No more free school meal vouchers?

[dottydotterson]

What do you think of the governments decision to end the free school meal vouchers for the summer? Do you agree or not?

WitchesGlove you sound like an ignorant twat but I am sure you don’t mean to. Malnourished doesn’t always mean skin and bones. MH service cuts for years meant that people who were struggling could not get help! I know, I was one of them. I dragged myself out of it but not everyone can or have the support to do it. I fed my children far too much shit, slept a lot, begged for help (didn’t get it) missing a meal would have made it all worse - I was neck deep in debt only paying the people who banged on my door and sometimes/often I would buy them more shit just to see a smile on their face because I was failing so much! Yes it was all wrong, but in the middle of a breakdown and nightmare situation you don’t always think clearly. There will be kids tonight living 5 people to one room scared to go into the kitchen because they are in has lots of different people there with MH issues of their own. I know. I was one of them. I am one of the lucky ones. I got out. But I also will never forget the feeling of hopelessness whilst there. The way people treated me. Yet now people speak highly of me. Don’t begrudge thousands of children, don’t keep pushing women (and it is mainly women) down because there isn’t the support for them in ‘normal times’ that people think there is let alone in current times. Don’t punish children for their parents mistakes.

@NailsNeedDoing what Lyralalala was pointing out is that normally it is playschemes that provide meals for those on FSM during the school holidays and as those playschemes cannot operate there is no alternative.
By the time the schools set up for the 6 weeks and pay the relevant staff it will be no cheaper than the vouchers, plus not all schools can or will comply and then it becomes a postcode lottery.

To WitchesGlove

Your comment:

I find all this talk of ‘starving’ children so ironic, given that a lot of children in this country are actually overweight/obese.
If all they do all day is actually stare at screens, will it really harm them to miss the odd meal?
When was the last time you saw a malnourished child??

I have registered because this is an area of particular interest.
I have not time to read each comment but if your contribution is representative of the general level of debate I can see I am wasting my time here. Your ignorance is shocking.

@Byebyebaby don't worry, not all of us are that ignorant! Some of us actually understand what malnourishment is so please join in the debate and help us to educate those who don't!

@WitchesGlove you don't need to be starving to be malnourished ffs. If you have school age children then you'll have seen many.

It must be nice to be able to judge people from your ivory tower.

DFOD

But being fed junk food doesn’t actually mean they are being starved and going hungry- which the posters on here seem to be saying.

How about some multivitamin supplements for kids that live off crap food?

Remember that some kids won’t eat any fruit or veg anyway! What about fussy eaters or autistic children that will only eat crap?

They aren’t necessarily malnourished if they take some supplements.

NailsNeedDoing
I’d rather see a scheme where schools still have free meals for children that are entitled to them. They could provide the school meal that they usually do for each child every day in the holidays for much less cost than the current voucher scheme.

The vouchers are £3 per day. We currently pay our catering company £2.40 per meal for a fixed contract of 190 days per year. Then there are the running costs of the kitchen on top (gas, electric, water) plus we’d have to pay the midday supervisors, premises staff and some admin staff at least. That’s IF they were willing - most of us have school jobs because we want the holidays off so we can look after our own children.

I agree that a school meal is at least definitely nutritious but I don’t think it would be financially viable.

And what about the ones that actually are being starved @WitchesGlove? What’s your solution to that if you disagree with providing food vouchers for them?

Smallsteps- I’m not actually against the vouchers, I’m just saying that there aren’t many skin and bones kids around, so maybe multivitamins would be better.

Oh, and advising people like the parents of the footballer not to have 4 kids! Seriously, most people who are quite well off can only afford two. Better contraception should be pushed.

@WitchesGlove

Smallsteps- I’m not actually against the vouchers, I’m just saying that there aren’t many skin and bones kids around, so maybe multivitamins would be better.

Oh, and advising people like the parents of the footballer not to have 4 kids! Seriously, most people who are quite well off can only afford two. Better contraception should be pushed.

Do you have a quota of goady comments you are aiming for?

Why not just dump them out all at once and get it over with

So kiddies, this summer- instead of food every day, your government will deliver to you, some vitamin C chewies, condoms, and a warning to your parents to reverse time and decide which one of you they are going to put back into mummy’s uterus. Are you excited?

WhatWouldYouDo-

Since when are school dinners ‘nutritional’ anyway?

Is there seriously much fresh fruit and veg in them???

When I was at school (left 15 years ago), it was some processed meat, chips, a spoonful of peas and a sponge pudding for dessert!

Surely that also counts as ‘crap food’ anyway?

And everyone I knew grew up on them and no-one is ‘stunted’ and many have very good jobs actually.

@WitchesGlove

WhatWouldYouDo-

Since when are school dinners ‘nutritional’ anyway?

Is there seriously much fresh fruit and veg in them???

When I was at school (left 15 years ago), it was some processed meat, chips, a spoonful of peas and a sponge pudding for dessert!

Surely that also counts as ‘crap food’ anyway?

And everyone I knew grew up on them and no-one is ‘stunted’ and many have very good jobs actually.

School dinners are nutritious yes

Things change in 15 years

Lyra-

I’m sure they have changed, but how much actual fruit and veg is in them?

My point still stands that generations of people got the ‘crap’ ones and have nothing wrong with us!!

My point still stands that generations of people got the ‘crap’ ones and have nothing wrong with us!!

Well I would say nothing wrong. You turned out think it’s fine for kids to starve over the summer.

wouldnt

thinking

@WitchesGlove

Lyra-

I’m sure they have changed, but how much actual fruit and veg is in them?

My point still stands that generations of people got the ‘crap’ ones and have nothing wrong with us!!

At the schools I’ve worked in they are all made with fresh ingredients, there’s a choice of two veggies with their dinner plus they have free access to the salad bar.

They also have access to fruit.

Of course people on the old style school dinners haven’t grown up “fine”. It’s one of the reasons we are a fat nation. It helped form the shite eating habits of millions.

Lyralalala-

People at school in the 60’s and 70’s were given crap school dinners as well- but they didn’t grow into fat adults in the 80’s??

So many overweight/ obese people is a more recent thing.

Smallsteps-

I absolutely don’t think it’s fine at all.

What I’m saying is that being fed a crap diet isn’t the same as being starved! It’s insulting to say that to anyone in a third world country.

If it were the case that being ‘poor’ and ‘malnourished’ meant you had to be fat, then there would be loads of fat people in Africa and when there are hardly any!

@WitchesGlove

Lyralalala-

People at school in the 60’s and 70’s were given crap school dinners as well- but they didn’t grow into fat adults in the 80’s??

So many overweight/ obese people is a more recent thing.

People in the 60's and 70's weren't given crap junk food.

They were given tasteless school dinners perhaps, but it wasn't processed crap

WitchesGlove
Yeah just look at them, bingeing on turkey twizlers and pot noodles, this is why we need to reduce the foreign aid budget.
Thanks you've really turned me around on the idea of caring for people less fortunate than myself. Let 'em starve, lazy kids. I'd say get them back up the chimneys but they probably wouldn't fit!

@OneUsernameOnly I hope you didn't think I meant you shouldn't do it just that I think the vouchers should be purely for food to make sure tjhe kids are getting food
I realise fsm are more than just meals as our school used to ask you to register as well
Again what you are doing is great just concerned of the loophole for those children who's parents may use it for their gain rather than child's but o appreciate this will be a very small minority
A big help to some over the holidays and may just help buy slightly nicer healthy food as it's always the crap that's on offer

Whenever I read these kinds of threads I am astounded at how little empathy some people have for those less fortunate than them.
Is it really impossible to imagine the difficulties you might face as a child growing up in a home where you might have abusive, neglectful, alcoholic, drug-addicted parents? Is it impossible to imagine that one day through bad luck you might lose your job, your home, end up with a disability or a child with a disability, have an abusive partner that you might have to flee.
For many of us we don’t have to imagine it because we lived it. And yet people on here begrudge a child £15 a week. £2.14 a day wouldn’t even get you a fancy Starbucks.
Instead they blame lazy parents who spend their money on new phones, TVs and holidays!

Rashboy-

You make a good point- none of us know what will happen in the future- which is why you don’t go and have 4 kids!!!

More people should go on the implant to prevent it. Less unplanned pregnancy = less hungry, malnourished children.

Thanks Witches Glove for demonstrating exactly what I mean by lack of empathy.