School residential vegetarian/vegan only

[vgp1234]

My child had really been looking forward to their year 6 residential, but a new head has joined and had changed the format somewhat.

They have now booked a Sustainability Centre in Hampshire, which only caters for vegetarians and vegans. My child is not a vegetarian or vegan, and across the cohort of year 5 and 6 only one child is vegetarian.

While I appreciate that there is a view that they can go 5 days without meat and they should just suck it up, I find it incredibly frustrating that you would not ask a vegetarian or vegan child to suck it up and eat meat for 5 days. So I don't understand why we do not treat both dietary preferences with equal measure.

The new head is very keen on government guidance, and has changed our lunch menu to comply with the current guidance for school lunches which is that 3 days should include meat or fish (previously we had a meat and vegetarian/vegan option every day). However it seems this guidance only applies on the school site, so you can disregard it at a residential. While they are within their rights to do this, it does seem like quite a contradiction.

I have tried speaking to the Sustainability centre directly but they were very inflexible and just stated it is a against their ethos (may I add that they also offer a day trip at a cost to visit a working farm, who rear animals for meat, so their ethos does not run all that deep). This really goes against my ethos as not only do I think you should treat all groups equally, I can't help but feel that this is forcing their ideas on children verses allowing them free choice and the ability to hear both viewpoints (meat is unsustainable/sustainable) and make their own decision.

In all honesty I'm quite perplexed as to why the school choose the venue when it would clearly be controversial, as this is quite a personal choice for parents and the cohort has so few in it that have this dietary preference.

I'm sure some people will not agree with me, and I am open to your opinions as I'm a big believer in hearing both sides of the argument and our ability to think critically for ourselves and not be told what to think (I want this for my child too).

I do plan to send the school an email initially and request that they provide a rounded menu including meat. But I'd really appreciate any advice on how to word this appropriately as I'm quite upset by it, and I'd prefer to send a well worded email than an emotional one.

unless your child is an obligate carnivore, you’re being unreasonable. I’m pretty sure they can survive a week without meat unless they’re a cat 😆

As a lifelong vegetarian who is always happy to put up with the eating habits of meat eaters, your child will be fine

Both my DS are sporty and like to consume plenty of protein which is possible but challenging on vegetarian diet
It really isnt.
Another myth!

Oh, I know and I've already acknowledged that.

This is likely it now, we're hoping for more improvements but it's likely this is as good as it's going to get so I'd take him eating hot dogs if it meant him not having to miss out. He already misses out on so much.

Both my DS are sporty and like to consume plenty of protein which is possible but challenging on vegetarian diet.

It’s not challenging at all. Most people eat far more protein than they need. An 11yr old (ie Yr6) needs around 34g a day:

https://health.choc.org/how-much-protein-does-my-child-need/

A glass of milk provides around 10g; baked beans on toast approx 18g; 50g of cheddar is 12 or 13g - plus yoghurt, tofu, pasta, cereal, etc etc. Easy!

@Kirbert2
This is likely it now, we're hoping for more improvements but it's likely this is as good as it's going to get so I'd take him eating hot dogs if it meant him not having to miss out. He already misses out on so much.

I hope things get sorted for your son.
My brother was in a very restricted diet nearly 50 years ago and I remember how difficult meal times were for my mum and dad.

Thanks. It did used to be even more restricted so we have had some improvement which is nice, it's all very uncertain.

To keep the menu sustainable AND affordable for parents, vegetarian food is the pragmatic choice. Veggie food is generally a healthier choice than the meat products schools serve for kids. Cheap burgers, sausage, chicken nuggets are full of fat and salt.

The centre’s founders might have given some consideration to serving the most sustainable kinds of meat when the place opened. But parents would need to be prepared to pay the extra cost for it. I expect some would not, leaving some kids excluded.

I already made this exact point and suggested (I think three times already in the thread) that OP should ask to see some example menus and find out.

I was addressing the many posters on this thread who think a residential is the perfect opportunity for enforced broadening of tastes. I don't think first time away from home is the time for that.

I was addressing the many posters on this thread who think a residential is the perfect opportunity for enforced broadening of tastes. I don't think first time away from home is the time for that.

Residential food is not gourmet cooking or fine dining.
It's basics that the majority will eat. The place they are going to has its own ethos, which it is a vegetarian establishment and presumably most of its clients throughout the year are going to be kids.
Its going to be inexpensive kid friendly food, as I have said previously, they don't want waste.

I bet its going to be staples like cheese and onion pie, baked potatoes with beans and pizza and chips , you know all the food that the non vegetarians on here won't eat ( allegedly)

To keep the menu sustainable AND affordable for parents, vegetarian food is the pragmatic choice. Veggie food is generally a healthier choice than the meat products schools serve for kids. Cheap burgers, sausage, chicken nuggets are full of fat and salt

Not necessarily, I would imagine with the COL crisis and food prices shooting up the residential centres will be looking at reducing costs. Its going to be quick easy food such as pizza and chips.

Actually the cheapest mass catered veggie food is stuff like currries, chilli’s, pies with beans snd lentils as protein

Actually the cheapest mass catered veggie food is stuff like currries, chilli’s, pies with beans snd lentils as protein

I wish we had them on the ressis I organised over the years! I got fed up off cheese pie and beans!

I've never had one lentil when I've been away with kids, not even lentil soup , which o would have loved.
Thankfully my days of organising chaos, sorry , residentials are over for the foresable future! 😆

It is for the population. A small portion of which are vegan/vegetarian. It is difficult to get B12, period. Largely our own fault. Anomals are often fed it/injected with it.

Get you with the false equivalancy. Almost all menus offer vegetarian options. Vegans could argue that they are not always catered for. In the spirit of fairness the centre would offer one meat option then it would be in line with what some vegetarians face. I haven't eaten any place for quite sometime where vegetarians are not catered for.

Because these kids are going to be eating the best quality vegetarian and vegan food... After all the centre will clearly be immune to the cost of food crisis won't it? Mass produced seasonless vegetarian and vegan crap is all they are likely to get.

Anyone posted this yet?!

The venue is not going to provide meat if their ethos is vegetarian/vegan. Having taken over 100 students to a residential recently, they were very strict re what they could/could not provide (religious/allergies). We had ARFID children, autistic children who have a very restrictive and prescriptive diet. Their parents sent food with them. We encouraged students to try some items outside of their comfort zone, but the food wasn’t the point of the residential. Our venue provided cold packs/a mini fridge, but I wouldn’t expect them to cater to over a 100 different issues.

As already mentioned, send appropriate snacks that don’t need refrigerating, preferably, or just send your child. It isn’t the same as trying to make a vegetarian/vegan child eat meat.

What on Earth do you imagine vegetarian and vegan food to be?

You seem oddly fixated on this idea of vegetarian food being low quality and tasteless. Where is your evidence for this generally or in relation to this venue specifically? If you can’t cook good quality flavourful (vegetarian) food that’s a you problem. I can recommend some easy to follow cookbooks if that would help ;-)

Are you choosing to ignore the people on this thread who have been to this place and have eaten amazing food?

They're going to a sustainability centre ffs.

A place that serves food make only from local, organic ingredients.

They're clearly not going to suddenly wheel out mass produced crap.

Just because you can't cook good veggie food doesn't mean others can't. We rarely eat meat, though dc are welcome to choose it at school (they often don't) and our food is delicious. Dh is a restaurant-quality cook and im not bad either. We have had meat once in the last 7 days and literally it's all been delicious. So odd to think that just because it's not meat food is tasteless??

It’s still so depressing that people have this idea that veggie food is somehow niche or whacky or subversive. Jeez. It’s just normal food. Food that kids will love - pizza, pasta, chips, veggie lasagne, veggie burgers, salads, crudite and dips etc all yummy. And better for the planet.

You are being very unreasonable op.

Amazing is relative.

I am not interested in eating a vegetarian diet any more than I am in convincing a vegetarian or vegan to eat meat. Thats the difference between me and the halo polishers.

Yes school get the tastiest, best quality food, don't they.

In a centre for children? Underwhelming.