Lunchbox contents fine for school but not holiday club

[TheLunchIsServed]

DD is 7, about to go into year 3 at school.

She doesn’t always have a school hot dinner so takes a packed lunch. Usually she has

• Ham Sandwich
• Cheese string or babybel
• Penguin bar or similar small type biscuit
• Cucumber and carrot sticks
• Apple orange or banana
• Water

Sometimes I swap the cucumber and carrots for a homemade yogurt (fruit and greek yogurt combined). School have never commented negatively on the contents of her lunchbox, only comment I’ve ever had about it was from the headteacher the first time she took a lunchbox and I asked if it was (she’d gone in late for a reason and was taken to class by the HT) who said it sounded fine.

DD is at holiday club while I work and is taking the same packed lunch with her. She’s been before to this holiday club but I had a call to say policy has changed and she’s not allowed the cheese, yogurt (even a homemade one) or the chocolate and that lunch has to contain two portions of vegetables. They’d rather I didn’t send sugary fruit – even though DD tends to eat that at morning snack time rather than with lunch.

They’ve suggested I leave in the sandwich, cucumber and carrots, swap the cheese for another portion of vegetables – they suggested some cooked and cooled sweetcorn or tomatos (which are fruit) neither of which DD likes. They said to leave the chocolate out completely.

It’s nothing to do with hot weather as the lunchbox goes into a coolbag thing when she gets to holiday club and DD says it’s still cold when she eats it (at school I put those iceblocks in when it’s hot to keep it cool and DD says it’s nice there too).

I can’t understand why her lunchbox is fine at school but not holiday club who I was expecting to be more lenient.

So AIBU to think as I’m paying £35 a day for the service they can ignore a bit of cheese and a small chocolate bar? Or AIBU?

And if so can you make suggestions that a 7 year old will actually eat?

Rules are:

• Two Portions of Veg
• No nuts or seeds
• No kiwi
• No tahini/hummus

Tell them your dd is calcium deficient and has to eat a good source of calcium (cheese/yoghurt) with every meal. If they can make things up then so can you. What harm is it doing if she has some bloody yoghurt. And I say this as a parent of a child with a dairy allergy - I don't think it can be for that reason because then they'd be stopping homemade sandwiches too as milk can be in the bread, in butter, even in ham.

@Demelza82

Their service their rules. Get a grip rather than starting an argument. On a side note what you've provided for your child is trash food by any measure

Trash? Really?

Ask them if they are following the NHS guidelines (www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/), which promote the consumption of dairy. Unless there is a child with a severe allergy there is no need to remove dairy from your child's packed lunch.

I now realise how lucky we were with our holiday club when DC were the age to use it.

If they were going to be in the club and not on a trip, you could even hand in a tin of soup or beans and they'd heat it up for them.

I never had any issues with packed lunches and sent in similar to the OP. I think they did take issue if anyone was basically sent with low value food regularly but they would also provide a healthy snack themselves and if DC had a biscuit or cake and they were planning on doing some baking with them later they'd just say not to have that as we are making cakes/biscuits shortly. They also had freely available fruit and milk and water. Club was set in a fairly deprived area so they made sure that there was decent stuff available.

It was a fair drive for me to get them there and I once forgot their packed lunch and they told me not to worry as they would feed them with stuff they had but if I wanted to donate a bunch of bananas or bag of apples for the next time then that would be appreciated.

It's a holiday club, not a diet camp.

Yep. Cheese, yoghurt, carrot, cucumber, apple, orange and banana. Just junk

@Idontgiveagriffindamn

Ridiculous. I’d politely tell them to do one and carry on sending what you’ve been sending in. Assuming nothing they excluded is for alergy purposes which is unlikely.

Well, speaking as someone whos allergic to Kiwi, I would beg to differ. I can also see why nuts and chocolate are not allowed for the same reasons.

It definitely sounds like an allergy list tbf, assuming specific to the group perhaps. Kiwi is an increasingly common allergy... however no fruit rule is on the bizarre side!

They are supposed to have dairy in there, aren’t they? That’s what every lunch box policy I’ve read says.

It probably is to do with allergies, though they could have just told you that!

The policing over lunchboxes is mad.

I can understand the biscuit but the cheese and yogurt?…

It’s got other healthy things in so what’s the issue…

"Sugary fruit" would piss me off. They honestly can't tell the difference between a whole food and processed food? Fruit is not unhealthy, and certainly not in lunchbox portions.

@Demelza82

Their service their rules. Get a grip rather than starting an argument. On a side note what you've provided for your child is trash food by any measure

Enlighten us oh wise one......

Absolutely bonkers. Going to guess the holiday club cost a fortune as well? So you’re paying through the nose to be dictated to, nice.

Her lunchbox is fine, no idea what the issue is with a babybel!

I'm surprised you got away with the chocolate biscuit for as long as you have as chocolate seems to be on the banned list for most schools now. But everything else sounds fine.

op they can advise all they like but you dont have to take any notice!

So basically all you can send in is a sandwhich but oy with ham (I assume no butter if no dairy products allowed), and vegetables? I would politely (maybe) tell them to fuck off. Have they put these children on some sort of calorie restricting diet? I would also be arranging alternative childcare ASAP.

I wonder if they would have commented if you’d sent a piece of cheese cut from a block rather than processed cheese items?

I would ask if they are objecting cheese which is a good source if calcium and protein or objecting to processed food….in which case many types of ham are highly processed too.

And I’d check if they are really suggesting fruit isn’t allowed, or simply commenting that veg is less sugary?

And then carry on sending what you have already.

Or totally ignore it all…it sounds crazy to be negative about ‘sugary fruit’ as if fruit is suddenly a terrible thing to be avoided.

I hope they're sitting around doing jigsaws and reading all day as their 'suggestions' are rather low energy.

They obviously know as much about children's nutrition as I do about theoretical physics.

Aside from allergy considerations, what you feed your child is not their business. Especially at £35 a day.

That's so strict, the no humous is strange too, what are vegan kids meant to eat in sandwiches, my elder dd had humous wraps nearly every day when she was at school/holiday club because she's a fussy vegetarian

Chocolate i kinda get

But cheese and yogurt is just crazy!

Not for this age group I know, but was looking into updating our lunch box guidance for 2-4 yrs olds and I come across something about trying to avoid yoghurts? I didn't look into at the time, but I think it was referring to squeezey and processed type yoghurts., and was linked to oral health.

@dotty81

My kids spent the first few school years in the USA and peanut butter@jelly sandwiches were given to them for school pack ups! The U.K. we have got obsessed about lunches. These allergens are not airborne (peanuts in packets are that's different) so as long as kids don't share food it shouldn't matter. They should be washing hands afterwards anyway!

I'd struggle to feed my DD with those rules.
That's the list of packed lunch food she will eat..

Interested to hear what they say when you enquire further. It makes 0 sense to me unless there are allergy issues.