Bloody (not) Free school meals

[Hazelnutlatteplease]

Not redeemable against online shopping!!! and only have a one month expiration. Absolutely useless.

We have almost completely avoided the supermarket in the last year on account of CEV DS. I have a few vouchers from previous lockdown which will make finances easier when we can get back to the supermarket, but these ones bah!

I got so excited when it arrived!! AIBU to try selling them on? Would anyone buy if I explained

Usual shit spouted on these threads to lay into people on low incomes, or god forbid, benefits! For those harping on about the "obvious risk" of putting the money into people's banks, I would point out that these same parents get benefits and indeed their wages, paid in cash into their banks. So they are allowed some income in cash and are able to spend it however they want. What is the purpose of vouchers other than to stigmatise people and make them feel shit then?
And yes a small minority of people won't spend their money on their kids - that is neglect and needs tackling by specialist intervention with those families, not by treating a load of good parents, who happen to be skint, like shit.
The vouchers only serve to make people like some posters on this thread feel superior and let you sneer down your noses at people you think are beneath you. By the way, a lot of these parents you clearly think are scum, are the very key workers you were stood clapping on the pavement for not long ago.
And before anyone asks, yes I know what I'm talking about. I grew up on fsm with a mother who worked 60 hours a week in a care home but earned an absolute pittance.
I am also now a senior social worker in child protection so I understand the difference between being a shit parent and just being poor.

@StarCat2020 there for food not money to be put in accounts and maybe the admin is hard on that we don't know
There are places to redeem online and other options ,

I don't think anyone's said they're not grateful for food vouchers.

The fact is the participating supermarkets could have updated their software systems to accept them online. A couple have; Asda and Waitrose I think.

It's frustrating for any parent reliant on online food shopping at the moment (for numerous reasons; childcare issues, caring responsibilities, shielding, isolating with covid).

There are ways round it as suggested but it makes things unnecessarily difficult for some.

@StarCat2020

It is utterly disgusting that the Government begrudge CHILDREN £3 a day for lunch.

I cannot understand why the £15 a week wasn't just transferred into the bank accounts of the parents rather than vouchers or food parcels.

I don't want to be cynical but I wonder if the whole farce with the food parcels wasn't intentional to keep certain voters on their side??

I hope I am wrong.

You don't have a clue do you? @StarCat2020 You may have well said, Let them eat cake

@thebestnamehere it's you without the clue.

I think they could just make the expiry longer than a month. Tried to use ours today from end of 2020 and they wouldn't work. We were isolating due to Covid for a month. DH was in hospital with Covid and I couldn't take Covid positive children to the supermarket even once I was out of isolation period. DH has had complications due to Covid since coming out of hospital and cannot walk for more than 10 mins.
I also have difficulties still post Covid so today was the first day I managed the supermarket. Can't use on delivery shops. We really appreciate the help the vouchers give us, I just wish for a little more flexibility.

This can’t be serious. Do you know how many parents will spend it on other things and give the kids fuck all?

A vanishingly small number of people.

[quote RootyT00t]@WorraLiberty

Sorry , I usually don't disagree with MN legend 🙊 but I don't think that's the case. Read though any FSM thread and you will see.[/quote]
🙄🙄🙄

Sorry @rubybarley I assume you disagree?

@MintyMabel

This can’t be serious. Do you know how many parents will spend it on other things and give the kids fuck all?

A vanishingly small number of people.

Quite

I started a thread on exactly this. Rural school, loads of our parents live in remote villages, rely on public transport, single parents with little support, parents with small children, our only close supermarket is Morrison’s, but even that is on an expensive unreliable bus service.(and no, no support hubs)

@RootyT00t

Sorry *@rubybarley* I assume you disagree?

I was cringing at you fawning over another poster

@OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow

I started a thread on exactly this. Rural school, loads of our parents live in remote villages, rely on public transport, single parents with little support, parents with small children, our only close supermarket is Morrison’s, but even that is on an expensive unreliable bus service.(and no, no support hubs)

Did your thread go well? Or was the general vibe Shut up and be grateful.

@Choconuttolata, just to reiterate that it’s only the actual edenred code that expires within the month; once you use your allocated code to ‘shop’ for your vouchers of choice, those vouchers you have ‘bought’ can last for up to two years. Certainly, the John Lewis and M&S vouchers I opted for (shoot me now for being a princess on the taxpayers’ dime) will only expire in two years from date of purchase. Please don’t let them go to waste, there are always ways to use them. We can always help you find solutions.

Giving cash direct to bank accounts may not benefit children in some instances.

It would have been better to do food parcels and utilise local businesses to help with them so they get an income and food goes to the children. That way tax payers would be helping keep businesses afloat too who will return the taxes if kept running.

Vouchers would be used by most though as children have been in school until very recently so there’s likely less risk shopping briefly than a day at school.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss, I think we have all seen the results of ‘business’’ deciding how the poor children of poor people should be fed. After business creamed off its cut, there wasn’t much money left to buy any actual food for hungry children. Hence the u-turn and the voucher scheme.

Look, all of this is the least worst option scenario. Sure, there may be parents who ‘abuse the system’ in the same way their wealthier peers ‘bend the rules’ (white collar crime is always so much more palatable and has its own coda) around child benefit, for example.

It’s been clearly illustrated on this thread that life throws many of us extreme curveballs which can quite literally change our family and financial circumstances overnight.

I may be poor (currently) but I have an easy conscience that I am raising two fine young people who will be ready to fulfil their civic duty to work as hard as they are able to help future society meet the costs of this pandemic.

@yesbueno assume you've name changed.

I wasn't fawning. I'm not known for fawning. I was pointing out that in the many years I've been on MN I haven't disagreed with @WorraLiberty but I do on this occasion.

That ok with you?

In NI parents got the £15 straight into their bank accounts . Much easier and less limiting than vouchers .

@iamtheoneandonlyyy

Iceland and Asda both only take funds the day before. I never shopped at Iceland before the pandemic but I find them very reliable and not too hard to get delivery slots. :)

think we have all seen the results of ‘business’’ deciding how the poor children of poor people should be fed.

Well we haven't, we have seen catering companies whose entire business model revolves around turning a profit from the provision of meals, usually at tax payers expense (see PAYD).

For those who wouldn't be able to spend the vouchers for whatever reason, a scheme with local businesses would have been amazing, dependent on area of course and what businesses are around. The butcher, bakery, cafes and greengrocer was giving free meals over the holiday last time before the government did a U-turn, and the supermarket was adding an additional £5 bundle to those who used the vouchers and wanted them once they were introduced. There is an appetite for it, and it would benefit smaller businesses as well as ensuring there is good quality, easy to prepare and a good amount of easily accessible food. There is a world of difference between big business that relies on sub contracting of businesses, and other businesses.

It's so fucking shit that so many people are in this position. Our school are offering a food drop service using peoples vouchers where absolutely necessary for the most vulnerable of families organised by one of the lunch time supervisors who isn't needed in her current role at the moment.

I'm in Scotland and my council pays the money into bank accounts each month to cover school lunches. I don’t know if that's Scotland wide but for sure in other areas too.

It seems to be working just fine. Anyone who is spending that cash on themselves rather than their DC would figure out a way to swap vouchers for cash anyway.

So they are allowed some income in cash and are able to spend it however they want. What is the purpose of vouchers other than to stigmatise people and make them feel shit then?

Vouchers are supposed to avoid stigma (remember the uproar over food boxes?)

Yes families get some income in cash (UC, child benefit etc) and there are no restrictions on how they choose to spend this. It’s not as if all choice is taken away. But FSM are supposed to benefit the children directly, think if it as ring-fenced income if you like.

Unfortunately some parents would not spend the FSM money on kids lunches, and it’s those children the vouchers protect. There aren’t enough social workers to go round at the moment.

@hikeforward, as I said in my post I'm an experienced senior social worker. I know about neglect and I completely reject the idea that a large proportion of parents on free school meals neglect their children.
In my large area the referral rate to social care this year is about 400 children per 10000 of the population and those who are assessed as child in need is about half that. Of those 200 per 100000 a tiny proportion are experiencing severe neglect of the type you're talking about. And those parents will just sell or lose the voucher anyway.

It's in not the reason vouchers are used. If it is, why not a generic supermarket gift card? If its not about marking that parent out when they go to the till?

@wherethewildthingis, they are generic e-vouchers, they’re not branded FSM in any way.