What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

It is bloody depressing

If the caters can provide the meals they should do before considering vouchers.

Schools generally paid the suppliers when they were closed as the money is already in the budget to do so and to ensure they continued in business.
Now there is business to provide and they shouldn't be on furlough if the work is there.
Therefore the full cost of £15 or more in some cases can be spent on providing parcels

Nonsense.

I've been on benefits and my daughter got FSM.
I don't for one minute think everyone wss buying vodka and fags with the vouchers
I think the vouchers are probably the better option for most people, but not all.
If the stories of people being given half a bagged carrot are true, then yes that's daft and something needs to be said about that.

But what I will not do is wring my hands over families being given a perfectly adequate box of foods suitable for making a standard child's packed lunch in this country.

The reason why I say threads like this give people on benefits a bad name is because when the real problems need sorted (as in "why are there food banks in this country anyway, why are so many areas devoid of infrastructure and jobs to begin with") the answer from the DM reading masses will be

"Well, why should we care, they're all lazy, look at the benefit scroungers complaing about their free sandwiches and apple"

The list of foods in the OP is similar to the shopping list of families everywhere. Families on a range of incomes, some who are entitled to nothing from the government.

Complaining that kids are being given cheese rolls instead of their parents being given cash isn't helpful, all it does is piss people off. People who will sit and wonder why a packed lunch like that is good enough for their kids but not for the "benefit scroungers" who are getting it for free

We can't all afford quinoa salad and quail's eggs for our kid's packed lunch.

If those boxes were filled pots of gruel then fair enough, but OP's list is what most working families give their kids - families who can't afford £2.70 a day for a canteen dinner

Fucking hell is this how our taxes are being used? On people who don't understand how to use eggs to make a meal?

If your school meals are provided by Chartwells, they are receiving £15 a week for each child on FSM but only giving on average £5 of food per child to families. The head of Chartwell's is one of the largest Tory doners, work it out for yourselves.

Ds qualifies for FSM & we got vouchers in previous lockdowns, up to now we haven't received anything this time.

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1. Families and schools may find weekly food parcels easier than a more frequent approach. Minimise the fridge and freezer space needed to store foods, and do not rely on families having additional ingredients at home to prepare meals.

1. Food parcels should contain a balance of items from the different food groups, to reflect a healthy balanced diet for a child, as depicted by the Eatwell Guide (below) and in line with the School Food Standards. Each parcel should provide:

A variety of different types of fruit and vegetables, to provide at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables each day. These can be fresh or tinned but it’s best to source versions tinned in water or fruit juice, with no added salt or sugar.
Some protein foods (such as beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other non-dairy proteins), to provide a portion of food from this group every day. Meat and fish should be cooked (e.g. cooked ham or chicken slices) or tinned (e.g. tuna, salmon). Consider alternating between different protein foods to provide variety.
Some dairy and/or dairy alternatives (such as milk, cheese, yoghurt), to provide a portion of food from this group every day.

1. Food parcels should not contain items restricted under the School Food Standards (e.g. confectionery, crisps). The Standards allow desserts at lunchtime, and we recommend desserts containing fruit, such as fruit cocktail, lower-fat fruit yoghurt, or malt loaf. Any pre-prepared meals provided must also meet School Food Standards.

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Example parcel for one child for five days:

1 loaf of bread or pack of rolls / 10-inch wraps
2 baking potatoes
1 cucumber
3 large tomatoes or 1 pack of cherry tomatoes
1 standard tin sweetcorn in water
5 portions of fresh fruit (e.g. apples, satsumas, bananas) or 3 portions of fresh fruit and 1 tin fruit in juice (e.g. pears, peaches, fruit cocktail)
2 items from the following: 1 pack sliced cooked meat (e.g. chicken, ham or vegetarian alternative) or 1 tin meat or 1 tin tuna in water or 6 eggs
200g block of cheese or 3 cheese portions
1 tin baked beans
1 500g pot plain low-fat yoghurt or 3 individual serving yoghurt pots
1 litre / 2 pints semi-skimmed milk

I think it's insulting to people who haven't got the skills to provide put those ingredients together to make a lunch.

That's going too far, OP. How many skills does it require to make a sandwich, boil an egg or eat a yoghurt?

What's wrong with sending parents vouchers then they can use it in their main shop.

Because all benefit Mums are feckless idiots who swap the vouchers for drugs and alcohol obvs

Yep, they’re lazy scroungers and should accept a brown banana and be bloody grateful for it.

Honestly, I think the benefit bashers are loving this so much. I think this is all making some people feel so superior and amazing knowing children of low income families are getting these. Like a “this is what you deserve” moment because they’re so bitter about people who claim benefits and free school meals in general. Quite sad and pathetic really.

@kowari

How much money is actually available to provide boxes or vouchers? Are the catering companies profiting from the schools being closed?

Schools are NOT closed!

Schools are NOT closed!
Schools not fully open then, hot meal services closed.

My DS is only one of 15 at secondary, I wouldn't consider that open!

@kowari I don’t know why your assuming. My DS has been having a hot meal the majority of lockdown at school. Children are definitely are given hot school dinners.

The amount of children attending school at present are you suggesting they are having sandwiches for lunch??

When they had the hubs at the start of the pandemic he didn’t have a hot lunch for a little while but that was months ago...

Schools are not closed! Our school is open fully. Granted we don’t have hundreds of students but we are open to everyone.
We have 4 students not coming in and those 4 students happen to all be entitled to free school meals. Our local
Authority are sending the hampers/boxes and that is our only option. I think another point lots are forgetting is a school has its hands tied. If it’s a local authority school like ours we have to do what the local authority tell us. So they’ve said food that’s what we have to arrange.

The voucher for half term will be funded by the govt though so every pupil should get a voucher then

Long term it’s not sustainable for the govt or schools to provide fsm students with food or vouchers. I also feel that those saying for two children I usually get £30 in vouchers per week and can do almost a whole weeks shop in xyz with that, are not helping the argument for vouchers. The payment/food is to feed one child one meal. By saying you can buy a lot more you are giving people against any funding the evidence they need to cut you off completely

A cheese sandwich and a frube would be an adequate lunch for a child who is getting a decent breakfast and a hot nutritious dinner.
For a child in receipt of fsm they may have no breakfast and toast or packet of noodles for dinner.
People are missing the point.

@HikeForward - on paper you might think - oh, Child benefit, UC, food banks can top food up. The reality is that poor people often get into debt due to having to claim benefits. When I had to claim UC I didn't get anything for 5 months and was then given about £300pm - didn't go far in paying mortgage, bills, food etc. By the time the benefits were sorted I was in a lot of debt. So there was no spare money that could have been used to provide the main meal if not recieved at schopl. And some food banks will only provide 3 parcels per 6 months so can't often be accessed. It's not a case of not being grateful.

And sometimes when going through a difficult time, when you have paid into the welfare state, have worked in a low paid job to serve your country and you are left struggling so badly - you don't always feel lucky.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

vouchers have sadly been abused. They were not supposed to be used for non food but many supermarkets reported staff being pushed/threatened into accepting them for alcohol or cigarettes etc. In other cases there were reports of them being sold on for less than face value, eg to convert them to cash which could be used for anything.

Is there any evidence for this?

@kowariI don’t know why your assuming. My DS has been having a hot meal the majority of lockdown at school. Children are definitely are given hot school dinners.
Just based on our school and other people I know with children in school, there hasn't been any hot food, so I thought it must be a rule.

@ElizabethP141 - exactly why I think my DD's school are sensible to use the voucher system - they really do not need the extra work right now! I find it strange how so many people support schools having to sort food parcels instead of just using a centralised voucher system with a choice of supermarkets.

the post on here 'managed to only spend £20 extra on food in addition to the voucher over Christmas which meant I could also buy her a Christmas present' suggests that people preferred vouchers as it supplemented the rest of their family food shop and gave them more cash in their hand.

So I'm reading the food parcel isn't acceptable as it provides what's needed; A lunchtime meal x5 a week not a top of for a whole family's food shop. But a thirty pound voucher is no good if it's for a certain place as people want the cash?

As for people grumbling about contents Just sounds like anything put in place for some wouldn't be good enough. There are people packing these and running them around when really they are paid to educate or support education, it got to be so demoralising to them.

As for grateful I think we should all be grateful we have a welfare state that actually makes provision. Take it don't take it, I've been in the situation as a working adult where I'd have been grateful for anything like whats being provided rather then having nothing to eat that day. it's a bit hard to read some of these comments...

I find it strange how so many people support schools having to sort food parcels instead of just using a centralised voucher system with a choice of supermarkets

It’s because they don’t want those on low incomes to have choices. It all boils down to, if you get help you get what you’re given. If that’s some stale bread rolls and a block of cheese with a brown banana then so be it. Just be grateful.

I’m due to get a food parcel next week. I’d better get on my knees and be eternally grateful like a good poor person should. Can’t contain my excitement.

@AldiAisleofCrap

A cheese sandwich and a frube would be an adequate lunch for a child who is getting a decent breakfast and a hot nutritious dinner. For a child in receipt of fsm they may have no breakfast and toast or packet of noodles for dinner. People are missing the point.

I think there’s misunderstanding here. I know we are in a pandemic. But once this dies down the gov are not going to keep on with this voucher thing! I think that’s what some are forgetting you will have to feed your own child/children in the main school holidays once all settles. From some of the responses they make it sound as though they have never done it before.

It’s worrying that some seem to be so heavily reliant on a temporary voucher. The money has to come from some where?

I think the food box in the OP is adequate for five lunches. Some of the others posted on Twitter are terrible. I would prefer vouchers so I could buy what my child liked though, with a choice of supermarket. I'm more concerned if there is profit being made by providing a food box instead of vouchers or school dinners, that isn't at all fair. The child should be getting the full value of the funding minus any real overheads.

@HikeForward - at my DD's school the meals are of a decent size and there are 3 choices plus jacket potato. A full plate of food with vegetables and salad, a dessert and fruit with a glass of milk. Plenty for a main meal which is great as obviously for some DC it is their only meal of the day. It is stranfe how provision varies so much. Why can some schools provide a main meal and others can't? I think if your budget is set to only include a main meal at weekends then it is a struggle to find the extra for food during lockdown.