What's happened to Free School Meals provision?

[Carpathian2]

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

@Woodenhearted unfortunately yes.

So because a small minority may not use vouchers as intended then the majority have to go without vouchers they could use to buy food for hot meals of better quality and quantity in winter ? They then have to travel to collect parcels or have interaction which could spread the virus more ?

It’s not really supposed to go towards feeding other members of the family, just the child. So the poster who wants to use it to feed the third adult doesn’t really make sense.

[quote Bunnybigears]@Woodenhearted unfortunately yes.[/quote]
Wouldn’t those children be in school though and fed there as they are vulnerable?

@Woodenhearted
I couldn't agree more.

@Qcumber

I think that's a good amount for 5 lunches for 1 child.

Depends on the child tbf. My DC is yr 9 5ft9 and on the go so under the vouchers I could get more calorie dense meals inc frozen veg for example for a cheaper cost as would most families.

The vouchers enabled parents to cater the lunches to their child’s requirements just like kids get to pick their meals from a menu at school.

I’m totally puzzled about cheese being such a high value item for those misusing vouchers who would have thought

I volunteer at a food bank - I think you are wrong to compare this with a food bank parcel as they are for providing meals for your family not lunch for one child. Although the overall content is pretty good I do agree that it has overlooked the question of fuel poverty. However, baking potatoes don't need just to be baked - the child could have egg and chips and beans - take a lot less time to cook than a jacket potato. Also you can part cook a potato when baking something else and finish it off the next day in the microwave.

Personally most of the families I meet are desperate for any food so this would be well received and I doubt that combined egg and dairy allergies are quite as common in the general public as they are on here.

TBH I think that this is a situation where LAs are between a rock and a hard place with some complaining that vouchers are for the wrong supermarket/being spent on fags and booze and others that the food parcel is the wrong food.

Parcels were dropped off by many schools last time. Remember it was actually hard to get food in some places in late March- many shops didnt have basics here.

Catering already had the food in and it would have been wasted. As lockdown progressed then more moved to vouchers.

@Woodenhearted
Do you seriously believe all children of drug addicts are classed as vulnerable!

Tbh, you're the one being patronising assuming that many may not know how to make a meal from those 'meagre' rations. They're perfectly normal food items.

Each of you posts, and their changing arguments with each rebuttal just scream that actually you wanted the money/voucher and are pissed off. Fair enough, but don't make out that those trying to help are somehow being unreasonable.

Fwiw we did food parcels last lockdown before the voucher system kicked in. We delivered to those shielding (in our own time obviously) and others collected. No-one had any issue with that.

[quote spanieleyes]@Woodenhearted
Do you seriously believe all children of drug addicts are classed as vulnerable! [/quote]
Most would have a level of ss involvement- certainly at primary and so would be vulnerable. Schools tend to know their families pretty well.

@LoafEater

We’ve handed out parcels to 60+ parents the last couple of days. They are made up by our canteen caterers according to govt. guidelines for 5 easy to cook, nutritionally balanced hot lunches, along with recipe pages for each day. Added fruits, juice, raisins etc.

We had two lots of parents complaining not enough, no choice , don’t like eggs etc. Not sure what school are supposed to do really? We are doing what the govt has directed.

I really feel for schools in this. It pisses me off that the govt is handing more stuff for schools to handle.

OP, the vouchers are better and queuing for a food parcel I would find humiliating (and a hassle!)
However, barring allergies, intolerances and preferences, that food parcel list is very workable, especially if supplemented by you. Surely, you can make a hot meal from it.

@user1471462428

you are not begging for food, if you are entitled to FSM you are entitled, it just cannot be provided in the same way at the moment

no one will be pointing fingers and laughing at you when you collect it.

I actually think that is a decent amount of food for 5 lunches for 1 person. The ingredients have been kept simple so easy to put together lunches. I don’t understand the comment about cooking skills really.

I’m happy to be disagreed with, but to me this seems like a sensible idea and should hopefully ensure the child actually gets the food, and that the vouchers aren’t spent elsewhere.

It should also be better because last time people complained that the vouchers were for specific supermarkets which were difficult to get to.

I find it surprising that some people seem to complain about everything and are never happy it seems.

I think vouchers are better. For £2 a day for school lunches a weekly or monthly voucher would allow you to buy far more than in the food parcels. Your can also buy what your child eats so no waste. I picked up the food parcel today, il be taking 2 tins to the food bank drop off and given the yoghurts to my neighbour.

My child eats every fruit except bananas and so of course we got bananas lol not found anyone to give them to and the school won't take them back due to the risks of us touching them its another thing to clean.

We had a voucher in December and literally filled the fridge and freezer with fruit and veg, potatoes, eggs, bread, butter yoghurts they do like. You could probably spend far less with a voucher in a shop than the schools parcels but they may be using up stock from the school kitchen orders.

There is still stigma around benefits, just look at any thread online about free school meals and you will see the nastiness. I qualify for the assistance as I'm a carer for my daughter. I save the government thousands a month by doing the 24/7 additional care due to her high needs yet get £64 a week for carers allowance keeping me in a very low income bracket. I can understand why some may feel embarrassed to collect the parcels and its a shame.

That will always happen, I didn't say they couldn't be abused. But the vast majority of people will use the vouchers properly, and the contents of a food parcel can also be sold.

The vast majority isn’t good enough when it comes to hungry children.

The stories PP have shared about being able to buy more for the £15 voucher than they would’ve received in the food parcel are reasons both for and against vouchers sadly. Free school meals aren’t there to provide for anyone other than the child, and if schools can do it more cost effectively for them by providing food over vouchers then that’s what should happen. Other systems need to work to provide for other family members, not this one.

@Ted27 my daughter goes to a catholic school in a wealthy area. Im already shunned in playground for being a young, single mum with mixed race kids who is clearly very poor. I can’t imagine walking into to get the food parcel amongst the key workers and their children without feeling humiliated.

If you don't need the parcel what would you have spent the vouchers on??

@NailsNeedDoing

That will always happen, I didn't say they couldn't be abused. But the vast majority of people will use the vouchers properly, and the contents of a food parcel can also be sold.

The vast majority isn’t good enough when it comes to hungry children.

The stories PP have shared about being able to buy more for the £15 voucher than they would’ve received in the food parcel are reasons both for and against vouchers sadly. Free school meals aren’t there to provide for anyone other than the child, and if schools can do it more cost effectively for them by providing food over vouchers then that’s what should happen. Other systems need to work to provide for other family members, not this one.

Posters saying they could get MORE for £15, surely that should raise questions about the catering companies providing food to schools and why can a mum buy more for £15 than schools with planned menus and more buying power?

Do you seriously believe all children of drug addicts are classed as vulnerable!

A lot will be, but a significant amount will not be on anyones radar. There are some drug dependant parents who are perfectly capable of keeping up appearances to those that matter. Also just because the child is classed as vulnerable doesn't mean the parent will be sending them in to school. Its the vulnerable kids who aren't going to school we really need to worry about.

Op, I get why the thought of queuing to get a food parcel could be seen as embarrassing for many, but remember that only other folks there will be there for the same reason. Ans whomever is handing it out will know your child gets free meals. The help is there for a reason.

I also understand why you’d prefer vouchers. No one needs to know and you can use them for much more food than is in the parcel if you’re careful. You could have stretched it further.

However I’m sure you know why providing actual food is done, and also the fact that there is enoug food for one child for five lunches.

I suspect you were thinking how much you could have bought with the vouchers, in comparison to what you got. Snd also are faced with the fact vouchers are much more discreetly handled, you don’t need to go in and collect your food parcel at the school

I think you just didn’t articulate it well. You started off saying it was too meagre, them moved to you didn’t need fsm and only claimed them as a favour to the school and then moved to it was about the embarrassment of having to collect them.

If you’d just said “ I was hoping for vouchers, as I can make them stretch a lot more than a food parcel, and I am too embarrassed to go down and collect free food like this” you’d have had very different responses.

The money provided to the catering companies has to cover the purchase of the food, staff salaries, premises, running costs, preparation costs, packaging and delivery to schools. So yes, you could buy more if you went to the supermarket with he same amount of money.

@PerfectPenquins

Mary berry’s banana bread with a decent tablespoon of ground ginger added and great if you can use brown sugar or a mix of brown/dark brown.

It’s much less banana like and really tasty. Freezes well too.