What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

@Watermelon999

“My teenage boy went out the other day (before this started) and did a 10k run. He's still running daily”

My older dcs are running daily too 5-10k. But that would be ample for their lunches. They normally have soup or salad or a roll/wrap or toastie with fruit , and then a main meal later. The main meal is jacket and beans once a week, so this would suit us ok.

I do understand that it’s not the same as a hot meal, but I presume it’s cheaper to make a massive batch of chilli or casserole for the school rather than provide the individual ingredients for each family to make one portion of lunch with it.

For those who are really struggling it’s a shame they can’t receive some sort of meals on wheels type service where the child gets a hot meal delivered, with maybe a choice of veggie or meat like at school. This would probably be useful for vulnerable older people too.

The government guidelines state that schools are not advised to do this because of food hygiene reasons.

I would just like to thank my dd school, for the help they gave us at the start of lockdown 1.
While my child was in reception, we were forced to move out of town. Dd kept her place at school for a few reasons.
She was in y1 last march, when we got the lockdown.
She got free meals , as ks1.
We got a voucher for the value of a school meal. (About £15 a week)

I was asked to choose which shop I wanted at the start of the scheme.
And in the early days of lockdown, I was working from home, so dd wasnt in school.
The head contacted me and told me " make sure you have plenty of freezer space next week!)
And he personally drove to our new house with his car boot full of food.
Dd is the only one in her school with her allergy. School cant keep food for certain amounts of time. So we got given all the free from food they had ordered for the term (month? I don't know the exact details).
We also had a small box of fresh fruit and veg which would have been wasted. I know a few other parents had similar. Combination of less wealthy parents, kids who love fruit and veg, shielding parents who couldnt go out...
The school looked at what they had, laying around in the kitchen. Ready for next weeks lunches.
They had a brief conversation with the teachers/support staff and decided who would make best use of the food they had already purchased. And gave it to those families, no fuss, no shame. Just a gift.
They asked me before hand if dd or any other family members would eat all the things on my list. (Any we didnt want would go to someone who did want them).
So thank you school. You were sensible.
You recycled. We ate. And dd was pleased to see her head teacher when he delivered her things.

@Carpathian2

It's a problem because these meals are not hot and are likely to be shared amongst other members of the family. At school you get a meal just for you, outside school many children have to take their chances.

But it is not there to be shared with the family. Also if you were so interested in the Marcus Rashford campaign, why did you not follow to see that it was voted against in Parliament. MPs felt that they need to get to the real issue of child poverty and not plaster over it with meals at home.

@MyNameHasBeenTaken

I would just like to thank my dd school, for the help they gave us at the start of lockdown 1. While my child was in reception, we were forced to move out of town. Dd kept her place at school for a few reasons. She was in y1 last march, when we got the lockdown. She got free meals , as ks1. We got a voucher for the value of a school meal. (About £15 a week) I was asked to choose which shop I wanted at the start of the scheme. And in the early days of lockdown, I was working from home, so dd wasnt in school. The head contacted me and told me " make sure you have plenty of freezer space next week!) And he personally drove to our new house with his car boot full of food. Dd is the only one in her school with her allergy. School cant keep food for certain amounts of time. So we got given all the free from food they had ordered for the term (month? I don't know the exact details). We also had a small box of fresh fruit and veg which would have been wasted. I know a few other parents had similar. Combination of less wealthy parents, kids who love fruit and veg, shielding parents who couldnt go out... The school looked at what they had, laying around in the kitchen. Ready for next weeks lunches. They had a brief conversation with the teachers/support staff and decided who would make best use of the food they had already purchased. And gave it to those families, no fuss, no shame. Just a gift. They asked me before hand if dd or any other family members would eat all the things on my list. (Any we didnt want would go to someone who did want them). So thank you school. You were sensible. You recycled. We ate. And dd was pleased to see her head teacher when he delivered her things.

This is so lovely 😊

@Chel098 - the school can only claim Pupil Premium if the child is eligible for FSC, so there must be a link there somewhere?

I'd be happy with a weekly food box - so if they still have to pay the caterers then surely they can plan ahead weekly and box the ingredients up? Is all that food going to waste? Why insist on a daily trip, so unnecessary. My DS's school is open for KW's children and they will have to pay for their lunch as always. I'm not asking for anything above and beyond what they would normally provide.
Anyway, I've emailed the school and suggested weekly boxes and will see what they say.

@MonktonMonkey

When my son is at school he has a hot meal every lunchtime - roasts, curries, bolognese, sausages, etc. This food parcel is nothing like that.

Because there is a flipping pandemic! Honestly some of these responses just amaze me.

My older dcs are running daily too 5-10k. But that would be ample for their lunches. They normally have soup or salad or a roll/wrap or toastie with fruit , and then a main meal later. The main meal is jacket and beans once a week, so this would suit us ok.

It would be enough for my older DCs too but they are girls. I'm not sure it will be enough teenage boys and whilst you may be giving yours a big meal in the evening I thought the point of free school meals is that many children are not getting big meals in the evening.

I get a £15 voucher every week from the council. You download it from a website and can choose the supermarket you want to shop at. They were doing it before the Rashford campaign though.

Glad to hear. There is so much government bashing and people on benefits have not idea how people lives in other countries with not benefits. I come from what it was a very wealthy country and people had a great education, health service and housing. Still they were not happy with the government programs. They wanted more. A supposed socialist was voted in and now after many years of a dictatorship people eats out of trash bins. It was never good enough. The most affected were the poorest people and kids. Middle class disappeared.

Its 5 lunches for one child! Of course it's enough! You sound really ungrateful. Even if your child didn't like those things, you could swap their lunch for yours. You're still saving money.

In Wales parents get a direct payment in lieu of free school meals. I didn’t realise that wasn’t the case everywhere.

@ArosAdraDrosDolig

In Wales parents get a direct payment in lieu of free school meals. I didn’t realise that wasn’t the case everywhere.

That seems a lot more sensible.

@Beautiful3

Its 5 lunches for one child! Of course it's enough! You sound really ungrateful. Even if your child didn't like those things, you could swap their lunch for yours. You're still saving money.

Why should OP be grateful for food she is not going to take?

@Belladonna12 not much to hate about jacket potato and cheese? There are different options in this parcel....

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation

They're only allowed out for an hour. Most parents we speak to are struggling to get them out of the house at all.

There may be some exceptions but in the majority of cases that is more than enough food.

Where are the rules that say you're only allowed out for an hour? Its not the case in England.

[quote Russell19]@Belladonna12 not much to hate about jacket potato and cheese? There are different options in this parcel....[/quote]
My DD wouldn't eat it (she hates cheese) and I'm sure other children wouldn't like it either. Regardless, the main point is it's not necessarily practical or nice for children to have to go to school and queue for food. Some children live miles from their schools . Vouchers are much better.

@Belladonna12 I thought this was a food parcel delivered to the home?

Why do you assume they aren't burning a lot of calories a day at the moment? Many are doing a lot of exercise (e.g. running), if DC's friends are anything to go by. After all, that's one of the few things are allowed to do.

I hear a lot of my friends with teenagers talking about how much running and cycling they are all doing. I live next to the park gates and see teenagers going in and out all day, and not one is running, or on their cycle, once they pass through - they are hanging out in groups hidden in bushes or sitting on benches.

Not particularly fussed about it, and am certainly not going to dob them in - this is all so hard for teens, and I made plenty of.my own bad decisions at that age - but it does make me wonder what % of the super-fit teens I keep hearing about on here are actually exercising.

The police quoted the exercise for an hour thing at me. Yet looking online it seems this isn't an actual rule, just guidelines.

The majority of the parents our school spoke to are struggling to get their teens off the xbox (or equivalent) and outside.

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation

The police quoted the exercise for an hour thing at me. Yet looking online it seems this isn't an actual rule, just guidelines.

The majority of the parents our school spoke to are struggling to get their teens off the xbox (or equivalent) and outside.

It's not even in the guidelines!

Exercising

You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

You can exercise in a public outdoor place:

by yourself
with the people you live with
with your support bubble (if you are legally permitted to form one)
in a childcare bubble where providing childcare
or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household

This includes but is not limited to running, cycling, walking, and swimming. Personal training can continue one-on-one unless everyone is within the same household or support bubble.

Public outdoor places include:

parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, forests
public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them)
the grounds of a heritage site
playgrounds

Outdoor sports venues must close, for example:

tennis courts
golf courses
swimming pools

Children under 5, and up to 2 carers for a person with a disability who needs continuous care, are not counted towards the gatherings limits for exercising outside.

If you (or a person in your care) have a health condition that routinely requires you to leave home to maintain your health - including if that involves travel beyond your local area or exercising several times a day - then you can do so.

When around other people, stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household - meaning the people you live with - or your support bubble. Where this is not possible, stay 1 metre apart with extra precautions (like wearing a face covering).

@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.

Sorry this is happening to you but I think you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. You say you’re going on benefits so why not take the parcel and make use of what you can?

[quote Russell19]@Belladonna12 I thought this was a food parcel delivered to the home?[/quote]
I think OP said they would have to queue at school.

@OverTheRubicon

Why do you assume they aren't burning a lot of calories a day at the moment? Many are doing a lot of exercise (e.g. running), if DC's friends are anything to go by. After all, that's one of the few things are allowed to do.

I hear a lot of my friends with teenagers talking about how much running and cycling they are all doing. I live next to the park gates and see teenagers going in and out all day, and not one is running, or on their cycle, once they pass through - they are hanging out in groups hidden in bushes or sitting on benches.

Not particularly fussed about it, and am certainly not going to dob them in - this is all so hard for teens, and I made plenty of.my own bad decisions at that age - but it does make me wonder what % of the super-fit teens I keep hearing about on here are actually exercising.

I don't think you can judge what all teenagers are doing based on what you have seen a few doing in the park. My DC and friends are competing on strava so I'm pretty sure they are doing the exercise.

Carpathian2
It's a problem because these meals are not hot”

Jacket potato & beans
Cheesy potato wedges
Add flour - pancakes
Add ready roll pastry 75p Aldi - cheese & tomato Quiche.
Cheese & potato pie
Omelette & Potato Wedges
Add hot dogs - 80p - total treat!

Slice the rolls - egg on toast.
Slice the rolls - cheese and tomato on toast
Eggy Bread!

I can live like a king given a potato, milk and eggs - but come from a very poor background.

Loads of lovely suggestions for the food parcel and am feeling quite left out now! Our school want us to queue, each day, to collect a packed lunch.