What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

[quote spanieleyes]@FlamingoAtTheBingo

We deliver too, to those who don't drive or can't collect. Presumably we should disguise ourselves as ASDA drivers ( or perhaps Waitrose as it's less embarrassing!)[/quote]
Can you not dress up as deliveroo drivers? honestly, so insensitive.

Hmm not sure what happened there my phone had a moment and has misspelt it all !
Schools meals £2.20 a day (£11 a week£
A voucher for £15 as largest can’t make savings bill buying ....
No real difference

Instead it included; A loaf of bread
Iceberg lettuce
Dairylea triangles
An extra 2 yogurts
Couple extra potatoes
Tins of tuna

They're only offering boxes every two weeks, so that's supposed to be the equivalent of £30 food, which it just isn't.

That’s barely a fivers worth!

@TheFormerPorpentiaScamander - that wouldn't be useful to me either as Asda too far away. We get to choose where we wanted the vouchers from - Asda, Tesco, Sainsburies, Iceland, Aldi. Not sure why there is such difference in experience.

I wonder if we are still getting vouchers as our school was due to be shut after the holidays anyway so was shut on the Monday so hadn't ordered food.

My friends children are on FSM and they are living in temporary accommodation half an hour away from the children’s school.
It will cost my friend more money in petrol to go and collect food parcels (daily) than if they were just issued vouchers.
This just doesn’t work for everyone unfortunately.

The guidance to schools, says that funding will follow for FSM, but schools have no idea what it will be.

Schools have already paid their catering contracts. The lockdown came with no notice at all. The food delivery at my school had already arrived before the Monday announcement.

This means many schools have no choice but to provide meals from their chosen caterer.

@Stilllivinginazoo
At my school, you’d receive a parcel that reflected your child’s allergy, but they only provide alternatives to those children that require it.

@funinthesun19

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?

I can't work out if this is an actual joke

where is the loaf of bread
You know you can use bread rolls to make toast for egg/beans on toast, right? That people did manage before sliced bread?

What to put in the rolls?
Well, just from the stuff provided, cheese, cheese and tomato, egg and cucumber....that's if you have literally nothing else in the house yourself and are only relying on these parcels.

What about families with more than 1 child?
they would get 1 parcel per child. Obviously. The same way at school they don't have to share a meal with their siblings?

The milk would get used for breakfast as what do you use it for at lunchtime?
what's wrong with having it for breakfast? The pack is to feed hungry children, if they have it with their coco pops the headteacher isn't going to come round and make you pay it back.
But if you felt you had to use it between 12.01-13.00 to avoid using any initiative breaking "the rules" you could use it with the eggs to make an omelette, scrambled eggs, pancakes, or just give them a glass each to drink ffs.

Of course. I didn’t think of it as a drink.
Can't even respond to this as mumsnet doesn't have a head in hands emoji.

And shock horror, where are the packets of crisp or packets of biscuits?
In the shops, where they've always been. Receiving this parcel doesn't mean you are now not allowed to go to Tescos...if children are really starving and this is the only food they will get for the next few weeks, then cheese, beans, fruit and veg is obviously better for them and will keep them feeling more full than a few packs of monster munch.

Seriously how much do people expect schools to do for THEIR children? When will the entitlement end?

@HellnoH20

I agree, it definitely doesn’t work for many families. I really hope the government fund vouchers.

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 school can claim back the money they pay and an additional £3.50 if they are providing a food parcel. The government guidance is all available on the gov.uk if you are interested. Of course it might take a long time to get the money and no doubt there are ways the government will wriggle out of it.

@WinstonWolf the main things are a bit low but 4 apples, 3 satsumas, cherry toms and a bag apples is enough for 1 piece fruit a day for 10 days which I guess is all there are providing for

This is just like the threads when people think food banks should only be offering wallpaper paste gruel with a side of cardboard to dip into it and that recipients should be happy to travel 25 miles on foot, be eternally grateful and never dare to want to have a choice.

@youboughtmeawall I though that but further down in post mentioned apples , banans , toms and satsumas so guessing they are also included but still seems a bit low for 2 weeks

It’s just as well Mumsnet wasn’t around when Jesus was feeding the 5000 on a bit of fish and bread............

Can you imagine the uproar.

My Jeremiahs gluten intolerant and our Miriam won’t touch fish, are there any nuggets?

Is that fish responsibly sourced?

Don’t you have any white bread cos my kids won’t eat that whole meal crap.

Schools get £1320 pupil premium for each fsm child to benefit them WHEN IN SCHOOL.
They aren’t in school currently so I’m sure this money could be used and choices of voucher or hamper offered instead !

@viques

It’s just as well Mumsnet wasn’t around when Jesus was feeding the 5000 on a bit of fish and bread............

Can you imagine the uproar.

My Jeremiahs gluten intolerant and our Miriam won’t touch fish, are there any nuggets?

Is that fish responsibly sourced?

Don’t you have any white bread cos my kids won’t eat that whole meal crap.

Hilarious . My child has coeliacs so pretty close to the ‘gluten intolerant’ that you mock ...... it’s all really funny till it’s your child. Did you know a lot of areas no longer offer GF on prescription for coeliacs? It can be really expensive

@Woodenhearted no one is saying that but being given food is still being provided with a fsm.
If its about children being fed and provided with food at home which they are beIng , it may not be a vocher as many want

OP, you obviously qualify for FSM and you and your child benefit from them. What's with the drama about receiving a food box? Are you that ashamed? Well, shame on you in that case. Don't take the FSM when available then when schools are open, don't sign up for being eligible if you turn your nose up when it suits you. Be grateful, shut up, put up or don't be so hypocritical.

@parkpoolplunge
Was the guidance published today?

My kids only eat scallops!
Why aren't the school providing this?!

The government have missed a trick with this. They should have linked up with a national supermarket who could have set up standardised boxes (by age/dietary needs) and schools use an online portal to select x amount of boxes for xyz addresses and the supermarket deliver them. Bill the govt. School used as a means of collating the data on what is needed and where.

But then that would mean admitting that large swathes of the British public earn too little to feed their children for a third of their meals.

@Woodenhearted do you not think schools may have used this is other ways already and they have been in school from sept to dec and potentially will be again so they don't have the whole amount free.
Budgets would if been worked out ages ago , its not that simple.
Some schools also are offering better provisions than others and some children who get fsm will still be in school.

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

Well surely if you're claiming for 4 children, you'll get meals for 4 children?
OP is claiming for one so will get different amounts that you would for 4.

What on earth do you put on those bread rolls for sandwiches?

• Sliced hard boiled egg

or grated cheese and sliced cucumber

handful of chopped cherry tomatoes on the side.

@viques

Looking at those items it is a lot of fresh food so likely to be that which has already been bought and if it isn't passed around to be eaten would be left to go off. There was a BBC News article about a warehouse of milk and food that may go off due to the sudden closure of schools.

Woodenhearted

This is just like the threads when people think food banks should only be offering wallpaper

That's the food banks job though
It shouldn't have to be the schools job

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz the goverment can't sign up with one supermarket and exclude the others, they have made provisions to cover and anyone can look up how many qualify for pupil premium etc etc