OH thinks no kids are left hungry?!!

[ihate2020]

I've joined the cook4kids over the half term in our area.

Oh is pissed of about it and thinks the parents that collect the lunch boxes I've made up are just out to get a freebie and I should spend the money on our own kids

AIBU to say he is a delunsional idiot?

In a supposedly civilised society that shouldn’t happen, there should be no such thing as working poverty but it’s becoming more and more common
No it isn't, it really isn't. The media and governmental group will make you believe it is more but there is no genuine reliable studies that confirms it.

What we know is that there are no more underweight kids than there were 6 years ago.

so what is the answer then ? All children get free meals ? and then how in the holidays do you get it to the right children ?

[quote feministfemme]@MootingMirror But why does it matter who's fault it is? I agree that feckless parents who don't care about their children are awful, but kids deserve to eat even if it's their parents fault.[/quote]
The chain of events matters because if the parents are standing between the children and food, schools and organisations like the OP's need to change their behaviour so the children get the food direct.

Cook4kids seems like a great initiative, but...

I've just been on their website and checked out all the chefs recipes...they are all for a want of a better word, very middle class. It's all spinach, lentils, crostini, lovely, I'd love that food, but it won't appeal to many of the poorer demographic which are the targets here.

I'm sorry but I'm actually laughing at the idea of some of the parents getting out of bed, trailing over to the chef's place with three littlies on a public bus, all for some spinach pie.

I think food banks have suffered with similar problems, that things which people think they will like, not everyone will either have the resources to cook (so lentils) or be familiar with- and I think this applies here as well.

The same was true of initiatives like Sure Start, there is a massive stigma to using free/targeted services for poorer people, so they don't, and they get clogged up with middle-class parents who are enjoying the activities but aren't actually in dire need or in neglectful circumstances.

I could be wrong, and I'm sure that many people cooking will cook what kids are likely to eat and what they are familiar with (pasta bake?) but it's very earnest as its currently presented and it may not resonate with the target market.

ohhh you're in the wrong place here. The Hyacinth Buckets on here lost their shit at the idea of a black person marrying into the royals, you think they give a shit about the poor?

Well done for doing something

It also may be the food is delivered, which would be better as well, but I'm not sure. Lots of people will take food if it comes to them, but won't be spending time/energy traveling to get food in the school holidays, rightly or wrongly.

I know there are vunerable children and i know there are some people who do not manage their benefits/money properly .

It how you tackle that ?

I used to handle house possessions and you would be surprised how many people class Sky and expensive mobile phone contracts as " necessities"

And had no idea how to budget .

I would hope rather than argue mumsnet could come up with a viable way of helping those that need help ?

You do kids a disservice by thinking they all want to eat shite, Popping. I remember some of the awful food from the 80s and 90s I had, my favourite thing in the world was going to the slightly posh italian in my town.

You do kids a disservice by thinking they all want to eat shite, Popping they may well love chickpea and spinach bake if they actually ate it, but the point is it isn't school, it's not just there, they (the parents) have to go and get it and so presenting unfamiliar meals won't help with that.

it matters because if parents are trying their best to feed their children then if we give money or food to the parents then the children will be fed. If parents are NOT prioritising feeding their children and we give money/food to the parents then the children won't be fed. The food needs to go directly to the children.

This with bells on.

This whole, lets just give free school meals to everyone on FSM just isn't going to work frankly.

Let the teachers identify who actually needs support. I'm on FSM. I don't squander money and my children get fed and clothed as a priority over me.

I say, get the kids into school to be fed. Job done.

I might also add, it's the summer holidays I"m worried about - 6 weeks, 2 kids. I can manage over half term - make a big stew, lots of cut price veg, into the slow cooker. And I should manage - they're my kids. It's amazing beyond belief that they get free meals in term time.

@feministfemme

clears throat

WE SHOULDN'T LET CHILDREN GO HUNGRY EVEN IF IT IS THE FAULT OF THE PARENTS. THE CHILDREN HAVE NO CULPABILITY.
EITHER YOU FUNDAMENTALLY THINK ALL CHILDREN HAVE A RIGHT TO FOOD, OR YOU DON'T.

Phew. I feel better.

STOP ON!

WHY DO SOME STUPID PEOPLE NOT GET THAT?

Also clears throat

dontdisturb Do take a look at Childhood poverty figures on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation site.

SPOT ON not stop on!

If it’s costing your family money that could be spent on your own children, then maybe your husband has a point.

As for children going hungry, I don’t care what anyone thinks, one hungry child for whatever reason is one too many.

@NailsNeedDoing

If it’s costing your family money that could be spent on your own children, then maybe your husband has a point.

So nobody with children should part with a penny for kids who are considerably worse off than their own? That great behaviour to model for them.

@NailsNeedDoing Everyone's got a "better thing" to spend money on. Literally everyone, whether it's kids, a mortgage, a hobby ...

The point is that you give a shit enough about kids to make a small sacrifice that could make a big difference.

@Unsure33

I know there are vunerable children and i know there are some people who do not manage their benefits/money properly .

It how you tackle that ?

I used to handle house possessions and you would be surprised how many people class Sky and expensive mobile phone contracts as " necessities"

And had no idea how to budget .

I would hope rather than argue mumsnet could come up with a viable way of helping those that need help ?

We used to have one. It was called Sure Start and it was a victim of Cameron’s austerity.

@NailsNeedDoing

If it’s costing your family money that could be spent on your own children, then maybe your husband has a point.

They'll live without a Roblox credit over half term or one less pumpkin to carve and be left to rot - they're already being fed.

@MootingMirror - So are you saying supermarkets are not enforcing the rule that vouchers can only be spent on food?

I will say it. I"m on FSM. I had vouchers over the summer. No one care what you put in your trolley. No one checks. It's just seen as money off your entire trolley.

It may be different in different counties, but up here it was just a voucher you downloaded yourself. Didn't say FSM or anything like that. It's just money off. So yes, technically you could fill your trolley with shite and alcohol and it would be fine.

[quote SilverRoe]**@MootingMirror* - No you never said it but you said this - “When lockdown kicked in, DFILs school gave out vouchers for school lunches - the vouchers weren't spent on food for the students”*

Which is why I asked for clarification. If the vouchers were not being spent on food then surely this means supermarkets were not enforcing rules that they can only be spent on food?[/quote]
As far as I'm aware there were no rules. If there were then it wasn't necessarily the supermarkets fault if they weren't enforced.
I received my fsm vouchers as gift vouchers. The cashier has no idea that it was from the fsm scheme rather than one I/someone bought so they would just put it through the till like normal.

twitter.com/devsharmamyp/status/1318875278479970304?s=21

I think he should watch this as it looks like the sort of thing that could open his eyes to the real world.

He doesn't grasp the troubles some kids go through, but whether his point about how the money should be spent depends on how tight your finances are. If you've worries about the roof over your head, he might have a point. If it isn't making a dent in your grocery budget, then it sounds like a clash of values rather than him actually thinking it should all be spent on your kids as obviously not everything is spent on them. I suspect it's more the latter, though there are a few generous souls out there that fit into the former.

Wouldn’t a child that regularly misses meals be obviously underweight?

When I was little, people saw 2 out of 3 siblings who were skinny and assumed it was genetic - not that my mother had a favourite. As I got older and the abuse & neglect got worse, I became very obviously underweight, but because of their opinions on (pre)teen girls, I got to deal with staff's assumptions that I had an eating disorder. Most thought anything I said about my home life was trying to make drama or act tough.

Obviously more difficult in primary, but from secondary (or even late primary/junior level), I think kids should have a way to self-refer to charities or other things like this for needs like food. Just because parents have means doesn't mean the kids have any access to it. There would be issues on how they access, though in my experience many neglected kids are pretty much left to fend for themselves as long as they're not "bothering" the parent. Something that relies on a parent picking up will help some and that's great, but I'd worry how many others are left out.

I listened to a new york economist last night on question time who said one good thing they did was to provide lunches to the kids there even during school closures.

No matter how much it gives some of you a feel good feeling to be ‘feeding hungry kids’ (by the way, they aren’t cows or sheep. Shall we try ‘making lunch for children’?) schools are not filled with starving children.

Anyone remember the kids company debacle?