To think there must be a cheaper way of teaching Home Ec

[Ceramicpumpkin281]

On today's list:

A clove of garlic
Pinch of paprika
Table spoon of olive oil
1 chicken breast

This is an area where lots of families are struggling, Couldn't the school have store cupboard basics for the class to share that we all pay an annual amount towards. I know people will say these are the types of things families will already have at home but a lot won't!

The food also comes back inedible after kicking around all day so it's not proving a meal for the family either.

We pay £15 for the whole year and then don't have to do this crap of odd bits and pieces!

Some schools provide ALL the ingredients for a termly fee (eg the one I work in).

My daughter's didn't - but at home wehave all those extras in our store cupboard and I would also have allowed my her to take some extra for those in the class who didn't have everything.

Yep. Us too.
Brilliant system.

That's amazing! I spent that much on ingredients today (not just the ones listed).

OP- are you saying that the children have to bring the ingredients to school with them from home? And remember to do so???😧

I have never heard of this! Admittedly I don't have children, but when I went to school- all the ingredients were there- at the school already! We never bought anything in at all!

Yes, they bring home a list of ingredients for us to send them back in with. Everything, including a pinch of salt/pepper, tin foil, an egg to glaze etc.

Yes! Same here. It's so inefficient.

I left school 13 years ago and it was the same back then, we took ingredients in.

DDs school does a mix... sometimes its being in 50p/£1, other times they bring their own. But its kept in the fridge and they get it at the end of the day (or eat it for lunch if its a morning lesson!)

The problem is that many people don't pay and the school ends up very out of pocket. The system is that they cook in a small team and each bring in a few ingredients usually. I agree it would be easier to charge a set amount, but that only works is family's pay and many simply can't or won't.

Perhaps you can put this forward as s suggestion to the school...

We took in what we needed to make what we was being asked .
Surely you knew these things would come up when deciding to have children ?

I remember having to take all the ingredients. I used to have PE and Cookery (as it was called in my school) on the same day. No lockers. My bag weighed more than me!

As far as I remember it was only in the upper years that we cooked a main meal. For first 3 years it was food that kept pretty well or you could eat for lunch. French bread pizzas, cheese scones, sausage rolls, rock cakes, apple crumble. Then in the older age groups we did chicken pasta, spag Bol type things.

The only thing the school provided was the pots and pans, cooking implements and oven.

When I was at school 60s/70s I had to take everything in, my daughter did also my grandchildren although I don't think they've done any since covid.

I hated my dc doing home ec. So wasteful and cost £££.

No mention of budgeting or simple swaps. Eg If it was spring onion (which I don’t buy) I’d offer an onion much to my dc horror.

I remember spending £10 on ingredients. I could’ve made spag bol for that which would have done 6 or 7 meals.

The school i work in provides everything. The kids generally leave the food in the fridge till the end of the day and about 80% never bother to collect it. Is so awful throwing so much food out. We keep it for three days- but can’t keep it forever! I reckon if the parents sent in the food they’d make their kids bring it home! It’s a private school though, so I guess it’s part of the fees. Next week is mustard glazed salmon on lentils. Not looking forward to fridge of decaying salmon. Good week for the cat though!

Blahblah36 me too! Back in the 1970’s when I was at secondary school, one year on Thursdays I had to take my school satchel, my cookery basket, my PE kit and my violin!
My grandsons school does the pay per term thing but my sons were still on the ridiculous take in “ tsp if this that and the other”
Im thinking that schools will need to rethink this year.

Yes because when we decided to ttc, I really considered that I'd need some last minute thai curry paste or cream cheese for school...

😆

Misses point entirely 🤦🏼‍♀️

If I knew the other parents I'd happily say right I'll buy the garlic and paprika for this week. Just in this class alone that's 30 jars of paprika bought. I dont actually use it in my cooking. Hopefully they'll need another pinch of it before the years out!

Our school has that system and my son did Food Tech for GCSE so 😭
The kids on Free School Meals had ingredients provided for them. (School used the Pupil Premium money )

Yeh I think I will email the department and suggest the ideas on here. Maybe they've tried them before and it just doesn't work (as a PP said it requires parents to actually pay) but there's no harm in asking.

I think under normal circumstances that would be fine but just with the rise in food prices as it is I think every family's feeling the pinch.

I work in the NHS and they've started providing staff with free porridge and toast in the morning just to make sure no one's doing a shift hungry. Sad times.

My DD’s school used to do this and she was FSM like many others and didn’t get any help with the costs.

What happens now is that the larger quantities they need to provide themselves like potatoes, flour etc but the odd table spoon of things the teacher asks them to bring £1 and provides it.

It is so much easier buying just the main ingredients.
I do think it would be better still to pay X amount for the term as it would work out cheaper.

We didn't bring in ingredients but we had to bring in tubs to take our meals home. One time a girl forgot hers when we made this disgusting cheese pudding thing that was like lumpy gloopy macaroni cheese without the pasta. The teacher was fed up of people forgetting their tubs and the food being left in school so she made her spoon it out of the schools' baking dish and take it home in a poly pocket. It was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. We were in hysterics at the time, though!