What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

I've just had this from my child's school

Hi @sandysMam already spoke to them and they send nothing available at the moment but will see what they can do as we are not entitled problem is if they switch my benefits to universal credit we would get them but then we would be worse by getting monthly money had the huge wait to get it, I also know you can get a loan for first payment but then would have less money over 12 months is not feasible either so until I can go back to work when it reopens I am knackered really

I can't believe the attitudes on this thread, what can't you understand? For £15 in Tesco I can buy my childs meals for a week proper food like he would have in school. I can adapt that to my childs diet and the cooking equipment I have available. Make sure the food cooks in as small amount of time as possible to minimize food costs.
This is the ideal help, instead of an assortment of bits which of course are helpful but not at all ideal and it's not a one solution fits all thing. Some people understand this and fight to do the most they can not the least unlike on here where we should be grateful that the government doesn't spit on us once a week.

People can't help ending up unemployed in the middle of a pandemic and recession nor can they help becoming disabled after they've had children or any other life changing situations that befall them. The sheer spite on here towards people trying to do their fucking best for their children is awful.

Not everyone on benefits is on drugs or alcoholic and as for those who are their children don't deserve any less than the most saintly of benefits claimants. We're a first world country we should be doing the most to help our vulnerable not the least we can get away with.

Skills? confusedshock Can't bake a potato, heat beans or make a sandwich?

Bizarre! What a peculiarly entitled mindset you seem to be suffering from!

I presume you have the privilege of not having grown up in an abusive home, or without dyslexia or some other learning ability preventing you from reading books to learn about cooking? Some people don't have every day skills, they're not taught in schools and some of our parents couldn't have given less of a shit about teaching us.

@KilljoysDutch

Skills? confusedshock Can't bake a potato, heat beans or make a sandwich?

Bizarre! What a peculiarly entitled mindset you seem to be suffering from!

I presume you have the privilege of not having grown up in an abusive home, or without dyslexia or some other learning ability preventing you from reading books to learn about cooking? Some people don't have every day skills, they're not taught in schools and some of our parents couldn't have given less of a shit about teaching us.

If that’s the case, I’m not sure how a voucher would be any better if you’re saying you can’t cook any food?

@KilljoysDutch

I can't believe the attitudes on this thread, what can't you understand? For £15 in Tesco I can buy my childs meals for a week proper food like he would have in school. I can adapt that to my childs diet and the cooking equipment I have available. Make sure the food cooks in as small amount of time as possible to minimize food costs. This is the ideal help, instead of an assortment of bits which of course are helpful but not at all ideal and it's not a one solution fits all thing. Some people understand this and fight to do the most they can not the least unlike on here where we should be grateful that the government doesn't spit on us once a week.

People can't help ending up unemployed in the middle of a pandemic and recession nor can they help becoming disabled after they've had children or any other life changing situations that befall them. The sheer spite on here towards people trying to do their fucking best for their children is awful.

Not everyone on benefits is on drugs or alcoholic and as for those who are their children don't deserve any less than the most saintly of benefits claimants. We're a first world country we should be doing the most to help our vulnerable not the least we can get away with.

While in your situation a Tesco voucher would work better, there were plenty of other threads where people without cars were given vouchers for shops 2 bus rides away, which would defeat the object of the voucher.

I suppose people have listened to that and acted on it?

Schools can’t win it seems.

Some of the replies on this thread are absolutely shameful. Not you OP. I agree with you. I'm not surprised though as MN has far more than its fair share of smug, judgmental types. The glee some are posting with is almost palpable. I'm reminded of this:-

These are the government guidelines for food parcel content

Food parcels should:
• contain food items rather than pre-prepared meals due to food safety considerations
• minimise the fridge and freezer space that schools and families will need to store foods
• contain items which parents can use to prepare healthy lunches for their child/children across the week
• not rely on parents having additional ingredients at home to prepare meals
• not contain items restricted under the school food standardss_
• cater for pupils who require special diets, for example, allergiess_, vegetarians or religious diets - schools should ensure there are systems in place to avoid cross-contamination
• contain appropriate packaging sizes for household use, rather than wholesale sizes

Their voucher scheme is starting up again soon.

Maybe they should just offer a choice then people could choose what suits them and their particular circumstances

The company that provide the hampers at the school I work at provide a menu. So it suggests day one x and so on. Leaving the longer life products for later in the week.
As someone else has said £15 a week per child is actually more than a school would receive for a child on fsm. And yes the schools are having to pay this time.
The other option where I work is for each child to collect a packed lunch which has a very basic sandwich, a lot with cucumber or carrots etc an apple or a satsuma or a traybake type biscuit. So much less than the hamper.

It’s coatings. It’s much cheaper to cook chilli for 50 children or even 100 children than it is to provide the ingredients for one.

So if you have 5 Dc in receipt of FSM you’ll receive 30 eggs a week??

@Woodenhearted

Maybe they should just offer a choice then people could choose what suits them and their particular circumstances

In an ideal world yes. But it would be a nightmare to administer I would imagine!

Surely just a call from the school office ‘would you like a hamper to pick up/be delivered or a voucher ?’

Some parents may be shielding and like a hamper delivered
Another may prefer to add to their online shop if a child has specific dietary needs and they don’t drive so can’t collect.
Any number of reasons really but it surely wouldn’t be that hard to sort out and choice is important especially at times like this

Then the buying and making up of things for hampers. Arranging delivery for those who can't collect. Finding out which supermarket and buying vouchers for those who want them.
As well as all the other things schools have to do.

The voucher is universal and the recipient chooses what shop when you get the email so that isn’t hard
And they’re making up hampers anyway and giving a choice will not make that more it’ll be the same number or less if any opt out of hampers
Choice is key here. Choice not more, it doesn’t hurt but one size fits all doesn’t alway work and expecting people to be grateful for something that doesn’t meet their needs eg allergies or for an example a child with ARFID is not fair especially during a pandemic

That would easily make more than 5 lunches and exactly the kind of things I'd make for my dc lunches. I don't see what the issue is 🤷‍♀️. Take it if you need it, leave it if you don't.

I don't know what cash value the bag is supposed to reflect. It doesn't look like £15 worth to me, but it does look like a reasonable amount of food for one child.

To be honest, it would be good to see a loaf of bread and a tub of spread in there too, for toast and sandwiches. Being at home all day, every day, means that kids will want to eat more than during the set schedule of school.

I would also hope people have the option of having it delivered to them - not everyone lives nearby to their school and the thought of spending money on public transport to pick up a welfare pack seems wrong.

I was involved in doing free meal at the winter half term. The majority of people vastly preferred to receive a food parcel than go somewhere for a hot meal. Even without the threat of covid, which is far more now, people felt that they would be seen turning up to get the meal and would be judged.

The vouchers aren't always universal. I had Tesco vouchers from DS1s school and Asda vouchers from DS2s. Neither of which are where I shop, or particularly easy to get to without a car.
We also had the Edenred ones which meant I could choose a shop, but they couldn't then be redeemed online, so still not the most useful for me.

Having said that I prefer the vouchers over the hampers. I can get more for the money.

It’s a shame some can’t be used online ours could there must be different providers. Would be better if there was to choice to use them all online or in an actual shop

Here in NI they just pay the money direct to your account. Far more sensible IMO.

Our school did an additional optional food hamper scheme at Xmas as well as the voucher but this time they are doing vouchers

Oh come on. If you can't bake a potato then what did you think you were going to do when you had children.

People need to take responsibility for the children they have. Before you have children you should be able to afford them.

@YouBoughtMeAWall

Here in NI they just pay the money direct to your account. Far more sensible IMO.

Yes that is a much better idea

I think a food parcel is a much better idea than what my child’s rural village school are doing and asking parents to collect a meal daily, which almost certainly involves driving due to the location and therefore probably costs as much fuel as it would to simply provide the lunch yourself.