Free school meals

[FlatteredRhubardFool]

Not sure it's an AIBU but want to vent.

DC's term started 3 weeks ago. I've had 2 food boxes dropped off. The last one was a week ago and contained:

A rotten apple
A pre-frozen loaf of bread that went mouldy a few days ago
Cling film wrapped grated cheese that was use by last Sunday
Milk that was use by Sunday
A mini pizza that was use by Monday
Cake that was use by last Saturday

Eggs
Bananas
Oranges
Rice Krispies
Biscuits
Baked beans
Pasta
Pasta sauce
Margarine

There was also a leaflet on food standards and how each meal is supposed to contain unrefined carbs. Not sure how the white sliced bread, white pasta and Rice Krispies fits into that

I feel like I should be grateful but I feel quite insulted that dc has been provided with food that wouldn't last the week due to the short dates on things. I feel too embarrassed to contact the school.

I thought the issue of fsm had been resolved but looking at what has been provided by school it remains poor. The items themselves are ok but the use by dates are rubbish and therefore the food doesn't last the week.

When at school they get a fruit snack in the morning and a two course lunch so what they are sending is not compatible at all.

Thank goodness my other dcs' school has sent vouchers.

Yabvu.

@MissMarpleDarling

Yabvu.

Really? You like mouldy food, do you?

The bread, cheese and pizza could have gone straight into the freezer.
When you got the food box, did you contact the school to point out the short shelf life? What did they say?

@FlatteredRhubardFool

I'm well aware that it's for 5 lunches a week. Obviously the lunches can't be directly comparable but they should be nutritionally comparable surely?

It's the dates/quality that bothers me rather than the actual food choices.

The attitudes of some on here are awful. Fsm weren't in my experience either until my then husband walked out and I ended up on benefits. I should just be grateful though hey.

No, OP, no one should be ‘grateful’ for something to which they are entitled. However, we need to be a little more understanding about the circumstances. In my school, the food boxes were put together by the office manager and Headteacher, as the kitchen staff were busy making school dinners for the children already in school. The food delivery was late, the produce less than great, and some of it was damaged in transit. We had parents phoning up constantly for their food boxes, and then complaining because it took all morning to sort them out. (We have around 80 kids on FSM).

Only the apple was rotten on delivery according to OP. The bread was delivered "last week" and went mouldy "a few days ago". To be honest, my bread rarely lasts this long without going mouldy and I would have frozen it after a couple of days anyway.

Despite apparently being previously frozen, I would freeze the bread and toast it from frozen to help it last longer. I'd freeze the grated cheese and possibly other items too.

It's a shame there were no vegetables, but hopefully provisions will be better in the future once better systems are in place.

@fedupathome are you happy for your taxes to pay for that rubbish? Whilst the people at the top or profiteering from it.

OP has clearly stated why she can't pay for it and this country has a benefit system, she's entitled to FSM and being delivered scraps on unacceptable.

Maybe one day you'll fall on hard times...........

I'm disappointed with some of the attitudes on here. OP that box is nowhere near the government standards for fsm packages - I suggest that you point that out to the slt at the school and ask them to speak to the catering manager and get them to supply what they are supposed to.

Ok, so this week I've just received:

A loaf of bread (not frozen so can freeze which is great)
A big bag of apples (great I'll bake with half of them)
2 bananas
A tin of baked beans
Tomatoes
Half a cucumber
Half a dozen eggs
2 yogurts
3 x packs of 3 biscuits
3 potatoes
Rice Krispies
Milk

The cereal is meant for a snack it says.

So I'll make scrambled egg or beans on toast a lot with a side of tomatoes and cucumber and a piece of fruit and be very grateful for it.

I never even thought about where my taxes were going when I was paying them yet so many people object to where their taxes go. One day they might have to rely on benefits themselves. I hope they don't encounter the attitude I've seen on here. There but for the grace of god as my ward manager used to say.

I don’t begrudge you my taxes. I’m very sorry you’ve been treated so appallingly on this thread. 💐

We got a free box as DH is ECV during the last lockdown. The contents were vile! Out of date bread, two bags of tiny apples that were bruised and old, a couple of tins of no brand beans, some kind of tinned pie and a school-style toilet roll. To add insult to injury, it was delivered to our old address and the neighbours complained (house empty). If this really was meant to keep someone going for a week, they’d have had no chance. We took the contents that were edible to the local food bank and cancelled the service (didn’t even realize we’d been signed up to it, which is also ridiculous as we didn’t need it). Such a waste of time, effort and money.

Ah, thank you but please don't apologise for them. I'm a highly qualified nurse with a degree and two post-grad diplomas in my speciality but I'm not working at the moment due to circumstances beyond my control including my now exH walking out on me and the children and my children needing me at home for various reasons. One day I'll be putting back into the system again like I did before and I won't begrudge anyone the help they need and are entitled to.

@FlatteredRhubardFool

The food is supposed to be for Monday to Friday but lots was use by the end of the weekend.

But there was enough there for 5 days worth of lunches. The first ironing fruit is not catered for in these boxes.

Surely when you're home 7 days a week, it matters not if you had to use Monday to Friday or Friday to Wednesday, it's still 5 days worth of food is it not?

I agree though that vouchers are preferable.

We get 30 pounds a week in our bank for school meals during this pandemic. Thank you SNP 🙏🏿

In Scotland that should say

Criminals in prison get fed better.

Really unfair on the children. Who should be getting a sufficient amount for a nourishing meal.

This is instead of money that parents would be getting in benefits for the kids. It's paid for. More £ than what's actually being spent on this.

No matter how many times I see threads or Facebook posts or news articles about this topic, the comments always surprise me. Basically boiling down to "if you don't want to eat rotten, mouldy food, you shouldn't have chosen to be poor". People saying "be grateful" for mouldy food, rather than understanding that the provision of food is a service that has been outsourced to private companies who are turning a huge profit on each box they are supplying.

Whatever happened to compassion? There but for the grace of God, go I.

OP, sorry you are having a tough time re exDH and now the fsm problems and I hope that things improve for you. I think you should bring this to the attention of the school as there is obviously a problem with their supply chain which should be brought to their attention and rectified.

I don't want to live in a country where people should be grateful for mouldy food for their kids. FsM shouldn't have been outsourced, it's massively inefficient. For the price that was paid for out of date food OP could have had a £30 voucher to buy healthy food for breakfast and lunch for over a fortnight.

If there is an issue with the standard of the parcels, take a photo when you receive it and complain to the school. They are responsible for the standard of provision and for checking what is being provided.

I thought the contents look ok but they should last for the week which it’s delivered for and the delivery day should be fixed, no good if you don’t know when it’s arriving! Some of the things like ‘biscuits’ or ‘cake’ I’m not totally sure whether you mean an individual pack or an entire cake/ packet!