is hyperlinked to a story that isn't about poverty, but about unsuitable packed lunches? I quote;

A pupil at a school in Birmingham was sent to school with a Happy Meal box with a cold McDonald’s burger and fries. Their gran explained it had been bought the day before but the pupil hadn’t wanted it so it was a “shame for it go to waste"

Back to the original article;

But other children have been sent in with just half a sandwich - with teachers saying parents can't afford anything more.

It's the child with a half sandwich whose parents say they cannot afford more.

I love the Echo but this article is so badly written it makes no sense at all.

May I also say that the reason my dc didn't have school lunches was because they were nutritionally poor. No better than a happy meal at best!

If people make stupid choices while being poor then yes they are to blame.

StrictlyNameChangin - i think its deliberate. Its worked very well

@Bellaxx8 Cool. You do know it doesn't magically have more nutritional value when hot though? Just checking.

And just so I've got this right:

hot McDonald's = totally fine
Cold McDonald's = vile, shit parenting, hang the bastards.

As you were.

@Grasspigeons yes I think you're right. Outrage porn. Look at all these people frothing at the mouth enjoying being outraged that poor people are only poor because they buy happy meals 🙄

I never made a comment about the nutritional value of a McDonald’s but Yes sending a cold McDonald’s to school the next day is shit parenting.

No excuses.

Bellaxx8

If you have £3, it’s not a stupid decision not to spend £4. It’s a logical impossibility.

If you have £3 and don’t live near a supermarket that sells food at prices you can afford, it’s not a stupid decision not to spend £25 on an Iceland shop; it’s a logical impossibility.

If you don’t have enough money to last 5 days, it’s not a stupid decision not to buy food to last 5 days; it’s a logical impossibility.

And so on. People like you prefer to wear blinkers so you can keep feeling comfortable and moving in your straight line, like a horse pulling a hansom cab.

Re. People mentioning free delivery slots for supermarket deliveries; don’t they all have a minimum spend? I use Ocado and have to spend at least £40 per order. I assume other supermarkets are similar? So it doesn’t matter if delivery is free if you can’t afford the minimum spend.

DS used to come home from his old school with stories about other children bringing cold happy meals for lunch (he was 6, so not influenced by the Daily Mail). This was in a London borough where school meals are free for everyone throughout primary, so it was hard to understand why.

All this while everyone misses that the article actually said “items from a happy meal” - like a cheeseburger, which is about 90p.

And a supermarket sandwich is £1

WorraLiberty

But again, not everyone lives near a supermarket.

items from a Happy Meal could just be seen as the previous day’s meal not going to waste if there were leftovers. Perhaps a fishfinger or chicken nugget sandwich? I can’t imagine it tastes great but perhaps it means a child can have some extra food in their lunchbox than they otherwise would. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m not sure why a cold Maccy D’s is seen as the absolute lowest of the low.

As a pp pointed out, it’s no different nutritionally to the same food hot (which let’s face it, lots of parents feed their children.)

The alternative suggested on here (cheap processed cheese, ham, white bread, marg, jam) are no better.

So many sneery, judgmental comments about a happy meal. So much privilege that people can't see that if your kids have been surviving on cereal with water or toasted stale bread for a week, a happy meal is manna from heaven.

But there wasn't a McDonalds, or probably not a lot of other takeaways either was there?

No there wasn't a macdonalds either. There was a fish and chip shop. I was mainly commenting how expensive it would be to food shop locally (not necessarily comparing with macdonalds)

Incidentally the nearest Macdonald to me is on a retail park with an Iceland, poundland and b and m bargains as well as pets at home, not relevant but it's not that convenient to many residential areas.

So much privilege that people can't see that if your kids have been surviving on cereal with water or toasted stale bread for a week, a happy meal is manna from heaven.

But who in their right minds would choose to buy their kids a Happy Meal instead of milk or fresh bread???

Jesus wept