Kids snacks at school - white carbs twice before lunch

[prettyflowersinthesky]

DD is in y4.

I seriously don't want to be "that" parent so am wondering on the consensus on this.

DD's school has started giving the whole school's kids stodgy white carbs with jam twice before lunchtime (bagels).

Once when they arrive in the morning, and then again at break time.

DD is coming home with most of her lunch uneaten.

I fully appreciate about food poverty and that giving the kids food in this blanket way is a way of addressing that without singling out or embarrassing hungry children or families.

But I question

1. Whether or not the white carbs plus jam is appropriate nutrition
2. Whether or not most kids really need this
3. Whether or not two snacks between breakfast and lunch is excessive

There is no requirement for the kids to take and eat the snacks but to say to my child not to take them when the other kids are seems unfair.

I'm a bit torn, and certainly don't want to deny hungry kids access to food. But also wonder if the school needs to give this twice and also maybe the nutritional content of the snacks could be improved (e.g. fruit, whole grain snacks or something instead). I do appreciate that kids need more carbs than adults.

What does everyone think? Is this appropriate? I feel for the vast majority of kids without food poverty issues this is not necessary, so by serving all the kids a snack it is enforcing bad snacking habits, poor food choices as well as encouraging childhood obesity.

In many very healthy countries no snacking is allowed although I appreciate for very young children it may be necessary.

I am wondering whether or not to speak to the school about my concerns about them finding a better way to address the issues for the hungry kids.

But I do not want to speak up if I am seriously misinformed about all of this, hence interested in your responses. Thanks.

Yanbu = this is not appropriate / YABU - give the kids the snacks

Magic breakfast are closely aligned with Kellogg’s.

It’s easier for the government to throw some cheap shitty food at schools and triumphantly declare ‘there! We are doing enough!’

You can bet their own kids don’t get bagels and jam twice a day.

So children aren't in poverty, don't need help being fed and it's all just a money making conspiracy?

Genuinely is that the view here because in struggling to see how the methods being used to feed children equates with the need for those children to be fed

Some children live in poverty, and still get fed.

Some children live in poverty and chaos and don’t. Many do. It might not be a breakfast you or I would give to a child, but they will still eat.

A minority of children will be really hungry. This is a minority. It isn’t every child who is entitled to a FSM, or even every child entitled to a FSM who comes from a chaotic background.

It is absolutely right there should be food available in schools. But this food should be at least reasonably nutritious and not likely to contribute towards obesity or ill health.

I’m honestly not seeing that as a particularly contentious viewpoint.

But who is going to provide it and how @rainyoutside?

This is getting a tiny bit circular

I have answered that. Quite a few times. Fresh fruit at break, breakfast club for all children, children who teachers think would benefit from itgo free. There is a huge grey area between ‘let them starve’ and ‘provide fattening, sugary food with next to no nutrition in it twice daily’

But who will pay for the food?

Who will pay for breakfast club?

Who pays for it now!?

I assume it is a charity as OP doesn’t say she is paying for the bagels.

Magic breakfast do provide food for some schools. Not just areas with high levels of deprivation either.

However, schools do have budgets for this. This is exactly why it makes sense to have things like voluntary class contributions and so on.

It is a waste of money to provide food to well nourished, well fed children.

We use a chunk of our PP money; help from a local charity and food bank, and donations.

Parents paid for Breakfast club. Fsm were free. Kids had no idea who paid and who didn't.

I do appreciate breakfast clubs hard to atm

@Janevaljane the school would have had to find money for your breakfast club as money received from the Government for FSM would only cover lunch.

Not sure how many more times we need to say this. BREAKFAST CLUBS ARE NOT RUNNING DUE TO COVID. Food is provided at start of school. Teacher can't discriminate. Teacher is in sole charge and only bagels are practical. It's one bagel not two. It's a coating of jam not half a jar. It's a real-time fix, It's food not poison. Any well-fed child can say no.

I’m not understanding how fruit isn’t possible in Covid times. And I am a teacher.

Depends who pays for it. If a charity specifically provides bagels then they are not going to provide fruit.

I used to be a parent volunteer and would help to hand out the free fruit in KS1, there was always waste, many children refused their portion.

@rainyoutside

I’d love to know exactly how people know without a shadow of a doubt most kids won’t have had breakfast.

Even (shock) children who come from families who claim FSM do have for the most part at least one loving parent. It’s so patronising to assume because someone claims certain benefits they can’t or won’t give their children breakfast.

I wouldn't claim that "most" don't, because I've never counted, but 12 years of working with struggling and vulnerable families has taught me that it's a lot.

BREAKFAST CLUBS ARE NOT RUNNING DUE TO COVID

Maybe in your school/area!! They are around here

Ours are running but they have put the price up and it is very very limited numbers now.

I agree OP. I wouldn't eat two bagels with jam between breakfast and lunch every day myself, much less feed them to children.
I suggest that for now you stop giving your own child breakfast so she has the bagel as her breakfast when at school. Then send her with a piece of fruit or vegetable sticks to eat at second bagel time, as at eight or nine she's old enough for you to explain to her a bit about why they do this, and that it isn't good to eat ten jam bagels a week.
Then it's up to you whether to raise it, quietly, with the school. It depends how strongly you feel about your DD having this diet every school day.
I doubt bagels are all they can afford. Carrot and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes and grapes could easily feed a class of thirty as one snack for a few pounds.
It might even run it's course and the school change it themselves. I doubt you're alone amongst the other mums and dads in not wanting your DC eating all that by about noon.

@rainyoutside

I’m not understanding how fruit isn’t possible in Covid times. And I am a teacher.

A piece of fruit is fine as a low calorie 'filler' but it isn't going to provide calories to a child who isn't being fed well enough at home. Fruit is not sine magical substance that provides whatever the eater needs, it often will be more sugary than the jam bagel.

I eat low carb (menopausal 40- something mentioned up thread ) but my kids aren't particularly low carb because they don't need to be.

I'd love for the bagel to have philly, good way to increase fat and protein, but in the absence of money or for practical reasons a jam bagel would be better than nothing.

We used to provide a roast dinner to all children once a week. So much got thrown away it depressed me. Mind you, the school did give you about ten minutes to bolt it down: horrible!

Most children are fed at home.

A bagel will not put it right for those who are not. It will however harm those who are.

Our breakfast club is running under covid rules.
Fsm money can't be used for this but school can decide how their PP money is spent and it's impact.
Our bagels are provided free as there are several incentives running to provide free or subsidised food. The staff still need to be paid even if travels are free. We also have children with no recourse to public funding. The need to provide breakfast may be an attendance issue, a social issue, a concentration issue or other. It is specific to that school only and not all those going without breakfast are FSM children. There is no one rule fits all with children or schools.

What do people think breakfast club should provide in addition to the fruit snack?