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.

I have never known a time when schoola have not provided hot FSMs.Those not doing so would be in the minority

This is going back before free meals for year R to 2 so about 8/10 years maybe, none of our schools had kitchens or provided hot meals, even the larger ones. It became viable when universal school meals came in for infants and grants were provided to build kitchens.
In my experience the meals are tiny at school and not particularly great quality, the box looks better but depends on how many of each item you got

I remember when reviewed a food parcel in the first lock down ( 2 kids and adult ) it wasn’t due to money but because we were not allowed to leave the house ( shielding ) and the deliveries were all still over the place. I rang to tell them we wouldn’t be needing one but was delivered on the Monday and I did wonder how the box would feed an adult and 2 kids ( one a teen ) for a week ! I felt really bad for some families who would be relying on it.

Has been hot meals in schools over 50 years. They were usually provided by the Council and the expectation is they should be offered a hot meal option.

If they are of poor quality or too small this is the schools fault.

That’s disgraceful. Have you spoken to the school about switching to Morrisons as their school meal box provider - you get lots more and same cost to the school

A few years ago primary schools didn’t provide hot food in the main and a fsm was a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a yogurt and maybe a snack. Do they have to provide a hot dinner now?

Schools have been providing hot meals for at least 50 years. Smaller schools without kitchens used to get them delivered from a central kitchen. Having said that, there's a bit of an obsession with hot food in this country. There's just as much nutrition in a cheese sandwich as a cheese pizza for example.

Personally I think vouchers or cash would be much more efficient for the vast majority of families. However, the food listed (if it was in date and edible of course) is perfectly fine and is the sort of thing many better off children would be having for lunch. Certainly if the child was hungry and it was their only meal, I reckon most would be pretty happy with the items listed (particularly if they were lucky enough to have a mum who made it into banana muffins for them!). Part of the issue here may be that the OP has fallen on hard times and is used to good quality food. Whilst I am not saying people should be grateful for gone off or unhealthy food, it is a bit unreasonable to complain about perfectly normal food that just isn't of the most expensive brand. Most children around the country eat white bread and rice crispies, it's not an outrageous thing to provide. If you need to rely on state help to feed your family, you have to accept an average rather than best possible standard. School dinners are not top quality or particularly healthy either.

Out of interest, what would a good food box look like, that is both healthy and appealing and would be practical to deliver in this way?

laca.co.uk/laca-view/free-school-meals-guidance-producing-food-parcels

Gives you a couple of examples of what to expect.

@cabbageking

Has been hot meals in schools over 50 years. They were usually provided by the Council and the expectation is they should be offered a hot meal option.

If they are of poor quality or too small this is the schools fault.

Maybe in some, certainly not universal. None in either of my primaries or in any of the schools I looked round for my own kids. Since universal free infant meals yes they pretty much all do! They don’t have to provide a hot meal but they do have to stick to nutrition guidelines. The portions are really small though and the same size whether you’re in reception or year 6 and the height of an adult. E.g small cup of tinned soup plus one small bread roll and a yogurt and one piece of fruit. For £2.60, there’s no way I would pay for them when I can provide a substantial, quality meal for much, much less.

No nutritious main meal suggestions then? Hmmm.

Eggs
Individual flora portions
Packs of 3 biscuits
Apples
2 bananas
An orange
I tin baked beans
Grated cheese
White sliced bread
3 small baking potatoes
Milk
Rice Krispies
Half a cucumber
Small punnet tomatoes
Packs of 2 crackers
Pasta
Pasta sauce

Main meals:
Pasta and pasta sauce
3 x jacket potato, 2 with beans, 1 with cheese
Salad on the side for a couple of meals (cucumber and tomatoes)

dessert: fruit

Snacks: crackers, biscuits, crackers, Rice Krispies

Alternatives and extras:
Boiled egg and toast
Cheese on toast
Beans on toast
Omelette with cheese
Scrambled egg on toast

All perfectly acceptable and things I regularly eat for meals. None of that is cold sandwiches. I really don’t see the problem.

[quote Daisypaisy2]@Bbq1 honestly I’m not even going to respond to some of the posters here as I feel like they have only acknowledged the part that suits their own narrative.

I don’t want to starve any child how bloody cruel however if your going to use strong words like that then posters better be prepared to look at the situation from both sides.

OP said white sliced bread further down in her post, white pasta... another poster referred to Rice Krispies as sugary.

I mean you cannot please everybody.
It’s a TEMPORARY measure too!

Perhaps money management needs to be taught here... because those kind of things I would buy my own child to eat![/quote]
Money management needs taught to whoever arranged this box, that's for sure.

@Mousehole10

Eggs Individual flora portions Packs of 3 biscuits Apples 2 bananas An orange I tin baked beans Grated cheese White sliced bread 3 small baking potatoes Milk Rice Krispies Half a cucumber Small punnet tomatoes Packs of 2 crackers Pasta Pasta sauce

Main meals:
Pasta and pasta sauce
3 x jacket potato, 2 with beans, 1 with cheese
Salad on the side for a couple of meals (cucumber and tomatoes)

dessert: fruit

Snacks: crackers, biscuits, crackers, Rice Krispies

Alternatives and extras:
Boiled egg and toast
Cheese on toast
Beans on toast
Omelette with cheese
Scrambled egg on toast

All perfectly acceptable and things I regularly eat for meals. None of that is cold sandwiches. I really don’t see the problem.

This.

It's more than enough food to provide 5 lunches for one child. Also, a very good choice of food to give different lunch options too.