Am I the only person who thinks parents should feed their kids outside of school?

[HalloweenDoughnutAnyone]

Obviously it goes without saying I don't want any child to go hungry. But. Am I the only person who thinks parents should feed their kids outside of school?

Just that really.. it's free school dinners. Not free lunch all year round.

I don't understand why people think the tax payer should be paying even more? Maybe, if you can't afford to cover the basics (food and clothing) you should think twice before having a child?

Or should we extend free school dinners, to cover all the food a child needs inside and outside of school ?

I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush but I know people who rely on free school dinners. But have sky tv, expensive mobile contracts etc

Also my children don't go to bed hungry but thats mostly because I do.

So sorry, Rubixed. This shouldn't happen in a so-called civilised society. for you and for anyone else who is struggling. I hope that things will get better for you soon.

I did think twice before having a child, and then another. We could afford it and were comfortable and happy in our knowledge that we could provide well for two children. Then it all went wrong. I fed my children but I didn't feed me. Two years ago and I am still suffering from the stress, the constant stress and worry and hunger. We were not even in as bad a situation as some people are. We live in the UK where we can enjoy Government subsidised meals out during a hot August, we should not be letting children go hungry when it absolutely is not any child's fault.

YANBU secondary school pupils waste a lot of FSM . I've seen them in the bin unopened and not collected during Ramadam. ££££ of waste food and money

@goose124

I can see both sides here. My dd has a couple of school friends whose parents are long term unemployed. They're both smokers and one of them was having an annual holiday to Benidorm. If you can afford to smoke, an average habit costs about £50-140 a week to maintain, you can afford basic food.

But the point is that they often don't. We literally cannot punish the children for their parents choices. I would rather children are fed than some small victory against irresponsible adults. The children are entirely innocent. Cannot fir the life of me see how people don't recognise that that is the main point here.

Lots of people shouldn’t reproduce just because they can. Lots of parents have enough money to buy food but don’t and I do judge them. I won’t be told that I can’t either.

I still think that children should all have free school meals provided because it’s not their fault and I can’t bear to think of any child being hungry.

Nice addition of anti-Muslim prejudice to the general cuntishness, lies and willful ignorance that happen on these threads @Feellikefrighteningyeah.

HalloweenDoughnutAnyone

I saw a post of my local Facebook page. Mother was sent a voucher for £15 for Asda, to cover lunches over half term. She SOLD the voucher. Opinions on that? In school you know the kids are getting the food. Vouchers sent home doesn't mean the kids are getting fed!

Did it ever occur to you that she might have sold it to get money to put the heat or electric on? I’ve sold a gift voucher in the past, in order to heat the house.

@EddieVeddersfoxymop

OP, I'm with you in a way. Totally agree with free school meals through the school term- breakfast included. But at some point, we have to stop expecting the state to pay for everything. My DH and I just had this very conversation today and find that the sense of entitlement seems to be growing. I'm by no way at all bashing those in genuine need, not at all and hope my answer doesn't come across that way. As a nation though, we can't afford to keep subbing and supporting everyone.

Tell that to the MPs receiving subsidised meals, who can also get 10k extra in expenses as they are working from home without no accountability for what they spend this 'little' extra bonus on.

But you know, those hardworking people on zero hour contracts who suddenly find themselves struggling to live, struggling to feed their children due to their place of work closing/cutting hours because of pandemic restrictions are being slated for not feeding their kids, for needing a little extra support during these difficult times. NO CHILD SHOULD GO HUNGRY!!!

I sold some of the vouchers I got over the summer, and the one I got this week for Asda. Because it is more use to me as cash or money in the bank that I can use for an online shop (they couldn't be used online). I looked at using the Asda one this week which can be used online. But it seems a false economy to pay for a delivery when I already have a delivery pass elsewhere/ spend £6 on bus fare to get to my nearest Asda.

@ExpectTheWorst

It is absolutely the right thing to do, HOWEVER - you need to make sure that the kids are actually GETTING THE FOOD. I know that many of the packed lunches prepared for kids during lockdown at one particular school were NOT PICKED UP - the food was THROWN AWAY. I don't know what the situation was around the country, and hope that that was really just one exception, but I suspect not. There are sadly quite a number of parents out there who really are shit and couldn't even be bothered to go and pick up (or arrange to have picked up) the food that was provided for their kids. (No they weren't shielding, because there was drop offs in place for those that were).

The problem goes way beyond just providing free lunches during this really difficult time. The UK should be ashamed that there is even such a thing a child poverty and children going hungry in this country, and it needs to be tackled; something has gone very, very wrong.

Again, not the fault of the children, so kind of irrelevant. And lots of people still feel a deep sense of shame about accepting 'handouts' (hate that phrase)

@EThreepwood

Feck me OP!!!

How about you keep your taxes to keep Dido Harding's fanny moist and I'll use mine to keep kids having cornflakes for dinner.

Then we can both be happy

😂

@Freddiefox

don't understand why people think the tax payer should be paying even more? Maybe, if you can't afford to cover the basics (food and clothing) you should think twice before having a child?

Illness, loss of job. You never know what’s round the corner.
should only the rich have children? How much money should they have in saving to qualify for having a child?

Children are that are fed and heathy achieve more at school and have better chances in life so it benefits all of us to have well educated children.

Totally this. Yes there undoubtedly will be people that have sky TV and unable to afford to feed their kids but that in itself is a massive stereotype and will not apply to the majority. It is wise to look to the future and take responsibility to see if you can afford children, but life isn't always like that, you see... because we don't have a crystal ball to tell what is going to happen next with job loss as other people are saying. You can have the most secure job and be on your arse tomorrow, because life is that unpredictable and I will actually argue with someone that says otherwise, hence I am arguing with you and my narcissistic sister in law and my brother who do this to make them feel better about their own faults There are some people that make poor choices and don't learn, but aren't we among many. I go the Buddhist centre to cope with these things. We are only human. However, I think the free meals should be means tested but I'm willing to be proven wrong on that one. The general school of thought with my Tory family is that if you take away benefits then people will soon learn to cope on their own and take responsibility for themselves. This will apply to a small amount of people but the vast majority need the help IMO and we have to be realistic about humanity.

The goady is strong with this one

They are children. Just children. Hungry children with not enough food to eat. Forget about whose fault it is for now.

Has anyone been following the sums of money the govt is handing out to companies with no experience of making ventilators, sewing PPE, importing masks, setting up a functioning test/track system etc?

That’s our money and it’s being stolen. I’m not going to bust a blood vessel over which people smoke or have to sell bloody food vouchers.

We are all angry, I just wish we could collectively focus our anger on the billions the government has literally funnelled away from us, their citizens - some of us need more help than others and it certainly isn’t the owners of those companies. Please let’s direct our stickybeaking towards those awful thieves?

@CandyLeBonBon

The goady is strong with this one

yep

YANBU.

My husband and I have both waited to have a baby so we could save and be financially secure with savings etc. I think a lot of it is people not making the right choices. We've been together 7 years, we have never been on holiday because we chose to save for a mortgage as we knew it's a lot cheaper than renting.

In terms of food, we have packed lunches for dinner and we have cooked meals for tea. Our food bill is maximum £60 a week but we could make that cheaper if we needed to do so!

This was from an actual post from here yesterday. So for anyone pooh poohing @HalloweenDoughnutAnyone saying that people do sell these vouchers on Facebook, someone has even admitted to it on here. I’m not naming the poster but an advance search on “Asda Voucher” from yesterday’s date will throw it up.

“
I've just today been sent a £15 voucher for Asda to cover DS1s FSMs for half term week. I didnt realise this was being continued so it was a nice surprise. BUT I don't usually shop with Asda, my nearest one is 2 bus rides away. I could use it online, but then I'll have to pay the delivery charge. I actually have a Morrisons delivery pass that I paid for in richer times. Luckily I have family who can use it so I've 'sold' it to them. Probably against the rules but I can't use it otherwise!”

There is no excuse for allowing children to go hungry. And if we allow this to happen, the long term cost to the country will be high.

Look at what happened to people during the depression. My own grandfather was so malnourished as a child, his growth was stunted and his health was ruined for life. He died when my mother was little. I'm sure lots of other people on here will have similar stories, and likely much more recent ones.

But, yes. Let's blame feckless parents and not the corrupt elites...

Problem is. It's not the kids fault. So whatever the parent is doing to not be able to afford to feed their kids, the kids still need feeding.

@Snackasaurus

YANBU.

My husband and I have both waited to have a baby so we could save and be financially secure with savings etc. I think a lot of it is people not making the right choices. We've been together 7 years, we have never been on holiday because we chose to save for a mortgage as we knew it's a lot cheaper than renting.

In terms of food, we have packed lunches for dinner and we have cooked meals for tea. Our food bill is maximum £60 a week but we could make that cheaper if we needed to do so!

Good for you, but are you aware there’s a little unexpected thing happening right now, that no one was expecting? Here’s a hint, it’s not an economic downturn that means you’ve lost your job, but can look for another. It’s a wee bit more difficult than usual to get a job, since half of the world has closed down. 🙄

@Powerchewings is OK. You can name me. I've posted the same on this thread anyway. A £15 voucher for a shop I cant actually use isn't a lot of use! My step-dad otoh loves Asda and can get there so is happy to give me the cash instead. My children are being fed. The voucher isn't wasted. Win win.

@HalloweenDoughnutAnyone

I saw a post of my local Facebook page. Mother was sent a voucher for £15 for Asda, to cover lunches over half term. She SOLD the voucher. Opinions on that? In school you know the kids are getting the food. Vouchers sent home doesn't mean the kids are getting fed!

I did exactly the same as your definitely not invented fb person. Because I got sent Asda vouchers that could only be used in store via an app on my phone. My phone that's too old to support the app - and my nearest Asda is 4 miles away, not accessible by public transport, and I don't have access to a car. £12 in cash/bank a/c meant I could actually use the money to buy food, pay bills, etc.

Opinions on that?