Aibu to ask how you keep pack lunch hot for school lunch?

[Threeandacat]

So with the kids back to school and the cost of lunches gone up to £3 each this means it will cost me £30 a week to give them school lunches. Single parent three kids and childcare means this is really stretching the budget. They have said they don't always like school lunch and prefer packed lunch on certain days (they can see the menu) I have really struggled with ways to keep lunches hot/warm I've tried various techniques and flasks but so far only one I have found is only really suitable for soup (small opening)

Aibu to ask if you have any hacks or recommendations for anything else I could use?

It says ‘packed lunch’ on the register when I fill it in!

No primary school I’ve worked in has ever allowed a hot lunch to be brought from home.

No primary school I’ve ever worked in hasn’t! Wouldn’t have occurred to me that it was even a thing.

@CasperGutman read my comment again , that was my eldest child.my youngest is six hth.

That said. I did spend most of lunchtime on a recent school trip trying to open a flask of hot food that had stuck totally fast. Child had brought nothing else.

Was finally opened instantly by someone’s Dad who had watched us all struggle for about half an hour. Annoying!

@Chunkymenrock Please note that on school trips, all and children will be provided a pack lunch from school. Parents are asked to provide a snack and a bottle of water only.
Direct quote from school , hth.

ignore the and I deleted an identifying school name but not the and.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]@CasperGutman read my comment again , that was my eldest child.my youngest is six hth.[/quote]
I'm confused now. I read your post again. It still says "My eldest child took beans and sausages in her [101] Dalmatian flask in 2003".

I'm not sure why you think I misread your post?

Given that a specific case of someone doing this eighteen years ago had stuck in your mind, I took this as evidence that taking hot food in a packed lunch was rare.

Or was I supposed to read between the lines and somehow understand that not only did your child do this in 2003 but she also did this many other times subsequently, you had younger children who also did so, so did lots of their friends, and in fact it's really popular?

www.amazon.co.uk/Hairy-Bikers-FLK1106-Stainless-Capacity/dp/B07YQ63DSK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=hairy+bikers+soup+flask&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1630708451&sr=8-1 I've got this, used mainly for soup. It's very good, keeps the food very warm.

@CasperGutman my point was taking hot food is not a new thing nor is it rare. It happened commonly 18 years ago and it happens commonly now.
It didn’t stick in my mind as a one off event.

[quote MyDcAreMarvel]@CasperGutman my point was taking hot food is not a new thing nor is it rare. It happened commonly 18 years ago and it happens commonly now.
It didn’t stick in my mind as a one off event.[/quote]
Sorry, I misunderstood then. You didn't actually say it happened commonly in 2003, nor that anyone else had done it since, only that one person did it (I assumed once, but you didn't say this) in one particular year. I suppose I have a bit of a tendency to take things literally!

All I know is I never knew it to happen in my school days in the 1980s and 1990s, nor from my experience in schools as an adult in the 2010s and 2020s.

Just give them a sandwich and a hot meal in the evening.

Re: the name- I’d personally write “packed lunch” but when speaking quickly it probably comes out more sounding like “pack lunch”, however what amuses me is the way people (me included!) use the whole name of “packed lunch” even when it’s for a different meal. Eg- the kids have to stay late at school for an evening performance/sports match etc so they have “a packed lunch for tea” rather than a packed tea (northern tea- evening meal). Other eg- you’re leaving the house early to get to the airport for a flight so you take “a packed lunch for breakfast” rather than a packed breakfast Is it just me that does this?!

My dd hates sandwiches and much prefers ‘proper’ meals so I started giving her leftovers in a food flask.
She takes rice and curry, pasta and sauce, soups and stews. She’s much happier with this and eats most of her lunch now rather than bringing it back. She’ll take that and some chopped fruit so added bonus that it’s really healthy.
She’s been taking it since yr1 and there’s been no issues with the school.

I have to say I started teaching well over 30 years ago, and I've also been a parent for 25 years and I've never seen a child bring a packed lunch into school that was hot.
I think it is very unusual in the UK - obviously I don't know what country you are in, but MN does tend to be UK centric. Which is why people are questioning why you would want to keep it hot.

It's packed lunch because it's packed up and taken somewhere. Pack lunch is just annoying.
My kids took warm pasta and pesto to primary 20 years ago - warm because the purpose made wide necked container wasn't all that insulated! Got a better one later.

I've always sent dc into school with a hot lunch on cold days. Many of their friends have food flasks too. I have never considered it that unusual 🤷‍♀️ (we're in the UK).

Op are you sure you kids aren't entitled to free school meals?

Don't do it op. I've worked in a school and supervised lunch and honestly the majority of "hot" lunches, packed in flasks, bloody well stink when opened and are warm rather than hot.
I'm amazed more kids didn't get food poisoning.
Yum, curry and rice that's been kept tepid for 4 hours......

It's packed lunch because it's packed up and taken somewhere. Pack lunch is just annoying.

What’s annoying is, the pedantry of people pointing out how wrong they think OP is rather than just ignoring the post or answering her question.

I grew up in the North West. A 't' or 'd' at the end of a word was silent. So it was pronounced 'pack' but would have been spelled 'packed' (it was also dinner not lunch but that is besides the point)

Surely there's plenty of other cold things you could pack that aren't sandwiches or pasta though?
E.g. savoury muffin or pinwheel scone, homemade mini pizza or calzone, frittatas made in muffin tins, stuffed pita breads, that kind of thing?

[quote NowWhatUsernameShallIHave]My son takes pasta or soup in an Aladdin bento - see first link

It’s great because you can put it in the microwave unlike the thermos ones and it’s a wide opening so sometimes he will have a roll to dip in the soup.

I batch freeze pasta sauce and soup and then defrost overnight and either boil the pasta the night before or whilst he’s having breakfast

www.amazon.co.uk/Aladdin-Proof-Bento-Lunch-Litre/dp/B071NV7KGY/ref=dp_prsubs_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B071NV7KGY&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

smile.amazon.co.uk/Polar-Gear-Lunch-500ml-Black/dp/B0794W4N8B/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g1386836776?_encoding=UTF8&hvadid=256009010381&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006886&hvnetw=g&hvpone=&hvpos=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvrand=11451634287106470385&hvtargid=pla-422350053831&ie=UTF8&linkCode=df0&psc=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&th=1[/quote]
Does the food really stay hot with that Aladdin first link pot? Do you microwave the pot on its own? Or hot water in it to pre warm it?

@GoldieLookingFish

I'm pretty sure Thermos wouldn't make food flasks especially for children if if was just a Mumsnet thing!

Maybe Thermos and Mumsnet should get together and make branded Mumsnet flasks for all of us who send hot food as PACKED lunches, which I did with my eldest 18 years ago. (Killing all the birds here with one post).

decorated excellent thorough work there but I wonder whether you did this once or regularly and whether for any siblings if there are any. Questions questions. (No answers necessary).

I just got permission from ds school and bought a thermos flask £16 on amazon he took a chicken dinner in it and the tiny bit of mash left was still warm when it came home he ate more lunch then if I had sent him in with a cold lunch mine also is not keen on packed lunches