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?!

Cheese scones
pepperami
prepacked tuna pasta
Ambrosia tubs of custard/ rice pud

It would be like herding cats!

Lol! Please do ask them for the cheese sandwich risk assessment.

Parents like you are why some teachers cba with school trips. Pack your kid some pastries and a sandwich and they'll be grand.

I wouldn't worry about that at all, as long as I put an ice block in, in an insulated lunch bag, and it wasn't very hot weather. My daughter recently did a school trip with a 14 hour trip, so not quite as long. They were asked to take breakfast and tea, but could buy lunch on ferry, so I suppose that was her main meal, but still I happily packed cheese and ham sandwiches and some fridge raiders next to an ice block in an insulated bag for the tea 12 hours later. (I like the freezing the sandwich ideas too). Breakfast we did those wrapped pancakes and some fruit. Packed flapjacks, crisps, babybels etc too. She didn't eat half of it because of the huge cooked breakfast on the ferry and not really feeling hungry travelling, but what she ate was fine.

An apple, a banana, a couple of breakfast bars, 2 x croissants, a few pepperoni sticks, baby bells a bag of mini cheddars and some shortbread. Plenty of bottles of water and a couple of cartons of fresh juice.

Plenty of examples given on this thread. If you really want to give him something else you can freeze cheese / ham rolls and they will have thawed by the time he eats them.
As a species we managed to exist without fridges for an awfully long time your DC will be fine

Ambient tuna pasta snack pots are a good call.

How about you do your own risk assessment and provide appropriate food?

Providing the kids with money is just asking for trouble…then parents complain that little Johnny bought 3 packs of Monster Munch and hobnobs and why didn’t the teacher prevent that happening

School trips are risk assessed to the nth degree. Food poisoning from a warm ham sandwich is probably quite far down on the ‘likelihood’ axis.

If travelling so long, I assume they want to minimise stops, and eating as they drive is far quicker than a stop for everyone to buy food, which would end up being an hour or more.

You lost the argument as soon as you said ‘demanding’ - you do realise that these teachers don’t get paid extra to give up their spare time to go on these trips don’t you? They aren’t doing it for fun, they do it for the kids!

He’s a teenage boy - throw a load of crisps, croissants, cake bars, banana, cereal bars etc in a bag and he’ll be happy! It’s for one day, I’m sure they will eat something more nutritious when they get to their destination. If they bought something at the services it’s not likely to be healthy anyway is it.

If you want to include a sandwich etc, use cheese rather than meat and pack in an insulated bag with a freezer pack or some frozen water bottles. Will keep cool until the breakfast meal at least.

A risk assessment?? Dear Lord. And who is demanding? No one. The school are asking you to do something. But please, do go ahead and ask for a risk assessment for a couple of cheese sandwiches, give the teachers a good giggle in the staff room. Cringe.

Catch a grip.

Buy one/two of the 'suckie' yoghurts and freeze it. Wrap the food that you want to keep cool in with the frozen yoghurt and foil. We bought the breakfast pots with granola on top and then put cheese and pickle sandwiches, fruit, nature valley bars, crisps. Then eat yoghurt. Kid then packages all of that back into foil and pops the whole lot in the bin.

If they have to get off bus, get food then get loaded back on, that will cost you extra money.

Honestly, the fuss some parents make over a couple of packed lunches...... "just buy something", no just make a couple of packed lunches using done sense and stop being so lazy!

Sometimes I think MN makes these threads up to increase traffic/interaction! And they knew they'd certainly get plenty from a ridiculous post like this!

Can I suggest you contact the school and thank the staff for going to the trouble of organizing a trip which will enrich your child and add to their workload.

My DC did several school trips across Europe on buses when they were at school. I don't think I once thought about asking for a risk assessment for their packed food.

Just pack some croissants, pain au chocolate, pancakes or similar for breakfast with a bit of fruit. For lunch a non-meat sandwich, crisps, fruit, biscuit and freeze a drink to use as an ice pack.

Clearly there are two types of people on mumsnet - those who think it essential for children to have a safe and nutritious meal to sustain them for a long journey of sitting on their arse on a coach with their mates and those who would throw them a bag full of cereal bars and pepperami’s!

Don't be ridiculous it's their job!! They get a free holiday!

As some people think!!

Not me, I hasten to add!

Imagine the potential horrors uncovered on the risk assessment for eating packed lunch
Doesn't bear thinking about 🥴

You could keep your kid home if you can't cope with providing food for him.

YABU

Are you worried about him/her going away, and you’re transferring your worry to this?

If my teen doesn’t eat his yogurts for lunch, they bloody go back in the next, and he’s ok. No point throwing it away.

Blimey op what a non issue

You want a risk assessment for a packed breakfast and lunch?
Get a cool bag. Buy things like brioches. Stopping for food will take ages and cost a lot. Many parents would not want to fork out 6.00 for a sandwich at a service station.

Chat gpt ?? Some good tips though.
P.s. thanks for the laugh OP

The third type just posts AI-generated guff

I honestly think you have a point, OP. Don't listen to haters. Ask the school to risk assess some food you might give your teen. I think that would be productive.