Tell us about school meals (or why your child doesn't have them) and you could win a £250 voucher for the store of your choice

[carriemumsnet]

The School Food Trust would like to know about the school meals in your child's school (or why you choose to give your child a packed lunch instead). They're also interested in your views of the school meals you had when you were a child. The survey is open to all mums in the UK with at least one child at school. Everyone who takes part will be in with a chance of winning a £250 voucher for a store of their choice.

Here's the survey again in case you missed the last link

[telegramsam]

Done

[flashharriet]

Done but only for DS as our school (in fact the whole county ) doesn't provide hot school meals, but answers (or lack of them) apply to dd1 (8) and dd2 (6) as well.

[snorkie]

done!

[MamaG]

oh i do like a survey

[gorionine]

Done .

Had trouble with question 11. I am in the uk now but was not when still in school and we did not have school meals at all but used to go back home to eat every lunch time.

I also filled only one survey for dd1 and did not fill any for ds2(8)and ds3(5).

[Hulababy]

Done, although couldn't answer how much schools meals cost. Ours are included in the cost of school fees, no seperate cost.

[Snorbs]

Is it really only open to mums or can us dads enter too?

[pucca]

Done

[eleanorsmum]

Done, but didn't know where to leave my comment about pricing in our school. It's £2.20 a day which I feel is a little steep especially as reception and infants get one spoonful of say stew and veggies and pots but the juniors get a whole plateful! I know my dd wouldn't eat anymore but maybe they could offer a reduced price for a smaller protion! She all she gets given and loves it but i work at the school aswell and see it is might unfair that a tiny 4.5 year old get charged the same as a starpping 11 year old who clearly needs and gets abigger protion!

Sorry rant over!

[Katz]

done, but not sure i managed to get across that i have no problem with the hot meal provision at dd1's school and that the only reason we don't use them is that dd2 is in a preshcool with not hot meals so its easier to send them both with packed lunches.

[SausageRocket]

DONE

Our LEA is crap for offering hot food, very few state primaries in my area still have kitchens. My DD goes to one of the biggest primaries in our LEA and there is no hot food provision because there are no kitchen facilities

[glastocat]

I wish we had school meals here in Ireland.

[Millarkie]

Mine have stopped having school meals after being 'forced' to eat meat when they are vegetarian. The veggie option (which is almost always jacket potato or a cheese sandwich) runs out by the second sitting (small hall so there are several sittings in lunchtime). I have spoken to school cook but she kept saying 'well we never run out of tuna' (since when has tuna become a vegetable?).
Gave up, and now they are having packed lunches and moaning because of the no cake/chocolate rule (there is also a no cans, no sweets and no crisps rule) because school dinner kids get chocolate puddings/cake and custard desserts but packed lunch kids only get fruit/yogurt.

[mummyhill]

Our school has an healthy eating award but I am not sure how as the meals they provide don't seem that healthy although they do have a lunch box police that will stop your children from eating stuff that is not on the approved items list! On the odd occasion I send her for dinners it always seems to be pizza and chips or something similar! We used to be sent a copy of the menu which was on a 4 week rotation so we had a vague idea as to what the children were eating but this stopped last year! That did make it easier to decide whether to let her have a school dinner or send a packed lunch as we can decide on the day.

[MrsWeasley]

done it for all of my DCs.
Our school meals have gone down in price this year by 15p. Meals the same so I'm not complaining.

[HerBeatitude]

oh the healthy schools thing is a crock. HS are under enormous pressure to reach their targets, so they allow slightly dodgy schools through as long as they can just about tick the box.

[grouchyoscar]

DS has a packed lunch every day. I make it so I know what goes in it and as he has a huge appetite I know he won't go hungry

Plus the meals are £1.75 a day and the its more economic to do pack ups for the family everday.

And I do lunchtime cover, I know the meals are fairly good but there is too much choice and I see daft food combos

but yeah, he has pack ups cos we're tight/skint

[AnnMumsnet]

Snorbs, sorry no it is open to mums OR dads really!

[colditz]

DOne.

[giddykipper]

done

[PortBlacksandResident]

Whenever Dss have a school dinner they have come home starving - even if they have eaten it all (friend is a dinner lady). Packed lunch means i choose what they eat and how much.

Also the stuff they eat is certainly healthier than i did but at least i wasn't hungry after my Chicken Fricassee and Nursery Wheels with pink custard! And none of us were overweight either although i suspect that's more to do with exercise than eating...

[letsgostrawberrypicking]

I stopped paying for them when i looked at the print out of what they would be getting that week and under "vegetables" was written "spaghetti hoops". What???? These are meant to be provided by people trained in food and nutrition. What is that teaching the children?

[snorkie]

my dc have always raved about their school dinners which I always took to be a great slight on my cooking. However, I've recently worked briefly at the school & eaten in the canteen & was tremendously impressed by the choice & quality. I don't know how much it costs as like hula it's included in the fees, but they are really, really nice. When I was at school the meals were all but inedible.