To think a leftover happy meal isn’t the worst packed lunch you could have?

[Tulipdreams]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teachers-share-students-worst-packed-36878989.amp

Hear me out first. Of course the article is pretty terrible, children being sent into school with only packets of biscuits for lunch, stories of children having no milk for their cereal and bringing in energy drinks.

But one example was a child took a leftover happy meal to school. Aibu to think that this isn’t the worst thing you could have?

No I have never sent my child into school with a cold takeaway for their lunch, and it would be concerning if it was happening all the time. But I would eat leftover McDonald’s if I hadn’t eaten it the night before. It’s probably no worse than taking a ham sandwich and a packet of crisps (which would be deemed as acceptable).

When I was a child most kids took meat paste sandwiches and a wagon wheel and that was a completely normal lunch.

I don’t know why people are even talking about affordability or buying bread

mcdonalds aren’t known as the food of people in poverty who can’t afford anything else. Weird idea. It’s an extremely popular take away.

A kid in my sons class came in with cold oven chips with dried in ketchup. Feel sad for the kid

It’s pure lazy parenting.

What McDonald’s?

Children having fast food lazy parenting, you mad goat 🤣

Van Tulleken is a British scientist and what he says also applies in the UK.

I've posted quite a lot on this thread so probably going to leave it now. If you are actually interested, that book is a good popular science read.

Sadly though I know a lot of families on the breadline who live off takeaways. So many people don't know how to budget and meal plan these days. It's quite scary. People waste so much on expensive crap food and then wonder why they're so skint. I'm not saying it's the only reason they're struggling for money, but poor eating habits don't help sometimes.

😂

Of course especially not even fresh hot take away for school lunch. I could maybe understand smuggling a double cheese burger in the fence of a secondary school 😂😂

But a cold left overs happy meal for school lunch. What 5 chips and 1 nugget? Thats so low even the pond scum is judging away.

I think you’re going to claim McDonald’s and/ or other British fast food outlets sell food containing an “additive” not fit for human consumption, you should at least be able to name that additive so people can check

Nah… that’s just poor people prejudice. Stereotyping that lots of people managed to leave behind shortly after binge watching Britain in 2006.

Some of the poorest people I know actually send the best packed lunches much better than my cheese and wraps with some crisps, 3 fruits and veggies 😅 I’m more near old school samish and a yogurt and crips lunch.

We got poor people sending in actual
good leftovers from Wholesome meals. Also a huge olio area so hummus is easy and free.

Children hsving a McDonald's isnt lazy parenting many kids enjoy one
Giving a half eaten cold happy meal for lunch the next is pretty crap parenting.

???

How can something be poor people prejudice when I see it with my own eyes, where I live and work? Had I said "I think people who are on the breadline waste it all on takeaways" that would be an assumption, based on prejudice. Had I said "all people on the breadline need to learn to budget better rather than waste it on take aways" that would be prejudice. I'm not sure how stating what I see happening, from many families who I know are struggling for money, is prejudice 🙄 There's no assumptions being made here, this is literally what we see day in day out.

But the granny didnt send in cold half a maccers she sent in the full one. Cold yes but not half of one. Leftover as in the kid did not want it.

A member of staff at a school in Birmingham was sent to school with a Happy Meal box with a cold McDonald's burger and fries.
Their gran explained it had been bought the day before but the pupil hadn't wanted it so it was a "shame for it go to waste."

what about all the people who aren’t poor who eat take away every night? You didn’t notice them?

I do think McDonald's in general is gross and cold leftover - I would judge tbh. But you're not wrong, it's more balanced than the packet of biscuits at least.

Worst one I ever saw was a sharing pack of jelly babies (the entire lunch).

It's the worst I've heard of.

My kids aren't fed mcdonalds, let alone cold congealed yesterday's mcdonalds. They aren't given ham sandwiches and crisps as a packed lunch either- I'd also consider that a crap lunch for a small child although above the cold junk food.

If you can afford a mcdonalds you can afford a decent lunchbox.

We couldn’t possibly blame the parents now, could we?
It’s all fecking Granny’s fault 😆

Talk about twisting my words! Of course I notice them. So many people waste money on take aways and can't meal prep/budget. That was my whole point. You chose to hone in purely on the opening breadline comment, and wrongly assumed I'm only talking about the poor.

Here's what I said:-

Sadly though I know a lot of families on the breadline who live off takeaways - this was directly in response to you, saying "mcdonalds aren’t known as the food of people in poverty who can’t afford anything else". That suggested to me that you were saying people who genuinely struggle for money don't waste money on take aways. My point was, some absolutely do, the same as some people with more money also do.

So many people don't know how to budget and meal plan these days. It's quite scary - general comments. I didn't say it was just 'poor people'.

People waste so much on expensive crap food and then wonder why they're so skint. I'm not saying it's the only reason they're struggling for money, but poor eating habits don't help sometimes - I can see why you might assume I'm just on about poor people here but again this was intended to be pretty general. Feeling skint and struggling for money is all relative. If you do waste your money on take aways, it can feel like you're struggling for money if you don't have any spare money to buy the other things you want/need, even if you're not compared to someone who has less money than you but budgets better.

Direct quote from the article:
A member of staff at a school in Birmingham was sent to school with a Happy Meal box with a cold McDonald's burger and fries.
Their gran explained it had been bought the day before but the pupil hadn't wanted it so it was a "shame for it go to waste."

That article is clearly nonsense then, as it claims it was a member of staff who’s Granny sent them to school with a dodgy lunchbox.

No, I just think if you accept that people of all income levels eat regular fast food your complaints fall away, ie

“Sadly though I know a lot of families on the breadline who live off takeaways. So many people don't know how to budget and meal plan these days”

why would rich people need to budget and meal plan? Why is it sad they don’t?

Take that one up with the op so as they posted it and started an entire thread on that article.

Because it's an unnecessary waste of money? Because it's an unhealthy way of living? Yes I do find it sad that so many people (regardless of income) live that this these days. It makes no difference to my life that they do, but I'm allowed to find it sad all the same.

Regarding your budgeting comments, there are plenty of people who are classed as neither rich nor poor. Obviously rich people don't technically need to budget, but due to the cost of living crisis far more people are in need of knowing how to budget appropriately and live within their means than ever before. Many of those people aren't technically poor, but their spending habits can make them feel like they are (which was the point I was making before).

You seem to be changing the subject pretty quickly to try and cover up the fact you completely misinterpreted my comments. An apology for wrongly accusing me of poor prejudice would have been nice.

I haven’t misinterpreted your comments at all. I’m clearly playing back what you’ve said.