What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

No, my child would be having 5 filling hot dinners at school and I would be giving him beans on toast or something for tea not having to provide another hot dinner putting extra strain on my already seriously strained finances.

Have you ever seen school dinners? They are not always filling and not always hot. Especially if your child has a choice on what they choose. They often go for the single slice of pizza and a cookie and then complain they are hungry in the afternoon.
Even the hot meal of the day is a rather small portion compared to what most people consider a single portion at home.

We are on limited resources at school currently and our food comes in from a local school as we don’t have a school kitchen. The main mea (no choice) was chilli. Chilli with rice and two broccoli florets and a small cookie for desert. This is for senior school aged children.
We only have children that are on fsm and so those in school won’t be getting anything in terms of hamper or voucher. The hamper actually contains lunches that more of our children would eat than the main meal provided.

@Crumbleandcake

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.

I can’t say that before I have my dc I sat down with dh and said ‘ hang on let’s just think-what if there’s a pandemic just as you self employed one day and we can’t manage financially.....?’ This is not a scenario that any families will have planned for so that kind of comment is just ridiculous

Our primary school are still cooking on site every day. All children entitled to a free school meal can collect a hot meal each day.

I can see its 5 lunches. They have tried to consider families might not have a fridge and its not dissimilar to the lunch it would replace. But i think its better to give people a voucher. My son is allergic to eggs for instance so the main protein isnt suitable.

@TrashPanda

Our primary school are still cooking on site every day. All children entitled to a free school meal can collect a hot meal each day.

Some parents don’t live nearby/drive/are shielding though i Imagine so this is why there needs to be choice

Can schools win? Their remit seems to have become social care now. What happens with fsm in private schools for scholarship kids?

Collecting a meal each day is not good for encouraging people to stay at home is it

Another way they could do it, although I have no idea how much paperwork etc would be needed, would be if everyone who is entitled to fsm registers at their nearest school and collects from there.
My DCs primary school is a 2 min walk away. One secondary is 30min walk (could be longer on a bad day). The other is 2 bus rides. So I could collect from the primary quite easily. And the reverse is that some primary parents live closer to the secondary school so could go there.

I imagine it's not any more feasible than phoning and asking what people want though. Money into the bank would be easiest! But open to more abuse i guess.

My childs school is offering the weekly parcels and we are grateful for anything we are given.
It may not be to everyone's liking but they are trying their best to give us something. Not all school dinners are to everyone's liking either.

The government have really put schools in a mess haven’t they? Schools are now having to scramble around trying to sort shitty little food packages together after the government closed them.

School meals at school are more exciting than that list. The vouchers give families the freedom to choose their own food. Food their children will actually like and they can plan their lunches accordingly. None of my children like beans so that rules that meal out straight up. Where is the loaf of bread just in case they want egg on toast or beans on toast for children who do like beans? Butter? I have 4 children so 2 jacket potatoes isn’t going to do is it?
What on earth do you put on those bread rolls for sandwiches? Where are the tins of tuna/packets of ham/chicken/cheese spread?
Where are the ingredients to make potato hash or a nice hearty soup?
What about families with more than 1 child?

And shock horror, where are the packets of crisp or packets of biscuits?

Honestly, if I received this, the ingredients would be used as and when. I wouldn’t be using them religiously for my children’s dinners, and I would most certainly be going out to the supermarket the day I receive it. The tinned sweet corn would sit in the cupboard for the next year until I do a cupboard throw out, and I would end up eating the beans myself gradually as none of my children like them. One of my children doesn’t like eggs. The milk would get used for breakfast as what do you use it for at lunchtime?

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.

Unfortunately not all parents are capable of budgeting and minimising food costs, adapting to their cooking equipment etc. Plenty will spend the £15 on overpriced ready meals, pizza and unhealthy snacks rather than carefully planning their child’s lunches for the week. Others won’t be able to get to Tesco to use the vouchers!

Also how is it not ‘proper food like he would have in school’? The box contains ingredients to make at least 5 healthy, nutritious lunches, including some hot lunches. IME school lunch is often a baked potato with beans, or a toasted cheese roll! Children don’t get a choice at school, the lunch is served and they either eat it or leave it.

I fail to see how someone’s cooking equipment would be unsuitable for cooking the provisions in the box, provided you have either a microwave, hob or oven.

@Downtothelastbottleofwine

Can schools win? Their remit seems to have become social care now. What happens with fsm in private schools for scholarship kids?

They give you a lunch allowance daily it’s all paid for so is travel and uniform my eldest had all fees paid and this was part of it it was 50% scholarship and 50% means tested bursary

@funinthesun19

I don’t think the OP food list was for 4 children, I would imagine the school would provide 4 potatoes for 4 kids.

I have 4 children so 2 jacket potatoes isn’t going to do is it?

No but you would get 8.

For this type of scenario they give vouchers

The milk would get used for breakfast as what do you use it for at lunchtime? It's five 200ml glasses of milk. Don't your children drink milk?

@funinthesun19 I assume children with more than 1 child get more than 1 parcel.
When DS2s school sent food parcels home last term as he was off due to his bubble bursting I just put the food in the cupboard. No idea who ate most of it, but I might not have been DS2. I know he didnt eat the fruit pots because he doesn't like them. DS1 snaffled those. The Dolmio sauce is in the cupboard to be used if we are desperate. The pasta, bread and potatoes just went into general 'use'. I can't imagine anyone actually saying "no you can't have that potato. Its the one Sally was sent from school"

@kowari

The milk would get used for breakfast as what do you use it for at lunchtime? It's five 200ml glasses of milk. Don't your children drink milk?

Someone will be along in a minute worrying that parents might use some of the milk in their coffee.....

@Bunnybigears

I have 4 children so 2 jacket potatoes isn’t going to do is it?

No but you would get 8.

And 24 eggs

Schools are trying their best and I can’t believe people are complaining about this.

Where is the loaf of bread just in case they want egg on toast or beans on toast for children who do like beans? Butter? I have 4 children so 2 jacket potatoes isn’t going to do is it? What on earth do you put on those bread rolls for sandwiches? Where are the tins of tuna/packets of ham/chicken/cheese spread? Where are the ingredients to make potato hash or a nice hearty soup?

I think you’re expected to buy the loaf of bread and pack of butter yourself, or get them from a food bank. Schools can’t cater for every child’s individual preferences! Same goes for the tuna/ham/chicken/cheese spread/hearty soup. The school can’t provide everything. They provide the basics, not a range of options.

Presumably you would get 4 boxes if you have 4 children, enabling you to make 4 lunches 5x week in place of FSM.

@Liftmusic I agree.

I can understand how the government have stopped the voucher £15 per child will soon add up if you have got more than 2+ children so whilst it’s better for the parent it’s costing a lot of money!!

Someone will be along in a minute worrying that parents might use some of the milk in their coffee.....
Well of course it doesn't matter if it's not just drank by the child, but seriously how is milk not for any time of day?

Where is the loaf of bread just in case they want egg on toast or beans on toast for children who do like beans?
Rolls are bread, the same as a loaf, you can use them for beans or egg on toast.

What on earth do you put on those bread rolls for sandwiches?Cheese and tomato. Egg. Beans. It's not hard.

There is enough for 5 lunches for one child and that is what is being provided , they cannot cater for every childs likes and dislikes and that will be same with school meals.
If your son doesn't like some things and you do then you save money buying them for yourself and use money for something he likes
Its food and thats what they promised to provide

Where is the loaf of bread just in case they want egg on toast or beans on toast for children who do like beans?

Its not hard to use your imagination. You are being given free food.