Extravagant Pack Lunches

[Diadrie]

I am a TA in a primary school in the middle of a town, real mixed background from families who are mortgage free making well into 6 figures and families living in council homes, earning minimum wage.

As part of my job I supervise the infants half at lunchtime and I have seen the more absurd pack lunches recently from one child. It’s a bento box format, very normal fruit and veg, then greek yogurt and compote, a dip (guacamole/tzatziki/hummus). The main is really star of the show though with: salmon and cream cheese bagel, steak and onion focaccia sandwich, quiche Lorraine etc.

I’m now sat thinking what a totally over the top pack lunches recently for a 5 year old, admittedly the child does finish it, but salmon and steak in children’s pack lunches??

AIBU thinking this is totally over the top, extravagant and slightly absurd.

People in my area call it a Pack Up.

'Pendant' though?

It's certainly not "absurd" to give the child a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. Nor any of those other items.

Normal, healthy and good effort

Sounds lovely - lucky child.

Sounds like you’re someone that lives on processed crap and a little overweight

since you’re judging, I’ll jump on the bandwagon

I dint think you are suitable to be anywhere near children to be honest. You are unable to identify good, nutritious food and the use of pack when it should be packed , well that’s a crime in itself.

It is middle class for sure but if kid eats it then no issue.

My sister and bro in law are a bit like this - my kids in contrast ate sandwiches, a bit of fruit and yoghurt with water.

Yes it’s either pack up or packed lunch. My dad used to call his bait as in bait box, not sure where that comes from.

How strange for an adult to comment on the extravagance of a child’s packed lunch. Clearly the child’s parents care about what their child is eating and prefer them to eat what sounds like a more natural, whole food diet as opposed to ultra processed crap like chocolate bars and cheese strings. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Pack up is completely fine. It's a term traditionally used for manuel workers who take their lunch to work . My dad always took pack up to work in the 60s and 70s as did my auntie who worked potato picking in the summer.
I agree though they it should never be pack lunch. It's packed lunch.

Sounds like you’ve been brainwashed by the food industry into thinking upf chemicals we’ve never heard of and not classed as food are normal. And that actual real food is ‘absurd’. Also quiche Lorraine … I’m not sure that has been posh since 1971?!

I used teach near a bagel bakery - they did fantastic filled bagels which many if us had for lunch, including the kids! Delicious, especially hot.

My youngest hates sandwiches and has a similar style lunch box, he’s taken everything from crackers, normal pasta, orzo pasta salad with prawns, olives, smoked salmon with crackers/cream cheese and quails eggs.
Im not posh 😂 the pasta salads have been left over from the eve before, he loves prawns and olives, my neighbour keeps quails and often offloads surplus eggs.
Instead of judging their lunch boxes I would be applauding the variety. When I worked in a primary school one child brought in chocolate spread sandwiches, crisps, dairylea dunker and cocktail sausages everyday…

That sounds like quite a healthy lunch - at least it’s not beige processed food!

god, can you ask this family if they would adopt me? I want that for my lunch. I had meetings and all I've had is not very fresh apple.

When I was little, (I'm going back 35 years or more) my brother and I would get laughed at for our packed lunches- by pupils and staff.
We'd have things like taramasalata, cold meat and cheese, crackers, home made bread and cakes. Because that's what we ate at home.

Stop judging people's food. It makes you sound ridiculous.

Haven't read all the posts, but has anyone mentioned that it's a "packed lunch" (i.e. lunch that's been packed in a bag/box/whatever) and not a "pack lunch"?

OP is also 'sitting' not 'sat' pontificating on this... Wouldn't usually be this pedantic out loud, but @Diadrie is a TA fgs!

What would you rather, a soggy sandwich and a warm yoghurt, which ends up uneaten?

That packed lunch sounds lovely and nutritious to me.

Yes!

I'm jealous.
A- because it sounds better than my rubbish Greggs tuna roll
B- because I sent my child in with a jam sandwich. I wish he'd eat salmon and cream cheese.

This. As parents we honestly can’t fucking win, can we?

I’m wondering how a TA knows whose homes are mortgage free, and how much parents earn?

YABVU. What do you think the boy should eat instead? You sound quite jealous tbh.