What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

For those who say it's the food banks job and not the schools you are wrong. It's the government's job. Rights not charity

I feel like emailing my school to complain as their offer is to collect a free packed school lunch daily! We live a 45min walk away so I have to take my son by car normally. To do this in lockdown is totally unnecessary imo.

That’s just surviving on something you’ve had no choice about eating.
It also can’t be very nutritious for children having to eat the same old food every day.

Unfortunately, choice is a luxury. One that not everybody, including myself and my family, gets to enjoy.
Generations of kids were brought up 'having to eat the same old food every day'. What on earth are you talking about? Seriously?! My grandparents had the same seven meals a week for 50 years, through choice. My friends child is autistic and eats the same thing three times a day, seven days a week. Many of us do not have the luxury of a hugely diverse menu. Especially not when expecting others to provide it. Why are schools all of a sudden responsible for bringing up children? It is not up to schools to provide parents with huge amounts of food, snacks and treats for their children. It is particularly worrying when parents can't even imagine what to do with milk, eggs, cheese and bread to feed their kids.

@FutureDuchessofHastings

No because I don’t work in a school so how would I know ? I was just wondering if that pupil premium money could be used in situations like this. And who would facilitate finding out who wants a voucher or a hamper? Well maybe the office staff ?

Right.. it's just that you said earlier that you were sure that PP money could be used to fund things like this. (Parents getting a choice of vouchers for any supermarket of their choice, or having a luxury hamper catered to their child's particular preferences and having it delivered or them collecting it.)
Do you not think that being an administrator in a school office is already a full time job? Do you assume they just sit around for hours every day with nothing to do to fill their time? Ask yourself what is not being done, for every child and member of staff at the school, in order for the office staff to dedicate hours every day to fulfilling your every desire? As school admin is a relentless and busy job, already requiring more hours than are usually paid for, when are they supposed to get this extra work done? And who is going to pay for their overtime, if they are available to work overtime? Where is that money coming from?

Well I’m going by what I know already from my own experience and our school office staff call us to enquire, send the vouchers etc and facilitate it all so they are already doing that ?

It’s just a shame as you can get more with a £15 voucher than some schools are offering in these boxes

@NiceandCalm

I feel like emailing my school to complain as their offer is to collect a free packed school lunch daily! We live a 45min walk away so I have to take my son by car normally. To do this in lockdown is totally unnecessary imo.

So you want them to drive to you and deliver it ? Have a to tide you over while you wait.

Nice bit of twisting of my words there.

It’s just a shame as you can get more with a £15 voucher than some schools are offering in these boxes
@Woodenhearted - but it's not about what you could buy with £15! It's about making sure your child has food for a lunch. You're really misinterpreting what the FSM scheme is for. If your child was at school getting fed then you wouldn't be getting a voucher for £15. The scheme isn't designed to top up your food shop for the week!

@parkpoolplunge - no of course not! Doh. I would be happy to collect a meal box, weekly. Like I said, daily journey's during lockdown is not in the spirit of lockdown. Have a yourself ffs.

@funinthesun19 - oh no, I didn't twist any words. You were genuinely puzzled as to how you'd feed your child using eggs, cheese, milk and bread. No twisting needed from me. You embarrassed yourself all on your own.

@FutureDuchessofHastings

It’s just a shame as you can get more with a £15 voucher than some schools are offering in these boxes *@Woodenhearted* - but it's not about what you could buy with £15! It's about making sure your child has food for a lunch. You're really misinterpreting what the FSM scheme is for. If your child was at school getting fed then you wouldn't be getting a voucher for £15. The scheme isn't designed to top up your food shop for the week!

Yes but when you don’t have much you see the real value of £15 So what are you saying now that parents getting this should only buy lunch things and not spend wisely to make that £25 go further god forbid their lives should be a bit easier ffs

@fun. Thanks. My piss is boiled. Talk about clueless

Could get for example
Bread, potatoes and pasta, cornflakes, milk, ham, cheese, 1 tin Tuna, 2 chopped tomatoes and 4 baked beans , bananas, apples , bag mixed frozen veg, bag of frozen berries, 6 yogurts, bag of crisps, carrots and cucumber for approx £15 in asda - that’s getting breakfasts and some dinners too ! But what because it’s fsm and should only be lunch should I go instead to a more expensive shop and just get what you think is ok just some rolls posh sandwich fillers and juice ? So that’s it’s very specifically ONLY lunch rather than giving a child more if you really have no money ? Horror le attitude to have tbh you clearly don’t know what it’s like to struggle

Well I’m going by what I know already from my own experience and our school office staff call us to enquire, send the vouchers etc and facilitate it all so they are already doing that ?

Yes, on top of their full time job. They are not doing other things that need to be done to facilitate this. I'm not sure how this isn't obvious. Schools don't have the money to pay people for hours when there is nothing to do. So the office staff are sorting this out but not because they have hours a day that needed to be filled. This really isn't difficult. It's a logistical ballache and parents demanding choice and options and people being allowed to dictate that they want this voucher or that voucher or cash or to collect a particular hamper or have one delivered is just a completely unreasonable expectation.

Basically people begrudge parents being frugal with the vouchers and getting more than just lunches out of them for their child

Some people seem to be missing the point that this is only meant to replace five out of the twenty one meals a week that children need. Parents who are entitled to free school meals receive other benefits in cash to pay for food for their children. If that isn’t enough then that is a separate issue that needs to be addressed, but not by complaining that schools are replacing food children eat at school with food that children can eat at home.

@Woodenhearted Everything you want sounds lovely. It would be lovely to live in a world where every person’s basic needs were not only fulfilled, but with fulfilled with a range of convenient options. This world is a million miles away from that though and these things cost money, which we’re not going to have much of right now. The priority is ensuring that children are fed, not ensuring that parents have convenient choices.

@Woodenhearted - ha ha! I 'clearly don't know what it's like to struggle'? You have no idea.
It is not up to your child's school to give you £15 a week to buy whatever you want to feed your child breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
Regardless of what you wish or think you are entitled to from your child's school, their only obligation is to provide your child with a lunch, five days a week. What you could buy, or would prefer to buy, with £15 is irrelevant.

They have sent a £15 voucher though that is what the amount is meant to be ??

Parents who are entitled to free school meals receive other benefits in cash to pay for food for their children. If that isn’t enough then that is a separate issue that needs to be addressed - but that was the whole point of the Marcus Rashford campaign. It's the fact that parents are having something taken away - a free school lunch, when they would normally be in school. I'm not picking on you personally but a lot of people are missing the point.
I bet my DS's school are saving a packet as can't imagine many would go and pick up a packed lunch daily - not every child lives within a short walking distance plus what if you have other kids at home or wfh etc.

@UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter - I think school meals must really vary. I have seen the meals at my DD's school as we go in for lunch for Mothers Day. There is a choice of 3 hot meals or a jacket potato. These come with vegetables and salad. Plenty big enough for my DD to need a smaller meal in the evening. She is Primary, though so I can't comment on secondary school.

It was £15 for half term per child. £40 at Xmas plus a hamper if needed and now £15 a week. I’m assuming the hamper/voucher may be dependent on LA but I think everyone should have the choice

@Quaagars - for a lot of people the school dinner is their child's main meal of the day.

@NiceandCalm

Parents who are entitled to free school meals receive other benefits in cash to pay for food for their children. If that isn’t enough then that is a separate issue that needs to be addressed - but that was the whole point of the Marcus Rashford campaign. It's the fact that parents are having something taken away - a free school lunch, when they would normally be in school. I'm not picking on you personally but a lot of people are missing the point. I bet my DS's school are saving a packet as can't imagine many would go and pick up a packed lunch daily - not every child lives within a short walking distance plus what if you have other kids at home or wfh etc.

The school's save nothing. The food is paid for by the school. Usually the money goes to a catering company who make the lunches or.make the good parcel up. If they are not collected they go to waste or the find someone else to give it to. It actually costs more money in admin time chasing parents about why they haven't collected their food. We have given up delivery to families this time except in extreme circumstances.

@Carpathian2

Posted too soon!

My son is in year 9 and I've to go on benefits as I've lost my job due to COVID.

I thought that the campaign by Marcus Rashford was supposed to help with low income families, but how is this meagre food parcel supposed to help?

I don't need a food parcel, so I've asked for it to be given to someone else who does.

Its 5 days of lunch for a child intake?

We live a 45min walk away so I have to take my son by car normally. To do this in lockdown is totally unnecessary imo

Yes, but going to get food is one of the reasons you're allowed to travel for.
You're hardly going to get stopped and fined for picking up food for your children to eat if you need the food.

@Quaagars - for a lot of people the school dinner is their child's main meal of the day.
Agreed, they only provide for lunch for each day though was my point.
You can make jacket potatoes and baked beans, or omelettes out of that with mini side salad or sweetcorn, if they were at school and there was no lockdown people would still have to provide an evening meal for the kids with no help from school.