No food left for older children at school

[Kacee29]

I’ll probably get told I’m moaning about nothing here but here goes.

I have a Dd in infants and a dc in year 5. Dd gets free lunches as they all do. We pay for DS’s lunches as over the years he’s really enjoyed having school dinners. He’s willing to try a lot more food there (he has asd and issues with food). Plus he doesn’t really like packed lunch foods. So yeah he’s always had the cooked lunches.

Now he’s in year 5 he’s the second to last in to get have lunch and on a few occasions he’s not had much for lunch as there’s nothing left - he’s ended up with something he doesn’t like or something like a sandwich which I could make for himself anyway (nor do any of the other children as it’s the last things left 😫) I know I’m sounding precious but he will simply not eat anything that’s given to him.

Aibu to think they should make enough so the children in the older years can eat once they get there? We pay for his lunches but some children get their lunches free if on a low income etc. It’s even worse for those children receiving free lunches as it might be the only substantial meal they get in the day. I know that DS can come home and eat, others might not.

But then I think we pay nearly £45 a month for him to eat. So it’s not really good enough not having enough food?!

They know how many children in the juniors are going to be having cooked food in the morning.

So yeah aibu to be annoyed. Thinking of sending him packed lunch but he generally loves the cooked lunches. This has been an ongoing problem since September. I think the issue lies with that before covid not all infants would take up the free lunches - some took packed lunches. Now the school won’t allow those who get free lunches to take a pack lunch because of covid plus he’s one of the last in!

It makes me so sad when he comes home and says he hasn’t really eaten much so packed lunch it is! 😭

YANBU. The school need to stop making excuses and get their act together.

Yes this might happen on ocassion due to demand changes. It should not be allowed to become routine.

We have had a similar experience my dd is In y6 so last to be served and she’s either been left with a sandwich she doesn’t like or random things like roast potatoes meatballs and salad!
She had enough and after the October half term went on packed lunches she’s much happier and not coming home starving!

Def YNBU. Email the Head now and say exactly what you've said here. Ask for them to explain what they are going to do about it.

Catering in covid times is a nightmare for school- both in terms of food prep and socially distanced serving and eating. They can't have all the children eating at the same time as before.
Many are still not offering any hot meals

Don't be that parent.

They need to buy enough food.
It's better for them to not have hungry kids.
If a one off fair enough but not repeatedly.

Raise it with the head and if no joy take it to the governors.

The year 6s in my school complained through the school council and now all of ks2 take it in turns to go first and last. If they are running out of food for year 5s that means the older kids are having a worse time and it isn't fair. I would complain .

If he likes hot food how about using a thermos filled with pasta or soup etc
Just an idea if it’s sandwiches he isn’t keen on

But absolutely agree they should be catering enough food and it’s not on children are going without when you pay for lunches

Talk to the school. It's unfair. while I understand they dont want food wastage. Imagine what the last class that go in get. All the leftovers noone else wants. My aunt is a dinner lady and dishes up the food at a primary school, she told me there is never enough so they have to give kids a slightly smaller portion each so it stretches between everyone. I assume no parents at that school know or have complained.

@waltzingparrot

Def YNBU. Email the Head now and say exactly what you've said here. Ask for them to explain what they are going to do about it.

Yes, ask them how they intend to single handedly end the pandemic

YANBU.
The same thing has been happening at my daughters school. She's yr 6 and complains every day about having less food. By the time she gets home she is starving, I've started picking her up with a snack, sending her in with two snacks instead of one. I'm thinking of just giving her a packed lunch, but al" her friends eat school lunch

So what is happening, sorry? He’s getting to first in the line and there is no hot food left, or is it that there isn’t an array of choices and he picks a sandwich?

Yanbu but I’m not sure how they can guarantee everyone gets something they like.

The snarky posters making this a pandemic issue are wrong here. It is a catering planning issue. I agree that there should be some rotation on who eats last, however that still shouldn't mean some kids don't get a proper meal. There should be enough food for all children. I would not accept paying money for my DC to not get a proper meal.

The school cannot make multiple amounts on the budget they are given, they make X portions for X pupils and the later ones do get less choice I'm afraid. Other than children with allergies or dietary needs such as being vegetarian etc then they have to have what is left.

The prisons get more per head for one meal than schools do.

Also to add where we are in Scotland school dinners are chosen at the beginning of the week and the DC get a coloured token for their chosen meal each day. This ensures they get the meal they want. Ours is done through parentpay online, but sued to be done via envelopes with the food choices on where you ticked the boxes.

It's incredibly hard to estimate how much food you need when there are multiple options and you don't know exactly how many children will choose the meatballs, how many will choose a sandwich, and so on. It's horrible not to have enough food for the last children but it's also horrible to throw away excess. And there IS food left, just not exactly what he would have picked.

I think you should complain to the school, their system of meal provision is not working. At our school hot meals options for the week ahead are given to the parents towards the end of the week who will opt in/out for the hot meal so that we can prep for the correct amount of children. It really isn't on that some children may not be catered for, and like you said it will likely impact those who need a good school meal the most. Contact them re your concerns.

That does sound wrong, I would contact the school. At our school each child is asked if they're having dinner and are given a wristband for their choice so they know exactly what to cook.

My daughter has school dinners couple of times a week. She dosnt really like the puddings so usually has fruit salad and yogurt. We did have a spell when they often didnt have fruit salad left and they didnt even have a piece of fruit available instead. I emailed the office. Since then it hasn't been a problem and they have a fruit bowl available all the time now too.

They should be making their choice of meal in the morning and the numbers being sent to the kitchen. This has happened in every school I have worked in. Not good enough - please let the Head know. In my experience these things can get missed by HTs if no one points them out. The HT will want to know and will deal with it!

Why should she not be that parent? She is paying for a service and for her child to have a hot meal, so one should be provided.
If the school are having issues providing hot meals for all children then they should inform all parents so they can provide them with food from home.

OP I'm having the same issue with my dcs school, currently their year group is only having hot meals every other day and like you mine love school dinners, but on the days they don't have a hot meal I send them in with a packed lunch, however after the last week they will be having packed lunch everyday as ds1 came out saying they ran out of food and all he had for lunch was rice & potatoes, which isn't really a sustainable meal for any child.

Today I've also recieved an email saying that no hot meals are going to be provided for both dcs classes today as they haven't cooked enough.

Yes this isnt on. I'd write to the school.

It's not like a restaurant with specials that sell out faster than expected. Most of them have a 2 or 3 week rolling menu and if an item has been finished before the end of lunch the preceding 2 or 3 times it's been on then its pretty obvious they need to order more

YANBU This used to happen regularly to DS at primary. Once he had lettuce for lunch as that was the only vegetarian food left. (He is not a fussy eater.) The school were apologetic and eventually changed meal providers; it isn't fair if some years routinely have very little food.

@WillSantaBeComingToTown

Catering in covid times is a nightmare for school- both in terms of food prep and socially distanced serving and eating. They can't have all the children eating at the same time as before. Many are still not offering any hot meals

Don't be that parent.

?? I would understand your point if OP was complaining that their super-picky child didn't like what was on offer. COVID or not, schools can't offer no food to kids turning expecting school lunches and think that's ok though.

The prisons get more per head for one meal than schools do

That would be because they're feeding adults, not small children.

OP, YANBU. The amount a school lunch costs is quite a lot of money to feed a small child. The food cost is a tiny amount of that money. They should be able to provide a hot lunch for everyone who wants one with reasonable choice even at the end. A sandwich is not acceptable for a child who wants a cooked meal.