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?

Portions are so variable in different schools I've worked in. Lunchtime can also be really rushed (especially with covid bubbles) and noisy and generally manic. I think primary schools should be allowed to prioritise lunch more, rather than it being a box to tick and to rush through in between lessons. And I think ks1 kids should be offered low sugar carbs (breadsticks/crackers) as well as fruit at break- lots of the younger kids are getting tearful by lunchtime.

Maybe it varies depending on the school. My son attends a small, village school.

When they started in reception, the teacher went to lunch with them at first and kept an eye on who ate what/who wasn't eating etc. She would feedback concerns to parents. My son has always been very tall for his age (but skinny - absolutely perfect bmi, confirmed by the GP) and was eating everything on his plate but getting hungry later. So, the dinner lady started to give him a bit more - problem solved.

He's just finished Y2 and still gets on well with school dinners but the staff know the children well.

All that said, he still needs a snack when he gets home! Afternoon learning must make him hungry!

Typically, his meals look like this:

Breakfast: cereal (e.g. 2 weetabix, cornflakes- no sugar) with semi skimmed milk. Drink of milk. Toast/fruit.

Snack: Fruit/breadsticks at school plus milk (though it will be water next year in Y3).

School dinner: varies but he might have macaroni cheese, broccoli, potatoes and biscuit for afters.

Post school snack: apple and cheese/breadsticks/toast - something like that.

Tea: Varies but probably something like fish, veg and potatoes or spaghetti bolognaise or sausages, mash, veg.
He usually has fruit/cheese+crackers after.

Supper: drink of milk and a banana at bed time.

He has a very good appetite but remains skinny! I honestly don't know where he puts it! He is very active though.

You could mention it politely to the school or send packed lunch.

To add school lunches are often eaten fairly early in the day. In our school lunch time starts from 11.45 and they have nothing else. Id be surprised if they weren't hungry come 3pm. Holiday club probably has a later lunch, more time to eat it, more snack opportunities etc

The small portions were one issue we had with school dinners and the portion sizes didn't seem to vary much between reception and Y6. The main issue was though that they often ran out of food and if you came in at the end of second sitting you'd sometimes be offered a dry jacket potato and some peas for your £2.25. It was basically unreliable, uneven quality and not good value for money. So my two had packed lunches most of the time. They are good eaters but slim, and still slim now they are 16 and 12. DD2 is very tall as well, currently 5'9".

This is all really interesting - I would say that the posters that have had the opportunity to set eyes on the actual school dinners (teachers, TAs, lunch time supervisors etc.) are fairly unanimous in them being on the small side...

I do expect him to need an after school snack e.g. a banana or a couple of biscuits. But he's hungry enough for a full meal at 3:30pm. Dinner is at 5:30pm ish, so if he was well fed at lunch time, I don't think he should need another meal at 3:30. When I feed him lunch on the weekends he doesn't do this - just a small snack if anything at all.

Btw I eat less than my son because I have lockdown weight to lose (I'm not overweight in case anyone's interested, my nice jeans are just a bit tight) and I'm a lazy arse that never exercises 😂

I think our schools portions must be substantial because ds isn't usually starving but he eats loads at home. He is 5 and eats more than me. He's also apparently underweight according to the school nursing team. He just burns it off. He doesn't stop moving. I work in a sedentary job so I don't.

He eats pretty healthy.

He's at holiday club today and he's taken

Small roll with ham and cheese
Grapes
Banana
Tube of yoghurt
Cheese string
Small biscuit
Cereal bar
Raisins

Which is for lunch, morning snack and afternoon snack.

He'll usually eat most of it throughout the day . Genuinely no idea where he puts it but he's always been like this.

@RocketPanda

Your DS lunch is more than anyone in my house would eat at lunch. Maybe he just has a big appetite?

I agree with this.

I think you will have to give him a packed lunch rather than have school lunches.

I have worked in many schools and don’t think they are on the small side for KS1 children, like many have said they levels of waste in the young ages is massive because they are “full”

For KS2 especially upper KS2 then yes often they are too small.

@Sirzy

I have worked in many schools and don’t think they are on the small side for KS1 children, like many have said they levels of waste in the young ages is massive because they are “full”

For KS2 especially upper KS2 then yes often they are too small.

I agree with this. I think they're a pretty decent size for KS1 children.

My two also often didn't eat it all because it was disgusting, and they are not overly fussy eaters. They'd choose like the macaroni cheese but just find it really weird, not like mine at home. I don't know how schools can make a mess of something like macaroni cheese!

School dinners are more than adequate as I often have a school dinner and it is more than enough for an adult. It is just we feed our kids portion sizes that are meant for adults these days. Our kids eat way too much. Our kids bring packed lunches that are twice the size of what the adults bring when we go on a school trip.

@HarebrightCedarmoon

My two also often didn't eat it all because it was disgusting, and they are not overly fussy eaters. They'd choose like the macaroni cheese but just find it really weird, not like mine at home. I don't know how schools can make a mess of something like macaroni cheese!

Yeah, I guess the other issue is that my children will often say they’re full just when they don’t like stuff. They eat most things at home but can’t stomach the school versions. They also hate the macaroni cheese and I was confused as to how macaroni cheese could be messed up, it’s quite a simple dish! They also hate the lasagne (in fact they couldn’t identify it as lasagne even though it’s one of their favourites at home). The combinations were often weird too, Monday was pizza with a side of spaghetti! It was easier all round for us to do packed lunches.

@Awalkintime

School dinners are more than adequate as I often have a school dinner and it is more than enough for an adult. It is just we feed our kids portion sizes that are meant for adults these days. Our kids eat way too much. Our kids bring packed lunches that are twice the size of what the adults bring when we go on a school trip.

This is such a generalisation. School lunches are too small for my children. They are on the lower side of a healthy weight. So if I fed them smaller portions as you are suggesting they would tip into being underweight. They are very active and growing, so they need plenty of calories.

Our nearest neighbours, Ireland and France are much better at cheap mass catering.

At university in France we used to pay about £1.20 a ticket (in 1996) and for that you got a starter, main course, dessert and cheese.

My school is the same, my DC now has a packed lunch. They invited us in to lunch pre pandemic and I was shocked how small the portions where.

He might say he is starving because he knows he gets a nice snack after school. It's hard enough to distinguish pure hunger from emotional hunger as an adult, let alone as a child.

Your packed lunch sounds fine op . Even the " unhealthy" cereal bar! In my day the extremely unhealthy puddings were the best part of school dinners...jam rolly poly, australian crunch and cornflake cake....yum! Sorry for slight derailment.

And also some kids do have a bigger appetite. My DS had a big appetite despite being perfectly slim and not overly active, just average. My DD who was more active had very little appetite.

Kids often do need to eat more than adults as they are still growing. If I ate as much as my teenager daughters, or even what they managed to put away when they were nine or ten, I'd be the size of a house.

@Awalkintime

School dinners are more than adequate as I often have a school dinner and it is more than enough for an adult. It is just we feed our kids portion sizes that are meant for adults these days. Our kids eat way too much. Our kids bring packed lunches that are twice the size of what the adults bring when we go on a school trip.

If they're not overweight, then what is the issue with that have you considered what might happen if they didn't eat that much?

This is a guide for moderately active girls:

7 to 9 years old: 1,600 calories per day
10 and 11 years old: 1,800 calories per day
12 to 17 years old: 2,000 calories per day

I remember being this age myself and always hungry! I was on packed lunches in primary school which back then consisted of sandwiches on white bread with butter (ranging from cucumber which was my favourite, sandwich spread, cheese, tuna or ham), crisps, a chocolate bar like a penguin or a Trio, a yoghurt and a piece of fruit. When I was in secondary school I was allowed school dinners and the portions were huge and filling. I still came home ravenous and had to snack before my tea - and I always had cereal and toast for breakfast. I wasn't overweight despite not being sporty I just had a fast metabolism so my Mum could never fill me! Even now I have a huge appetite but my metabolism has slowed down so I have to exercise far more self-control.

My dtds are 9 and happy with their school lunch. It will depend on the school surely? But then that packed lunch is more than I eat for lunch so it’s hard to judge. Mine probably have a bigger breakfast.

Neverrains It is a generalisation as it is most kids in school and I have worked in many schools. Yes there are the odd few who don't have oversized portions but it is few and far between.

Getyourarseofffthequattro A high percentage are overweight and this is increasing year on year but those that aren't overweight are developing bad habits and this could lead to obesity if they don't understand portion sizes as they get older.

Mine have a bigger lunch than I do too. But then I don’t run around with my friends for a large portion of the day, go to gymnastics/ballet/swimming lessons etc after school then spend an hour jumping on the trampoline after dinner! Maybe if I did I’d be as slim as them .