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

[quote CherryCocktails]@Pumperthepumper who would be doing these free meals through schools?[/quote]
This is going to blow your mind.

It’s government funded.

[quote AibuTellMe]@ignoringequally they wouldn't be hungry if their parents dìdn't smoke/drink/spend shit loads on sky and an iphone. I could do all that and mine would be hungry but I wouldn't as I couldn't do that to my own kids so I budget.[/quote]
This bloody nonsense makes my blood boil. You can’t budget on no money. Nor can you buy luxuries. That myth was around when I was a kid 50 years ago, I thought we’d educated people out of it but sadly it would appear I’m mistaken.

[quote AibuTellMe]@ignoringequally they wouldn't be hungry if their parents dìdn't smoke/drink/spend shit loads on sky and an iphone. I could do all that and mine would be hungry but I wouldn't as I couldn't do that to my own kids so I budget.[/quote]
No they wouldn’t. Still not their fault though is it? They have no say in how their parents spend their money.
The kids are the ones being punished. Not the parents. If you’re happy to see a kid go hungry because their parents spent their cash on cigarettes and Sky TV then it says a lot about you.

[quote AibuTellMe]@ignoringequally they wouldn't be hungry if their parents dìdn't smoke/drink/spend shit loads on sky and an iphone. I could do all that and mine would be hungry but I wouldn't as I couldn't do that to my own kids so I budget.[/quote]
That’s why we should starve the kids. Because their parents are shit. That’ll show them.

@AibuTellMe

No idea how people who get free meals can smoke and have sky TV I work with the unemployed and have to work through their finances alot of people full on take the piss. I dont even have sky tv and my contract phones £15pm and mine never had free meals.

It's such a relief to see that someone with clearly such a human touch works with the unemployed. Fuck me. This could be lifted straight from the daily mail comments section. Grammar and all.

[quote CherryCocktails]@lyralalala what would help? I've worked all around my county in schools so don't define one area. The company I work for have stopped with the hampers we were doing during lockdown now but a colleague and I were thinking of setting up something of our own in the community to give hot meals as it's semi rural. [/quote]
You need to work out what works in a specific area. Everywhere is different. Surely if you've worked in different areas you realise they all have different needs?

Hot meals can work if they can be delivered. And delivered discreetly. People don't want their whole street knowing they are struggling.

Where my SIL lives the vouchers were redeemable through the Paypoint machines. They are available in lots of shops so even in a rural area (like where I live) they could be used to get shopping that didn't need an expensive bus ride

Where a friend of mine lives in Scotland there was one school in each area open serving meals each day. That is easily walkable to all of the children in her town. They also offered parents the chance to buy meals (and get an hours peace) so no-one really knew if the kids in each slot were free meals or had paid.

For Christmas I think vouchers that are available to use in much more places should be the option. People should be able to select from Paypoint or a specific supermarket.

But there is a disgusting sense of entitlement in society these days. When our parents were kids, there was no benefit system. No acceptance that you wouldn't work and would live off the state. They fought, they protested and campaigned to attain a welfare system. Something they were bloody proud of. And they should be because we absolutely do need to support the most vulnerable in society. However, society has tipped the other way. You only have to look on social media to see the total and blatant disrespect for community, society, law enforcement etc to see what those 'most vulnerable' pockets of society think of the country and its occupants.

We got it wrong g somewhere. I have stood in housing association houses, ankle deep in filth whilst children are neglected, animals shed their filth over the floor and lazy parents complain about what the world owes them. I have done it a lot. I can take you round locally and introduce you to the families. Now you might argue they're vulnerable, they're poorly, they have bad mental health. All of that is true. But throwing tiny amounts of money won't fix that. We are drowning in depression and anxiety. We are pouring billions of pills down people's necks but WE AREN'T FIXING IT.

I genuinely believe people need to feel part of the whole, worthwhile and included to encourage better mental health. We are designed to work. I don't mean pushing paper in an office but we are designed to work for what we need. It gives a sense of joy and satisfaction to achieve things. I don't have the answers, honestly I wish I did. What I do know is that we are divided more that ever. Give lunches or don't. It will make little difference in the long run. Invest in mental health services and pill free (or massively reduced) treatment for mental health. Community projects, youth services etc. Just because you receive benefits doesn't lower your worth. We need investment there and you will see an increase in output from all walks of life.

I should say - if there is to be one across the board solution - it should be the vouchers option

There's not time for tailored options everywhere

I work in school meals so there's no need to be rude. Most staff who work in school catering do so because it fits around their families during term term and school hours. To work during holidays could mean childcare costs for them or loss of benefit due to extra hours. It's not so simple to just feed through schools during holidays.

@CherryCocktails

I work in school meals so there's no need to be rude. Most staff who work in school catering do so because it fits around their families during term term and school hours. To work during holidays could mean childcare costs for them or loss of benefit due to extra hours. It's not so simple to just feed through schools during holidays.

You shouldn’t feed them, you know. It doesn’t get to the root issue, and they might not be grateful enough for it.

Your words.

Of course I don't want kids to starve! Also I actually love my job! I think I've just got a bit bitter seeing so many take full on advantage. One today told me they spent their last bit of money on fags as they knew I'd drop of a food parcel if they rang so knew they would be alright. I absolutely live to support the genuine families in need. Think I just had a bad day tbh!

@CherryCocktails

I work in school meals so there's no need to be rude. Most staff who work in school catering do so because it fits around their families during term term and school hours. To work during holidays could mean childcare costs for them or loss of benefit due to extra hours. It's not so simple to just feed through schools during holidays.

So we can't inflict costs on staff during the holidays, but we can expect poor people to magic up bus fares?

Righto.

Love that you try to ease the guilt of your ridiculous cruel comments you added a token disclaimer to the beginning of it!!
"Obviously it goes without saying I don't want any child to go hungry"
If you don't want any child to go hungry why make a thread that contradicts that??

I shouldn't do my job you mean? Feed children during their lunch hour at school?

@CherryPavlova

Don’t be silly. It’s never acceptable to abuse anyone. You suggested this was a norm rather than an exception.

I never suggested it was the norm than the exception. Thankfully it is a minority that are disgraces of humanity that would do that to their own children. I was responding to the op on why free school meals are necessary, even if they, and others, think that parents should be able to afford it. Some parents can afford it, and choose not to bother. I was giving an alternative reason for why fsm are necessary.

You suggesting I am a brexit voter and think like priti Patel is highly offensive to me. Your assumption was incredibly wrong, based on you not reading my post correctly. Even if I did suggest it was the norm than the exception, you still had a go at me for it. I'm not sure how you can have a go at someone for hating child abusers.

A parent who can't afford food is not a child abuser. They are struggling and need help. They often don't eat to allow their children to eat. They want to feed their child, but can't. That is highly different to deliberate starvation.

@CherryCocktails

I shouldn't do my job you mean? Feed children during their lunch hour at school?

Give over. You know exactly what she meant.

Your faux naivety isn't making you look any better.

@CherryCocktails

I shouldn't do my job you mean? Feed children during their lunch hour at school?

This is your theory, what do you think? Is it getting to that root issue? Are they grateful enough?

@AibuTellMe

No idea how people who get free meals can smoke and have sky TV I work with the unemployed and have to work through their finances alot of people full on take the piss. I dont even have sky tv and my contract phones £15pm and mine never had free meals.

I’m sure a few take the piss. People like multimillionaire politicians tweeting about the dine out subsidies, for example. Cummings deciding not to support the local economy where his second home is and evading council tax payments.

Being poor costs more. The richer people can maximise what they get for their money - free holidays on Russian owned super yachts for Johnson, clever accounting, bulk buying, second income from investments, cheaper utility tariffs and fuel co-operatives. So many ways to live more cheaply if you are rich.

At least when I was a kid people didn't really realise the extent of food poverty that was around.

It's heartbreaking that there are so many children today in the same postion despite the fact it's known, yet many people would rather sit in judgement on parents (the vast majority of whom are poor. Not abusive) than help children.

Everyone is contracted to work term time only and it's not just the cost of staffing (or their loss of earnings,) it's the costs of running a kitchen, opening the school, having the appropriate staffing levels there, company management in place at head office to cover admin/special diets/finance etc. Lots more than just a few catering staff making sandwiches...

@CherryCocktails

Everyone is contracted to work term time only and it's not just the cost of staffing (or their loss of earnings,) it's the costs of running a kitchen, opening the school, having the appropriate staffing levels there, company management in place at head office to cover admin/special diets/finance etc. Lots more than just a few catering staff making sandwiches...

So what do you suggest then?

Are you sticking with poor people magically affording buses to cafes or do you have a better solution?

Clearly not. But opening schools during school holidays isn't an option unfortunately.

Well given many schools did it it clearly is an option. There just has to be organisation. Pretty much all of the major councils in Scotland did it (for example). At least one even put on transport.

But if that's not an option what is then?

You've shot down everyone else's so what is yours?

@CherryCocktails

Clearly not. But opening schools during school holidays isn't an option unfortunately.

It absolutely is, most schools here in Scotland managed over lockdown. Should we just give them the bus fares, if they show themselves to be grateful enough for the vouchers?

Yes as a temporary measure for key workers children and children under the vulnerable and/or fsm category. It's not a permanent solution. Most of the staff in the schools I've been to are working term time around their own children and took the job on for that reason. Long term they couldn't do it unfortunately.