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Original poster

School dinners -- is this much of an improvement?

31 replies

Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:04

Good grief, if this is improvement I don't want to know what they used to be.

"The guidelines are based on recommendations by the School Meal Review Panel and follow a campaign by TV chef Jamie Oliver to improve the quality of school dinners.

Other key measures include:

Not less than two servings per day of fruit and vegetables
Oily fish should be served at least once every three weeks
Bread should be available every day
Free, fresh drinking water should be available
Salt should not be available at lunch and ketchup and mayonnaise should only be available in sachets
No more than two portions of deep-fried foods in a single week
Manufactured meat products such as chicken nuggets may only be served occasionally and only providing they meet minimum standards for meat content
The only savoury snacks available at lunchtime should be nuts and seeds with no added salt, fat or sugar.

And I'd like to know more, like what exctly counts as a fruit veg? Does it have to be fresh? Are potatoes a veg.? "Manufactured meat products"? YUCK! What kind of bread? (cheap white shit I presume) And, fried food twice a week? But, oily fish only once every 3 weeks? I'd swap the frequencies of fried food and oily fish for sure!

BBC article

OP posts:
donnie · 04/09/2006 15:06

yes I heard about this this n=morning on the radio - if the sausages, burgers etc are only just going to start being made within guidlines for minimum meat requirements God only knows what they were like before!!!

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:08

Oh, this a mn moment for sure. Donnie and I can agree on something.

OP posts:
donnie · 04/09/2006 15:09

yes indeed - and I also said something really diplomatic on another thread earlier on....don't know what's come over me ...!!!

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:11

Oh oh... and it's just occurred to me that nutra sweet isn't even mentioned. Do you think the schools serve nutrasweet?

OP posts:
donnie · 04/09/2006 15:13

but what would the kids put it on? I hope not ( vomit)

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:14

I think it typically shows up already in the food/drinks. Kiddie drinks that say "no sugar added" do so because they loaded it up with nutrasweet. Nutrasweet should be banned.

OP posts:
HuwEdwards · 04/09/2006 15:20

How many support the school meals system by buying into it though?

Due to the way school meals are funded in this country (which is poor), only by supporting it can we give it the voice and funding that's needed for further improvement.

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:25

I'd like to opt out of it quite frankly. I want my money back that should be going into the dinners, and then I'll send my kids to school with real food.

And what the Hell is "manufactured meat product"? Is it that shit Jaimie put in the blender on his show? And where is JAimie when you need him????????

OP posts:
Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:27

So, how do you propose we support it?

OP posts:
saltire · 04/09/2006 15:33

We are quite lucky here in fife, the school meals are quite good, they always have salad and fruit availiable.Vegetables served every day
I saw this on the news, and was amazed at the amount of older secondary school children interviewed who said they were going to bring in packed lunches as they didn't like the healthy food options availiable.

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 15:35

Perhaps they feel that way because they spent their primary years eating crap.

OP posts:
Crackle · 04/09/2006 15:57

I saw Anthony Worral Thompson on telly today say that the only thing that Jamie had achieved was to reduce the number of school dinners being eaten. The inference seemed to be that lunchables were the childrens prefered option and they voted with their lunchboxes.

Blandmum · 04/09/2006 16:16

Uwila, fruit and veg don't have to be fresh to form part of the five a day. Some frozen veg has a higher level of vitamins than 'fresh'. Dried fuit can also be counted and can be an excellent source of fibre.

I had a taste of the new schoo meals today at inset day.

New potatoes, green bean, carrots and chicken cooked in a tomato and red petter sauce. Fresh fruit available.

Our school kitchen always has been good and they have taken to the new guidlines very well.

Last terms bread (there was none today) was good, bagettes or whole meal buns and wraps, sometimes pita bread. Not cheap white shite at all

Blandmum · 04/09/2006 16:17

we also have a salad bar which is excellent.

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 16:24

Don't mind dried fruit or frozen veg. I was wondering more like if they put a processes sugar loaded tomatoe sauce on pasta, does it count as a veg? That sort of thing. DD has another year before she touches a school dinner. So, I don't really know what our school puts in them. But, I think I'll make it my mission to find out this year.

OP posts:
Blandmum · 04/09/2006 17:49

The dinner ladies make out tomato sauce for pasta from scratch and it is rather nice (and very reasonable at 75p per portion with pasta). Not only do they not add sugar, they also add extra veg , such as peppers and celery, bumping up the veg intake without the kids noticing.

You may well be pleasently surprised at the quality of the food. the biggest problem that we have is getting the kids to eat the good stuff and not to spend their money on crap from Asdas on the way into school

Original poster
Uwila · 04/09/2006 17:55

Ah, your words are encouraging. Maybe I read the BBC too much. My oldest is only 3, so she can not stop off at ASDA on her own.

Speaking of my kids, time to get out of here and go see them....

OP posts:
Blandmum · 04/09/2006 18:01

It really depends on the school and the standard of sinner lady! Ours are great. TBH there has always been excellent food on offer.....real food for want of a better word, good caseroles with two veg, excellent pies, their veg has never been too over cooked. Perviously there were also fast food options as well, and guess which ones the kids picked? Obvious really!

So we have just taken out the poor choices, replaced burgers with salad and chicken wraps, that sort of thing.

The coke machine has gone, and we got rid of all other fizzy pops two years ago. Now the children have the choice of water or milk (plain or flavored...which isn't ideal but at least they get some much needed calcium.)

Blu · 04/09/2006 18:03

There are very big differences between the food served in different boroughs - don't panic before you have seen the menus or observed the food! I was bracing myself for packed lunch hell - and then discovered that the lunches at DSs school are ok, and that teachers willingly eat them of their own free will....

Blu · 04/09/2006 18:04

LOL at 'sinner ladies'

Blandmum · 04/09/2006 18:10

good typo!

I will eat in our canteen. I tend to take sandwiches because it is faster. But they brought in a salad bar last term ,which is excellent, and the frest friut salad almost impossible to resist.

SaintGeorge · 04/09/2006 18:49

Our primary school dinners are brilliant.

Choice of 2-3 hot dishes every day 1 of which will be vegetarian (all freshly made, not processed stuff) and a salad option.

Water, fresh OJ or milk to drink.

Fruit and yoghurts always included in dessert choice.

Fruit at morning and afternoon break.

And the best bit of all - it's all FREE.

Sunnysideup · 04/09/2006 18:49

crackle, I've heard that before about the number of people taking up school dinners has fallen and I know that makes it seem a failure of the Jamie programme but actually I think it's the opposite; at least the state and the education system have had to (more or less) improve what's on offer, acknowledging that we can't feed kids state-sponsored crap and that we as a country withdraw our consent to that; if some parents stop having dinners so they can continue to give their kids crap, well that's a matter for the individuals concerned.

imho!

nikkie · 04/09/2006 20:35

My school will really struggle with this they have outlawed all she sends us!
Our cook sends tinned pasta in place of a veg choice.
Can't wait to see what they get instead

nikkie · 06/09/2006 19:46

one of our choices yesterday was mash & cheese in a pie,not sure its that much better.