A loaf and a block of cheese is not lunch for ten days

[ZazieSheHer]

So some of the free school lunch boxes contain very little food.

Marcus Rashford condemns free school meal packages

“...a package, supposedly containing £30 worth of food to last for 10 days, comprising just a loaf of bread, some cheese, a tin of beans, two carrots, two bananas, three apples, two potatoes, a bag of pasta, three Frubes, two Soreen bars and a tomato”.

mobile.twitter.com/RoadsideMum/status/1348646428084760576

Can’t imagine what it’s like home schooling hungry kids. Would like to say I’m shocked but I’m not.

Our local schools have chosen the company to provide the hampers not the Government

@Katyppp

To be honest, i look at threads like this and wonder when the Government became responsible for feeding children? And when did people become so entitled that they expected it? And complained because it wasn't enough? I have really struggled financially in the past, and i have never come anywhere near letting my children go hungry, ever. I am sorry, but no-one is so poor in the UK that they can't afford to feed their kids. There may be very specific situations when cash is tight, for example waiting for UC or fleeing domestic abuse, but widespread inability to afford food on a daily basis is a budgeting issue. It suits the left-wing narrative to promote food poverty, as seen on here, along with the usual juvenile comments about Tories helping their mates out. I agree there is not enough food to justify the £30 bill, that's obvious. But the real scandal is that the whole expectation of free food was there in the first place.

Crikey. Do you live under a rock? Or struggle to process information? Either way your lack of understanding and empathy is startling.

Step away from Channel 5 and the Daily Mail for five minutes.

[quote LegoPirateMonkey]@CamdenLurker these boxes are intended to provide ten lunches - two weeks worth of school meals. 2 x £15 = £30.[/quote]
A primary school meal Cost for the actual food is around £5 for a week, the rest is for staffing and other associated costs.

So if a child is at school they don't get £15 worth of food for lunch.

Has it been confirmed that Chartwell are actually being paid £15 per child per week?

I think you need to pull your fucking head of your arse mate but there we go.

You are naive. As pp have said, poor children have been entitled to FSM for years. It's not the children's fault even if their parents don't spend their money on nutritious food, this is a way they get one decent meal.

@Katyppp

I don't think i am naive at all. I think accepting that people can't afford to feed their own children without asking why is naive.

But that's not what you said You said I am sorry, but no-one is so poor in the UK that they can't afford to feed their kids. which is ignorant/naive. You can choose which word suits you best.

Our local schools have chosen the company to provide the hampers not the Government

The government are responsible for the whole system. And schools should be accountable for making sure the FSM are adequately provided.

When did the government become responsible for feeding children?

I can't be sure but I guess when we became a civilised society that doesn't want a helpless child to be hungry or worst case scenario starve to death, regardless who ought to be feeding them. It's probably a cheaper option than taking all children whose parents can't feed them properly into care. A lot cheaper. Even if you don't care about the ethics of letting children go hungry cos it's the parents fault, the fact it's cheaper surely makes it the best option. I mean, assuming the kid surviving is the desired outcome.

No food poverty in the UK. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

@Ereshkigalangcleg

It's ridiculous to expect a loaf of bread to last a fortnight. Or not to supply anything to spread on it.

I agree, a loaf of bread won't last 2 weeks once opened unless you freeze it. And not everyone has a freezer or space in it.

Don't know why marg should be supplied, surely the other people in the house will be eating lunch too and have some already. Or maybe a tub should have been supplied with the first week of food, maybe just over looked that not all families have butter or marg.

Has it been confirmed that Chartwell are actually being paid £15 per child per week?

It's been pulled down now, I think - but the £30 comes from Chartwells own web page giving the various hamper options for different scenarios. £30 was the cost quoted on their own website for the 10 days of lunches option. The others were not relevant (e.g. self isolation hampers).

@DecemberSun

There are costs involved, wages, rates, storage. It's naive to assume the whole amount should be spent on food.

In a pandemic with a government that has millions of pounds it is preposterous that this " lunch" is permitted.

Schools will still have the overheads too, even though many children are at home.

I wonder how the Government came up with £3.50 when they don't provide that normally for FSM

I picked up an out of date loaf of bread and fresh items that were inedible yesterday from my child’s school. As if being in this situation isn’t humiliating enough. ☹️

Don't know why marg should be supplied, surely the other people in the house will be eating lunch too and have some already. Or maybe a tub should have been supplied with the first week of food, maybe just over looked that not all families have butter or marg.

Yes, this is why for me vouchers where people can decide what they need to get are way preferable.

happybaby

When did the government become responsible for feeding children?

We ask our government to use our tax money to take care of the most vulnerable and in need. We also hope that, should we find ourselves in such a position, that the government will help support us, too. That's been a fairly universal ask of the UK government for several generations now...

The degree to which governments have been willing or successful at doing so has varied considerably.

I got fsm - 1991. As did my much older brothers, they'd have been about 1975 to start with. This isn't a new thing, it's just new that a pandemic means term time is suddenly at home. There are plenty of poor families where the normal food shop won't include anything for lunches at all because the parent just skips them to keep costs down- so there's nothing in the budget to spread a bit thinner. Couple of kids, even if you are quite frugal an extra £10 a week for weeks on end is money they don't have. It's also winter and a very large proportion of those who get fsm will also be on prepayment meters for gas and electricity so they'll be at one of the most expensive times of the year cost wise.

Whether we should have these situations is a much deeper question about society. But the reality is, here and now, there are families who can't afford the extra 1 or 2 meals a day per child that school closures necessitate. That is the immediate issue.

My sons lunch today will be two big cheese and ham wraps, a large portion of grapes, a banana, a glass of orange juice, then probably a biscuit or two with a hot chocolate. And he'll probably ask for a pancake or toast at about 3.15 ish. He's 10, almost the same height as me, and still growing, he eats like a horse.

If he had a parcel like the one in the op, it would go like this

Lunch 1: Toast (2 slices) and cheese, an apple, a banana, frube.

1. Same

3.Same minus banana.

1. Potatoe, baked with the last of the cheese, 1/3 tin of beans, and 1/2 a carrot. , no other fillings.
2. ^Same again minus the cheese.
3. 1/3 bag of pasta, 1/3 of a tomatoe. No sauce, no cheese, no fruit. Soreen bar.
4. Repeat.
5. Repeat but no soreen bar.
6. The last 1/3 of the beans.

10.?

As a top up it would really help, but it's not £30 worth of food.

That would last my kids a day. £30 gets me 3kg of chicken pieces, 2kg of rice, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic carrots, 3 kg of potatoes, 2 kg of Greek yoghurt, 2 packets of satsumas, 2 packets of pasta and one of sauce 8 pints of milk, 2 packets of chocolate digestives, huge bag of grated cheese, teabags, sugar and some left over. Pricing @lidl. Marcus is right. That’s an insult!

I don’t understand why the catering company who are being paid during this time to do nothing do not provide this for the children rather than it being the schools responsibility to pay both the caterer and provide these packs???

@5zeds

Pasta/bread/potatoe. Main carb Fruit/soreen loaf/frubes. Pudding Beans/carrots/cheese. Flavour/protein

I’d say a little light on protein but probably enough for ten lunches

It’s certainly not £30 worth of food though.

1 x loaf 16 slices
Tin of beans (assume large)
1 tomato
3 apples
2 screen bars
2 potatoes
2 carrots
3 frubes
Bag pasta
Packet cheese - 8 slices

1. Beans on toast, frube, 1/2 apple sliced
2. Baked potato, beans and crumbled cheese, 1/2 apple sliced
3. Pasta, crumbled cheese, 1/2 chopped tomato and 1/2 grated carrot, 1/2 soreen bar
4. Cheese sandwich with tomato and grated carrot, banana
5. beans on toast, 1/2 screen bar, frube
6. Cheese on toast, grated carrot, 1/2 screen bar
7. Baked potato with crumbled cheese, grated carrot, 1/2 banana
8. Banana sandwich, frube, last of apples and carrot.

Probably have bread and pasta left but no more fruit, cheese, beans, tom, carrot, so no I don't think it is enough for 10 lunches for an up to 8 year old unless it can be supplemented. It's also pretty boring and I think is poor value.

FWIW I have two 20 year olds here and to economise on lunches and fridge hoovering on Sunday I make a huge bowl of smoked mackerel pasta salad with mayo and spring onion £6.50 for about 8 lunches if you include a side salad.

I think it's a vfm issue and what is being offered provides neither 10 balanced lunches nor vfm objectively and also assumes there may be some butter, ham, tuna, extra cheese, grater, etc, in the store cupboard.

A bit of a poor show.

School caterers are still being paid but they do not need to provide free school meals or the infant free school meals in England so how are they not responsible to provide these packs/vouchers?

Disappointing to hear that this vital service that we are all paying to fund is not being delivered properly. Which parents are selling their food vouchers at half price? Where’s the evidence? And if there is evidence why doesn’t whoever has the evidence report them for neglect. Plus if children are vulnerable they are allowed to be in school, eating school lunches. I’m not saying it’s untrue, but where’s the evidence?

Catering staff will be providing meals for the children currently in school