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Original poster

Fucking hell, we have to download an app and pre-order school lunches now?!

273 replies

AngeloMysterioso · 19/09/2025 09:58

I have 3 DC, the eldest of which is in primary school. They’ve changed school lunch suppliers this year and now we have to download an app, set up an account and pre-order our children’s meals. I’ve just been sent an email reminder because I hadn’t got round to doing it since the letter went out last Friday because my mental load is already pretty heavily loaded, what with dentist appointments, swimming lessons, birthday parties, after school clubs, hospital appointments, paying the childcare fees, sorting packed lunches, and bloody everything else you can think of.

I’m like… seriously? As if I don’t have enough fucking family admin to do, now this? What happened to kids just queuing up and asking for what they want?

OP posts:
Deepbluesea1 · 19/09/2025 10:24

Sunflower3000 · 19/09/2025 10:00

That seems normal to me, how did you do it before?

You pay for the lunch and kids pick something on the day? I used to pay a month in advance. much less faff that re-ordering and selecting a meal for every bloody day.

Woompund · 19/09/2025 10:25

I had to pick DS's meals in 2012 even when they were FSM and we did it via a piece of paper every week. Apps are a lot easier. Why would you expect them to provide unlimited options rather than order the right number of each? Can't you see how wasteful that is, and that it would bring the costs of meals way up?

Woompund · 19/09/2025 10:26

Pharazon · 19/09/2025 10:22

I deliberately do not deal with any company or organisation that is "app-only". I am NOT doing any admin or business peering at tiny letters on a tiny screen. If they don't have a website I simply won't use them, and I let them know.

Show quote history

Ooh that will show them! 😂

3pears · 19/09/2025 10:27

MidnightPatrol · 19/09/2025 10:06

Up to what age are parents expected to do this?

I’d have thought it was a good part of learning to be independent to choose their meals…? And how do they know who gets what on the day - that seems as much faffing about as waiting for them to choose.

Seems like unnecessary additional parental admin. I can’t imagine my parents would have had the first clue what I ate at school!

Up to year 6 in our school. My daughter is year 5. We go through the menu (we can book up to 3 weeks in advance), she chooses and I just select it on the app. Some days she doesn’t want it and I choose packed lunch from home. It’s quite easy. If you forget you can order in the morning at school but it’s easier for the central kitchen to have an idea of numbers to avoid waste. We get free meals for all primary school children in Wales so we don’t have to pay on the app, just order

Thepeopleversuswork · 19/09/2025 10:29

@Pharazon

I deliberately do not deal with any company or organisation that is "app-only". I am NOT doing any admin or business peering at tiny letters on a tiny screen. If they don't have a website I simply won't use them, and I let them know.

Absolutely. I don't have a problem with apps for people who want to use them (hell I even use some). I just really resent the idea that this is the only way I'm allowed to communicate with companies.

It's completely ineffective, it prevents people from having a conversation with a customer service adviser about anything remotely nuanced or complicated and it requires an ENDLESS amount of stupid passwords which all have to be saved and logged or remembered.

See also these companies with a recorded message on their customer service helplines saying: "have you tried our website?" Fuck me, no I never thought of that. I just called to sit on the line to a utility for an hour for shits and giggles.

They treat people like morons....

oviraptor21 · 19/09/2025 10:29

Wow! Glad this wasn't in place when my kids were young. Having to ask all of them each day what meal they wanted and remember to do it. Just not enough hours in the day for that. Nothing wrong with first come first served as long as the school rotates who gets in first as happened when my kids were at school.

Bluefloor · 19/09/2025 10:30

No I would not like that, why can’t the kids decide on the morning.

JustMyView13 · 19/09/2025 10:31

Deepbluesea1 · 19/09/2025 10:24

You pay for the lunch and kids pick something on the day? I used to pay a month in advance. much less faff that re-ordering and selecting a meal for every bloody day.

Show quote history

I am sure this is how it always used to work when I was at school too. I’m surprised the independence & decision making has been removed from the children.

TheCurious0range · 19/09/2025 10:31

MidnightPatrol · 19/09/2025 10:06

Up to what age are parents expected to do this?

I’d have thought it was a good part of learning to be independent to choose their meals…? And how do they know who gets what on the day - that seems as much faffing about as waiting for them to choose.

Seems like unnecessary additional parental admin. I can’t imagine my parents would have had the first clue what I ate at school!

I just sit with ds and say here are the options what do you want this week and he chooses. Takes 2 minutes and I also know he's having a proper hot meal at lunch and not asking for plain pasta because that's what his friend asked for, when they chose themselves in class each day

Minglingpringle · 19/09/2025 10:32

I’m sufficiently old that I never got a choice of lunch at school. You ate the tongue or the shepherd’s pie or you ate nothing. Luckily, I love food so I enjoyed everything (except the tongue).

Lots of people said school dinners were gross. So I do remember some wastage. Maybe some people were in despair about school dinners and had eating disorders, I don’t know. Probably lots of people were less fussy than they might have been as a result.

When I went to a sixth form with lots of choices at lunchtime, I ate loads and put on weight. And had chips with every meal. And ignored fruit and veg, even though I ate them happily at home.

I do think offering options has cons as well as pros.

Not that that’s what you asked.

NoisyLittleOtter · 19/09/2025 10:32

Bluefloor · 19/09/2025 10:30

No I would not like that, why can’t the kids decide on the morning.

How would they make sure they have enough of each meal to make sure each child gets what they wants? The wastage must be high doing it this way.

Notmyreality · 19/09/2025 10:32

Better get used to it, wait until they get to secondary school…

CopperWhite · 19/09/2025 10:33

Bluefloor · 19/09/2025 10:30

No I would not like that, why can’t the kids decide on the morning.

Because catering companies aren’t paid enough to be able to over stock and allow children choices on the day. To make enough of everything for every child would be expensive and wasteful.

I can’t believe people are moaning about just having to choose their child’s lunches when they already have the benefit of getting them for free.

FancyCatSlave · 19/09/2025 10:33

Complete standard here. It’s great!
I can’t see a single downside to be honest, takes me 5 minutes a term to do the ordering and about 1 minute to make any changes.

Unorganisedchaos2 · 19/09/2025 10:34

How are you doing it now?

We have an app and I book a terms worth at a time, couldn't be any easier really

rwalker · 19/09/2025 10:35

The issue is there doing this to make it
more efficient
avoid waste
Give parents control
easier to buy in stock

unfortunately it’s based on the above rather than you

tbh the time it took you to do a thread on it and no doubt read and respond you could of done it

101Alsatians · 19/09/2025 10:36

I would quite enjoy this,so would my kids 🤭🤣

Not in UK, at their school it's either lunch or cooked lunch everyday, 2 choices on a 2 week menu rotation. Mine only have packed at this point due to funds.

Fatandfluffy · 19/09/2025 10:36

We just do it at the start of every half term. Takes about 5mins. My daughter chooses herself.

reduces food waste

RubieChewsDay · 19/09/2025 10:37

This is totally normal, I've been doing this for my kids for the past 6 years. Before this we had to find cash and put the money in an envelope every Monday, which was a much bigger faff. We've never been able to decide on the day if a child wants to have school dinner or a packed lunch.

There is also no choice on what is available, the menu goes out to show what is on for the month and follows a fairly regular pattern.

Bluefloor · 19/09/2025 10:38

NoisyLittleOtter · 19/09/2025 10:32

How would they make sure they have enough of each meal to make sure each child gets what they wants? The wastage must be high doing it this way.

Show quote history

At my children’s school there’s a set main meal each day. They can also choose to have a jacket potato or a sandwich. They choose first thing in the morning, so there’s enough time to know how many to cater to. The kitchen generally has a good idea how many children have school meals / and if anything tends to be more popular. So that would be taken in to account when ordering. I don’t see how this create any more wastage tbh.

Ablondiebutagoody · 19/09/2025 10:41

Presumably it's less "mental load" than making them lunches every day?

ComfortFoodCafe · 19/09/2025 10:42

Surely it would reduce food waste to let them pick on the day. Yanbu this is why mine are happily on packed lunches.

TheNightingalesStarling · 19/09/2025 10:43

My kids had this at one of their Primary schools. It was my favourite system. Took 5 minutes on a Sunday evening.

SJM1988 · 19/09/2025 10:43

Its pretty standard I think.
We did a whole term in one go to save doing it every week - moved to pack lunches this year at DS request though so I don't have to remember every term.

Lucy5678 · 19/09/2025 10:43

Bluefloor · 19/09/2025 10:30

No I would not like that, why can’t the kids decide on the morning.

Because the kitchen needs to stock the correct amount of food? My DC don’t even get a choice - there is a set meal and a vegetarian version for children registered as vegetarian and if your child has particular other needs registered (allergies etc) they get a special meal if the set meal is unsuitable. You can otherwise choose to bring a packed lunch that day. The school still wants meals preordered though so they know who’s school dinner and who’s packed lunch and can have the correct amount of fish fingers or whatever in the kitchen - and that’s ordered in advance, they don’t go out shopping that morning for that day’s lunch.