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Original poster

Horrified by school dinners!

427 replies

WillieverlearnQ · 09/10/2025 11:22

I went to my daughter’s school yesterday for dinner with the parents. All they had was two scoops of mash (my daughter did say that it is usually just one scoop) the thinnest slice of turkey I have ever seen and a tablespoon of carrots with a drizzle of watery gravy. With a tiny pot of ice cream. When I was at school it was nothing like this.

She has been asking for packed lunches for a long time but I’ve always refused. But today and going forward I will always make her a proper lunch.

It just make’s you question what on earth is going on? How can that be a sufficient for a child at school for 6 hours. Also why on earth are parents paying £3 for such a terrible meal.

OP posts:
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9
lifegoesonandonandon · 09/10/2025 14:47

We’ve just started packed lunch for the exact same reason. My son, just turned 7 was coming home absolutely starving every day

SapphireSeptember · 09/10/2025 14:48

peakedat40 · 09/10/2025 13:31

Oh come on. No they were not! Ours were revolting.

There’s a big variation. DS is four and so his are free and they sound nice from the menu but I don’t know if if is like hospital food and sounds nicer than it is! The ones at the school I work in are mostly fast food style; pasta pots, burgers, nuggets, not great really.

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Depends on the hospital too! When I was in hospital last year I had lovely food, and they serve the same thing in the canteen for staff/patients/visitors. (I had a roast beef dinner and apple crumble with custard when I was there last week for a minor procedure. I got sandwiches and biscuits after I woke up but was still starving.) Was so sad I missed out on lasagne as that was dinner the day I was discharged last year, and apparently that's really good. My friend recommended it. 😁

JetFlight · 09/10/2025 14:51

It’s silly that they think an 11 yr old should have the same amount of food as a 5 yr old.

SilkAndSparklesForParties · 09/10/2025 14:56

They look fine to me. What do you expect for £3 @WillieverlearnQ.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 09/10/2025 14:57

Arlanymor · 09/10/2025 14:26

We got jam too, but our semolina was awful. It was probably more the texture and consistency than the taste to be honest.

I think I would have died of joy if we had ever received ice cream!

(All of this said we used to have a pudding which was shortcrust pastry with some toffee/caramel style gloop on it - cement pie we called it - and actually it was bloody lovely. I keep meaning to google to see if there is a recipe! I also was rather partial to cornflakes in syrup with tangerine segments and a big blob of confectioner's cream on top).

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Was it Gypsy Tart? I got all nostalgic for these and started making them at home!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gypsy-tart-lemon-cream

Gypsy tart with lemon cream

Gypsy tart

A Kent classic with a dark treacle filling, complemented by the light zesty cream. Sure to satisfy any sweet tooth, this is a dessert perfect for sharing with friends and family

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gypsy-tart-lemon-cream

Arlanymor · 09/10/2025 14:58

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 09/10/2025 14:57

Was it Gypsy Tart? I got all nostalgic for these and started making them at home!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gypsy-tart-lemon-cream

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Ooh thank you for posting - I don't think so... but the only way to be sure is for me to make it - so that's a Sunday plan now - thanks!

LoveHartnett · 09/10/2025 14:59

WillieverlearnQ · 09/10/2025 13:02

We’re in Shropshire! It’s not just the portion size though it’s just generally poorly quality food you get better in prison. My daughter said it’s awful only meal she enjoys is pizza day. As soon as she gets in the car she’s crying saying she is hungry and keeps getting headaches.

Some of her meals below.

This is plenty for lunch??

butterdish93 · 09/10/2025 15:00

Urgh they look grim. I wouldn’t choose to eat that and would t expect my children to either.
school dinners at my children’s school is quite good I think.

BritishFakeOff · 09/10/2025 15:01

My son takes a packed lunch every day. If you get a thermos to keep it warm it’s so easy. Just cook more of your evening meal and save the leftovers for their lunch. I don’t know why people think it’s such a chore 🤷‍♂️

Marmaladeisntheonlypreserve · 09/10/2025 15:02

Arlanymor · 09/10/2025 13:54

I wasn't being remotely disparaging about Brakes - another poster had the halcyon view that all 80s school dinners were made fresh on site, and I was pointing out that the opposite was true in most cases due to government policy and the recession. Of course where there is need for mass producing food there are some suppliers that are better placed to do it.

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Brakes sell the saw ingredients and ,like I said before, they provide traceability from field to table which is a legal requirement.

Soukmyfalafel · 09/10/2025 15:02

I was at primary in the 80s and we had FSM packed lunches (no kitchen), which basically was a soggy marmalade sandwich, a cereal bar, and a bruised apple. Profiting is nothing new, just sad it hasn't changed. People think these kids are lucky to get these dinners free, but I certainly didn't feel that way as we were treated like we didn't deserve any better. I was really skinny because I was basically missing a meal a day. I think it is so important to give a decent meal at school, especially on FSM.

When my son qualified for KS1 meals he was underweight because they just weren't very nice and we cook quite well at home. As soon as I sent a packed lunch in he gained weight.

Arlanymor · 09/10/2025 15:05

Marmaladeisntheonlypreserve · 09/10/2025 15:02

Brakes sell the saw ingredients and ,like I said before, they provide traceability from field to table which is a legal requirement.

Show quote history

It is now - it wasn't in the 80s.

sittingonabeach · 09/10/2025 15:07

They look lots better than the school dinners I had in the 70s

RandomGeocache · 09/10/2025 15:21

Agree the meals are rubbish.

My other issue with them aside from the quality of the food was the portion size. In Scotland they dish up exactly the same to a 4.5 year old who has just started as to a 12 year old.

Glittertwins · 09/10/2025 15:24

School lunches have got progressively smaller and more expensive over the last few years - food prices generally have rocketed as has the cost of employing kitchen staff. Our DCs take hot food in a flask and a box of fruit / snacks.

Jeregrettetous · 09/10/2025 15:33

PixieandMe · 09/10/2025 11:58

Just another example of an area in which we have gone backwards!

School lunches were all home cooked on the premises and plentiful in the 80’s.

No they weren’t. Ours used to arrive in big polystyrene cool boxes in a van from the local council!

Unorganisedchaos2 · 09/10/2025 15:34

Totally agree, I posted something similar when DD started school a couple of years ago and was mainly called a terrible snob, the post also made it to Facebook were people were even less polite 😅

But... I stand by what I say, the school dinners are awful, I don't expect a gourmet dining experience but children deserve far better quality. At DD's school they are all preprepared off site and reheated, I've seen a couple and they are grim.

DD's school now do a sandwich option so she has a mixture of those, jacket potatoes and pack up.

KingDangerMouse · 09/10/2025 15:39

Our County were serving up pre-cooked, sliced, frozen, vacuum packed, reconstituted ‘roast beef’. This along with frozen jacket potatoes and frozen omelette's. For years. Advertising and marketing of these meals was very misleading - lovely photos of wholesome looking meals. The reality was very different.
Year 6 portions were the same as year R and totally inadequate. Most of it did go in the bin.

Most of our schools have now changed suppliers. All private sector caterers currently offering meals cooked from scratch, fresh daily, for less money. Not sure how sustainable this will be for the private sector.

Meanwhile, our local prison and hospital with a smaller budget than the schools, provide 3 meals a day with the main meal cooked from scratch, fresh everyday. Both run by the public sector. Been doing it for years.

BrokenWingsCantFly · 09/10/2025 15:42

Those meal sizes look fine for primary age children. The same sizes as the kids meals you get when you pay out in restaurants most of the time.

Can't you give her a packed lunch on the days she doesn't like the menu if she is coming home hungry?

MyDeftDuck · 09/10/2025 15:45

WillieverlearnQ · 09/10/2025 13:02

We’re in Shropshire! It’s not just the portion size though it’s just generally poorly quality food you get better in prison. My daughter said it’s awful only meal she enjoys is pizza day. As soon as she gets in the car she’s crying saying she is hungry and keeps getting headaches.

Some of her meals below.

Definitely something wrong with that sausage……..the ends are too close together and the gravy has a severe dose of anaemia!

Wolfpa · 09/10/2025 15:48

That is more than I would eat for lunch, do you think your idea of a healthy portion size is a little skewed?

as far as quality goes what do you expect fir £3?

TheignT · 09/10/2025 15:54

Brickiscool · 09/10/2025 11:59

I work in a dining hall.in a school..so much food gets wasted..Most kids don't need more than the amount you have described. Half of them won't touch the carrots , the other half won't eat the mash.

There is bread and salad to help yourself to in addition to the main plus pudding. So kids that do eat more can get extra.

I saw this when I was invited to GSs school. I could have cried when I saw the waste particularly all the lovely roast potatoes thrown away.

I don't know what the answer is.

Tiatha · 09/10/2025 15:55

BoredZelda · 09/10/2025 11:27

School dinners were never fine dining. Their role is to get the kids through the afternoon, not provide a gourmet experience. The law says they must meet some standard of nutritional value and they do. If your child wants a packed lunch then do that. School dinners are perfectly fine for those who want/need to use them. They are also free for a whole load of kids which is very welcome.

Did you even read? She's mostly talking about quantity.

Tiatha · 09/10/2025 15:55

Wolfpa · 09/10/2025 15:48

That is more than I would eat for lunch, do you think your idea of a healthy portion size is a little skewed?

as far as quality goes what do you expect fir £3?

These are growing children for fuck's sake, nobody cares about your teeny-tiny lunch.