Please help with the school food bank!

[Superplanner]

Mumsnet hive mind,
Please can I ask for your help with a school food bank? I’m working in a secondary school in the minute and there are a number of children in need of top up food. There is a breakfast club and they get free school meals, but we’re trying to build up a dry store of filling snacks and dinner substitutes.
School have suggested pot noodles / super noodles which are great because they’re “just add water” and we’ll get protein bars.
What else would your hungry teens appreciate after school? Only stipulation is that it’s non perishable.
Thank you in advance, wise women of mumsnet!

They're not cheap, but Huel does instant meals that you just add hot water to like a pot noodle. The difference being they are nutritionally balanced with plenty of fibre and protein. You can either get bags with multiple servings in or they do a couple of individual pots as well. They're pretty tasty (I would not recommend the bars however!)

Rice pudding? I mean the individual pots, not tins!

I was going to suggest contacting the Trussell trust too. They put packages together for people living in temporary accommodation with the assumption that they’ll only have access to a kettle. So will be able to advise.

im far from needing a food bank but also don’t have a microwave (just don’t want / need one, which people seem to find weird) so you can’t assume the kids families will have one

@Tacotortoise it is really not beyond the realms of peoples imaginations to see that these things don't always show up.

We were one of these families, I have absolutely no idea looking back just HOW we slipped under the radar, but there were days we wouldn't go to school as there was no money to pay the bus fare to get there.
Days where we had no lunch money but my stepdad was too much of a 'proud' arsehole to allow any kind of free school meal claim so a 25p cheese scone from the bakers in the highstreet was the most I'd eat all day. I weighed under 7 stone at 14.
We had a car reclaimed by bailiffs.
A house repossessed so 2 adults and 3 kids lived in a 1 room bedsit over a shop for a year.

And yet still no SS or other agency involvement - apparently because all 3 of us were doing 'well' in school, weren't troublemakers and got good results, we weren't 'allowed' to discuss with anyone at school for fear of punishment at home, but more to the point noone noticed anyway. I am 35 now, and my brothers younger so not a million years ago.

Thankfully now these things are picked up on sooner, but it's not as simple as removing teens from these households - where do you remove them to? Noone seems to want group homes in their areas for these teenagers, so I've noticed when they've been proposed locally. So who does look after them? Who does take them in? No one. The other adults in their lives can only do so much, and that's what the OP and others here are trying to do.

How about some quinoa, chia seeds and flax seeds, op. <So I can signpost my healthy eating even on a thread in which kids need easy to access calories>

This can be a bit expensive and I'm not sure how this is being funded. But a suggestion is Merchant Gourmet packs of quinoa/ lentils etc. they can be eaten cold and they are a good source of protein, carbs and all sorts of nutrients.

🤦‍♀️

On what planet are deprived teens going to crack open a pack of merchant gourmet quinoa and eat it?

Let's be realistic. It's healthy etc but totally unrealistic

you sound like a Tory MP a teen living in poverty isn't goi g to eat a kidney and green bean salad, have some common sense.

Wow, I really didn’t expect so many responses! Or to start a social debate. Thank you to everyone who replied, there are some brilliant suggestions here. I can’t reply to them all individually but just to pick up on a few things.

@Geneticsbunny and @Tacotortoise I agree that it is incredibly sad. I’m not in a position to know exactly what is going on at home. But what I can see is that these children come to school hungry, are lethargic, underweight, and can’t concentrate. Yes, concerns are always reported to social services, but the bar for intervention is very high.

@DisforDarkChocolate thank you for mentioning hygiene. This is already taken care of separately.

@contactus I agree with some of what you’re saying. We shouldn’t be aiming for the cheapest option for these children, they deserve the same as everyone else. But @Spendonsend is right too, I don’t want to shame or embarrass anyone, and a pot noodle for teens is probably one of the more socially acceptable options. I’m not aiming to broaden their culinary horizons. I’m looking for food I know they’ll eat.

@Godlovesall26 unfortunately our food bank doesn’t allow u18s without an adult, otherwise this would be a good option.

@WowOK great idea about local businesses.

@CompanyisComing your posts have given me a much needed chuckle, thank you.

To the posters who are commenting in horror and disbelief about the state of things, I completely agree. It shouldn’t be like this.

🙄

because there is no middle ground between a pot middle or some nuts &seeds

This is a really depressing and eye opening thread! I may have missed someone already mention it but b&m and home bargains sell pots of mash you just add hot water, my teens love them!

That's a good idea - there are also supermarket own brands, or cheaper brands such as Ben's. Can be eaten cold, can be heated up in either microwave or pan.

Edited to add: I was thinking more of the rice (in various flavours) then lentil/quinoa

It's not non-perishable but long life - those packets of pre made waffles/pancakes etc. DS and his friends enjoy those as a snack when they come in from school. I don't buy them often but they're a good option. And if there are things like peanut butter or jam around, they can be dipped.

Packets of dried fruit and nuts? Will depend on the children though and if you have a nut-free policy.

I was also going to suggest the huel meals- they are a bit pricier as you have to buy the big bags, but they’re also great for anyone with allergies as they are dairy free and egg free. They just need hot water added

But many teenagers love them and you only need to add boiling water .

We have a food bank at the primary school where I work. It is mostly funded by staff donations, a small number of parent donations and the local church.

The comments about healthy food are well meaning but naive. We have kids who NEVER have fruit or veg at home, kids who cannot recognise common fruit and veg items from pictures. We have kids with very restricted diets, who will only eat bland beige ultra processed foods either because of sensory issues related to SEND or because that's all they've ever known. These kids are not going to eat quinoa and lentils. They're just not.

The priority is getting some calories into them fast, because some of these children are underweight. When a child is underweight and/or showing signs of malnutrition typical "healthy eating" advice does not necessarily apply. We need to provide food that we know they will eat, not what we think they should be eating, or what our own kids eat at home. It also has to be food that takes zero prep since an increasing number of our families are having their gas and electric cut off, and even those with gas and electric to their property don't necessarily have a working cooker or microwave or basic equipment like pots and pans.

What has happened to the country I grew up in? I mean, where did it go? Because I don't recognise this one 😔

It might sound daft but the other helpful thing is to go to Aldi and have a wander round thinking what you would want as a hungry teenager. Or even when you're shopping take note of stuff you wouldn't usually buy
They do porridge oat bars which are nice and pretty filling as a quick easy thing

Adding to this.

Squeezy cheese that can be put onto crackers, or just squeezed straight into your mouth 😬Like the tomato purée ones but cheese instead.

Protein powder sachets and long life milk. These can be mixed in water bottles and sipped to fill them up a bit. Any kids who are exercising a lot would benefit from this particularly. Getting done with added vitamins /minerals would be even better. Probably cheaper to buy in bulk. You could maybe have a 'filling station where they get some scoops of powder, too up with milk and go on their way with an innocuous looking drinking bottle in their hand.

I'm bloody furious though that we live in a shittily run supposedly civilised country where this is a necessity.

Cashew nuts. Less people are allergic to than peanuts, and most supermarkets sell for reasonable price. Can often get cashew and dried cranberries bags. Easy to snack on straight away and filling and high calories.

dried pretzels. Come in smaller bags that large crisps so easier to carry and more filling.

Can you give stuff like jars marmite, peanut butter, jams? Then if parent can afford basic bread at least they have some toppings for it. It’s condiments and non essentials that often cost more. Ie they can buy 3 loads of bread for price of jar marmite.

shortbread fingers. Usually in block packaging so densely filled and quite filling.

I know right?

Some people genuinely have no idea!

No idea at all!!

The OP has said that there is very little parental engagement with these kids. I would imagine that it is not so much to do with being able to provide a meal, more whether they actually bother. They may have different priorities. Feeding their kids is not usually high up on their list.

It amazes me how naive people can be about things like this.

instant porridge that just needs hot water
babybel cheese