is breakfast cereal an adequate school lunch?

[Oneborneverydecade]

DD is in year 3. She's a fussy eater and it seemed like a good idea. School have said it's not adequate. I appreciate breakfast cereal is often quite high in sugar but the only sandwich fillings she will eat are sweet.
There's no SEN and yes I accept full responsibility for having a fussy child. It would be great if she wasn't, and actually she's getting better but mostly at teatime, but I needed a solution for right now

Mine has a chocolate spread sandwich nearly every day. Don't beat yourself up. As long as they're eating something

My DS was a very fussy eater at that age. Other people who don't have that issue just don't get it. It should not be made an issue as it will bite you in the bum later on. If she has a decent breakfast and a healthy filling evening meal just keep lunch simple- Never crisps but just an apple and "healthy" cereal bar /scone etc. My son used to have a sweet tooth and now as a young adult he really isn't bothered and makes healthy choices of his own.

@oneborneverydecade - my daughter just said something that is a stroke of genius. Your daughter only likes sweet sandwich fillings - please try a banana sandwich!

if you serve it with milk, yes!

School meals won't necessarily help. DS has been having them for 3 years and mostly seems to not eat them.

He has got a bit better at trying things over lockdown, which is something!

(And yes, he'd starve rather than eat something he doesn't like. I ignore the whole thing now, mainly give him things I know he likes and offer him other things to try sometimes but not too often or he knows what I'm trying to do.)

@Oneborneverydecade

She won't eat cheese unless melted e.g. cheese toasties. No raw vegetables. She will eat apples and satsumas. I don't think she'd eat soup, I'll check. Porridge yes but it would have to be properly hot. We could sent her with a cereal bar and an apple but surely that's less substantial? Thank you for all the replies so far

Would she eat a pureed sweetcorn and cream cheese sandwich?

Does she have any other options? Will she eat crackers/tortilla wraps/other things?
What’s the issue with a jam sandwich? Will she have a salad (as that’s meant to be cold!) or will she have a porridge bar? (A home made version of a cereal bar) if no to anything else, I would suggest you Speak to a nutritionist and get school on board to help her over her fears around food: gently does it!

Are there really schools out there at the moment serving hot school meals? There are none in our area, either primary or secondary. A few are piloting them for small groups from next week. Right now all children here have to take a packed lunch or, if free school meals, be given one by the school.

OP will she eat any component bits which are deconstructed? My DS is fussy (no gravy, no hot food gone cold e.g. roast chicken, no onion) and he'll now only have ham or sometimes cheese spread. Today he had buttered crackers and a small pot with some thin sliced ham in. He'll only have thin sliced ham now.

Do please check the school accept hot packed lunches before you get the flask though. DS' school started accepting them when he was in Year 5, by which age he was too self conscious to stand out eating a baked potato in a flask when everyone else had sandwiches. Especially with covid, staff can't help the kids with bottles or flasks so she'd have to be able to open the flask herself.

Does she eat muesli? In the days when I had to be at my desk before 7am I used chop some apple, cover with muesli, add milk, top with plain yoghurt and leave to soak over night. A bit like bircher muesli I guess. It was very filling. Could she take something like that in a sealed plastic tub?

One of my dc was very fussy so I understand. Will she eat things she has made like scones, or savoury flapjacks? My dc was more willing to try things they had helped to cook.

Are there really schools out there at the moment serving hot school meals?
Yes. (Secondary, London)

@SoCrimeaRiver - yes there absolutely are. My sons’ primary school is 100% on hot lunches/school provided sandwiches. To be allowed lunchboxes you have to have a note from a nutritionist and it absolutely cannot contain any sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Likewise my youngests’ nursery is only serving hot meals.

I have an 11 yr old DS. We put food in his lunchbox on Monday morning and remove virtually all of it on Friday afternoon. Nothing gets eaten as he’s not interested in eating at lunchtime when at school.

Thankfully, we aren’t in the UK and our school isn’t interested in making a fuss and neither are we. He eats plenty when at home and I’m sure he’ll change and eat more during the day at some point.

@ToffeePennie my DD's nursery is doing hot meals in small group seating and individual rooms for different age groups. I guess our schools are struggling with capacity to provide safe distancing in the school hall for the children and serving staff. 6 individual year group bubbles each needing enough time to eat a 2-course meal is a big ask if you can only do one bubble at a time.

My DS, as he went back for a couple of weeks in June, said they'd been banned from using the hall for PE, presumably because of the turnover of classes they'd be letting in if everyone used it for their class.

@SoCrimeaRiver my sons school has 2 bubbles per year group so that’s 12 bubbles. They’re not using the hall for PE, but instead they go outside (even if it’s raining) and they can use the demountable block (usually for out of hours clubs that aren’t on) if it snows. The school have set their dinner hall so they’re staggering lunchtimes. I honestly don’t know how they are doing it, but I know they’ve employed extra cleaners too.