Schools aren't feeding children enough

[Squashpocket]

DS (5 years) has always come home from school ravenous. We have had to give him a 2 course breakfast and full meal sized 'snack' after school to get him through to dinner time. Then sometimes supper before bed as well.

I just thought 'oh well, he's busy at school', but now I'm wondering exactly how small are the portions of food at school?!?

I have sent him off to a (very active, sports based) holiday club this week with a normal packed lunch (popcorn and fruit for snack, sandwich, yoghurt, fruit, veg sticks, breadsticks and hummus and a cereal bar for lunch) and he has come home full and able to wait for his dinner. Breakfast this morning has just been a bowl of fruit and Greek yoghurt and he's fine.

So, AIBU or is school obviously not providing enough food? I'm shocked because this is not how I (fondly) remember my school dinners at all! It was all massive portions of mashed potato and puddings with custard (those were the days...). Does anyone else find this?

My daughter, 8 , has complained all school year that the portions are tiny, and is ravenous after school.

I think because it is a 'business ', they get way smaller portions than you would get in a cafe etc.

Could be your son has had access to his food throughout the day and eaten when he's wanted to. May well explain why he's not hungry

It's interesting because when I went for a school lunch I thought they were small portions (of the main meal) compared to what I would feed my (then reception age) child at home. But there were add ons like bread or salad (I'm not sure what the take up for salad is although MN children probably love it!) and desserts. Hes not keen on desserts, and often was hungry when he got in after having school lunches. However I think hes more influenced by what other kids are doing. A lot of his friends are quite picky eaters so if they ate 5 bites and were "full" he would rather leave with them to go and play, than finish his food or ask for seconds even if he was stil hungry!

That packed lunch isn’t normal, it’s two lunches. So I’m not surprised he’s feeling hungry because he’s used to eating so much. Maybe give him packed lunches instead?

I agree there’s not enough at school lunches. I suggest the mum goes into school at lunch time to see what’s given. I bet the portion size will be bigger that day. The portion sizes are infant size and that’s for 11 year olds. I shudder to see those on free meals who rely on school food.

It’s not cheap to have school meals and the portion size allocated to each child is minuscule.

How can children learn with such small portions.

Perhaps some schools do have decent portion size.

@Dnaltocs its really cheap to have school meals. That's part of the problem.

Only cheap if you can afford it.

I understand that what we pay as parents is perhaps not that cheap but the money that actually goes into the ingredients to make the food os not much.
That money had to cover overheads also - staff, premises, transportation etc..

I wonder if the parents who pay for their DC are in some way subsidising the overheads for those on FSM?

It's not right though that an five year old gets the same portion size as an eleven year old. It's possibly just one of those things that no-one has ever actually thought to challenge?

I wonder if boys in single-sex secondary schools get larger portions than girls at the equivalent stage? I'd guess they do!

[quote Porcupineintherough]@Dnaltocs its really cheap to have school meals. That's part of the problem.[/quote]
It’s not cheap at our school. It’s £1.90 a day. Many parents do packed lunches because they can’t afford it.

£2.65 per child per day in my area, works out at over £100 a month for me - packed lunches are much cheaper!

It adds up with more than one child. £25 a week for two children.

£2.50 per day here! Interestingly the government only give the school £2.36 per meal for children on Universal Free Infant School Meals, the remaining 14p comes out of the school budget.

I work in the kitchen, our dinners are £2.30. I think the kitchen manager has managed to get dinners to about 90p - £1 a head - but there are 4 of us working in the kitchen who’s wages need paying. Plus the cost cleaning equipment / gloves (and now masks). Plus the cost of getting the food delivered to the kitchen etc etc.

If you really think the portion sizes are too small it’s worth raising it with the school in my mind. The catering companies have to pitch for contracts at schools and if they don’t provide a good service they can be replaced - but the head will only know there’s an issue if people raise it.

It's not right though that an five year old gets the same portion size as an eleven year old. It's possibly just one of those things that no-one has ever actually thought to challenge?

Where I work p4 - 7 get more than p1-3. I'm not sure if thats official or if kitchen staff give the smaller ones less to be able to give the older ones more

@Mumblebee20

Definitely agree. I had to call the school kitchen just before the end of term to check what my son said was correct. He is on free school meals and was coming home hungry every day, so I started giving him a bit of money for break.

This is what the kitchen staff told me. He is allocated £2.30 a day and children are only allowed to use the canteen at break or lunch - not both. With his 2.30 he is given a 'filled' roll (2 slices of cheap, really thin ham with no butter) a biscuit and a bottle of water. There is not enough money for anything else, the roll is £1, the water 80p and they chuck the biscuit in to make it a meal deal. He is in secondary school, leaves home at 8.20 gets home at 4.15

I asked in what world is that enough food for teenagers for 8 hours? I was told they could give him a hot meal instead but that meal alone would use all his money, nothing left for a drink.

He has packed lunch now, or I give him money, which defeats the object of free school meals, and
The money he is allocated is now going where??

Would it not be better for him to have the hot meal, and take a reusable bottle to refill with water from the tap?

It would be if he ate the hot meals. That isn't the schools fault, I know. He has tourettes and adhd with sensory issues. He would always choose a cold lunch anyway, as he has a hot meal in the evening.

It's not an issue for me, really, I can either provide a pack up or money for more food. My point was that not everyone can/will do that, and the food that is provided isn't sufficient for 11-18 year olds.

I work in a primary school and the portions are tiny. Still loads of waste though I guess it's hard to get the balance right.

School meals are tiny. They follow government guidelines on portion sizes but realistically every child needs different portions for whatever size. My 10 year old gets the same size meals as my 5 year old at school too. Mine are always starving too. Dd gets feee lunches being an infant. Ds insists he has lunches too but I pay for them. Sometimes I wonder why as he's always starving after school!

If he is that active, yes he’ll need the calories but school give everyone the same size, Switch to packed lunch and you won’t have an issue.

The school I work in has tiny portions. As staff, we are often dismayed knowing that for some children that will be their main meal of the day. For example, if they choose the jacket potato option, they get half a small jacket potato with a dessert spoon full of grated cheese on top. Then there would be something like a small cookie or a small bit of cake for dessert. That really is not enough for an 11-year-old for the main meal of the day! It's not really enough for a 5-year-old either. I know a lot of children will get a decent meal at home in the evening so for them it may not be so bad but I know there are children who won't get that.