School demanding packed meals for 18 hr bus trip

[Snoopmummy]

DC is off on a school trip involving an 18 hour coach journey. School is demanding we drop children off in the evening having fed them (fine), equipped with nut free snacks (makes sense). We have also been asked to provide TWO meals: a packed breakfast and a packed lunch.

That means breakfast will be consumed 13 hours after they set off and lunch will be something like 17 hours later. Is there any food that can safely last for that length of time in an insulated bag or flask? DC does not like dried fruit or cereal bars.

AIBU to consider asking for the risk assessment over this and suggesting we equip them with money to get food on the way as they will need to stop anyway?!

Danish pastry or similar and piece of fruit for breakfast.

Piece of fruit, cucumber/carrot/pepper sticks, crisps, fruit slurpey, choc chip brioche bun or buttered roll or jam roll.

It’s one day and will be so exciting for them.

I’m amazed that a primary school takes children abroad skiing! We take our kids overnight to an outdoor adventure place, and they also do a sleepover in school one night - our families have no money though.

OP, you’re being far too precious. Your DS needs copious bags of crisps, sweets, bananas, biscuits and maybe a couple of Frubes. It won’t bring about permanent nutritional deficiencies overnight!

I can't wait to get close to retirement so that I can tell parents like this what I really think of them.

If the staff supervising an 18 hour bus journey have asked you to provide two packed meals, just do it. Just do what they have asked you to do. This thread proves that there are many options that will not kill your child if you use your imagination I'm sure you'll manage it.

Teacher here 👍. Schools have to specify food requirements on trips because if they don’t you have one child showing up with nothing and others have suitcases full. We assume parents will use common sense too and pack plenty of snacks or provide money if they want their child to buy something. However, you can’t specify money only because we don’t know always know where we will be stopping and what the facilities are. The coach driver dictates this as he/she require breaks after driving a certain amount of time and if there has been traffic it can mean stopping anywhere along the way.

I hope your child appreciates the teachers giving up their time and effort more than you seem to! You have no idea how much work goes into planning a school trip.

Hey, don't take the piss out the gluten.

#provisionalwingofthecoeliacsociety 💪

😉

Box of cold pesto or tomato pasta with veg will keep.
Apple, fruit, smoothies and normal breakfast items. A few sweets for the journey

Fucking lol.

Demanding.

Genius suggestion!

Carton of juice, bananas,apples,grapes,Satsumas, brioche, croissants, cereal bars, breakfast bars, fresh bread rolls, dry cereal in a tub, pre-made pancake rolls, pastries. None of these are stored in a fridge in our house and all eaten for breakfast. It's demanding risk assessments over silly things which make schools and after school clubs just think its not worth the bother of doing these trips. Do your own risk assessment of the food you're sending and while you're at it thank the teachers for giving up their evening off work to enhance your child's education.

@Snoopmummy

do you really think they’re gonna get anything more nutritionally valuable at the service station?!

Oh God please don't ask them to do a risk assessment...it's such a pointless pain in the arse and the beleaguered, often unser appreciated, admin woman will be running around like mad doing it all. Don't make their life harder. Just pack cheese sandwiches and single wrapped croissants, hot cross bun, crisps, chocolate bars, loads of snacky bits. They will have a great time! X

If it needs to be nutritional, you can make muffins containing fruit and veg.

Put hot food in a thermos/flask. It will be fine.

Most thermos flasks won't keep food hot for that long.

I'd do the following along with a couple of bottles of water, nothing needs to be refrigerated:

Breakfast:
Prepacked pain au chocolat
A Belvita softbake
Carton of orange juice
Apple or any other piece of fruit
Maybe some of those fruit bars that are covered in yoghurt

Lunch:
A small baguette
One of those mini pots of preserved you can buy from the supermarkets (or get at a buffet), jam or marmalade with a disposable plastic/cardboard knife to spread
Crisps
Fruit
Flapjack

I'd also pack a few packs of cookies, biscuits or similar in case they're bored and feel like snacking (also a winner when making friends). Kids get hungry when they're bored, and bored on long journeys! It's also 2 meals out of their entire life, if it's not particularly nutritious it won't hurt!

You are being absolutely ridiculous, honestly.
No one would be poisoned by a 17 hour old cheese sandwich.
Give them a couple of Bevita for breakfast. It's a one off coach trip, every meal doesn't need to be nutritionally perfect.
The shit poor teachers have to put up with.

I wonder if the staff will be eating 17 hour old sandwiches or whether they'll be permitted to buy something fresher?
We take our own butties and snacks. 🤷‍♀️
I suppose we could buy something but we don't.

Don't send them then.

Firstly you can pack things with ice packs. Secondly, things like cheese will last longer than meat or Quorn etc. for sandwiches or 'sausage' rolls. Thirdly, often when I or the kids (used to, they make their own now) take out a packed tea early in the morning, I take it out frozen so that it lasts longer. As well as filled rolls (which seem to work better than sandwiches or wraps), I also find a frozen small quiche (bit messy to eat on a coach), pork pie, Cornish pasty or sausage roll (or vegetarian equivalent) works well with this method.

I also find that taking out something like sliced ham or sliced cheese in its packet along with the rolls separately in a freezer bag or tupperware lasts much better than taking the made-up sandwich. With an ice pack as well as it being frozen in advance, you could probably even do an egg bacon tomato morning sandwich, and then something without meat or egg for lunch. Hard boiled eggs in their shells, and mini Babybel last for ages even without any freezing, refrigeration or ice packs so if you make sure they are cold with ice packs, they should do as snacks well into the next morning.

See, as a teacher, this is why I stopped running trips for kids. Parents like you...

Apologies if it's already been mentioned but there are restrictions about what you can take into the EU.

Another option is one of those tuna salad meals that are long life until opened. I don't like them but I know someone who brings them to work.

Indeed - I didn;t read 10 pages plus - but you are not allowed to take meat or dairy and other items into EU - the school really need to check this out and provide proper advice as to what is allowed in any pack up.

Summer 2022 in the mega hot weather I had to chaperone scouts to jamboree and get the coach back to and there was no opportunity to stop for lunch. I took things that don’t need refrigerated eg fruit, cherry tomatoes, baby bell, peparami, ritz crackers, cereal bars. Breakfast you could do prepacked pastry and fruit.

I have not yet written to ask about any paperwork. But as someone who used to be involved in education I can assure you we conducted risk assessments for every trip
Yeah, we risk assess everything, from walking near a water edge, walking near a main road, transporting children, risk assess qualifications etc. But we do not risk assess the food the kids bring. We assume parents have some brains that work and they can feed their kid on a trip without needing a dynamic RA in place.
The only proviso now and again is the no nuts rule if necessary.

An 18 hour journey for a 9 year old. This is screaming non state school trip to me. Ask the school to fly the children there instead. It will solve your concerns.

If you aren't willing to pay the extra for the flights follow al of the suggestions above.

Plus a risk assessment for good in a trip 🤣