What do your kids actually do for lunch at school?

[SouthernRev]

I feel like I’m constantly switching between school dinners and packed lunches, and neither really feels like a win. Just curious what most people do day-to-day , and how you feel about it? Does your kid actually eat what they’re given?

Packed lunches, no school dinners in their school

School dinner 100%. Never made a packed lunch. There is a good healthy selection of different options to chose from and DS is always happy to eat whatever we picked from the app.

Mine isn't allowed packed lunches so school dinners only
They are expensive but pretty good, the only issue is portion size and DS is always starving when he comes home.
The Y11 (Largely 6ft plus) boys are allowed no more than the dinky little Y7's but I don't know how they would police that as DS would eat a whole loaf if given the opportunity

In Scotland school dinners are free until P6. So for it’s definitely school dinners

Two DC in secondary.
One takes packed lunch every day unless it’s an ‘emergency’/special day eg Christmas Lunch. Usually has a sandwich or wrap sometimes pasta salad, will buy drinks and snacks from the canteen.
The other takes packed lunch 3 days a week, prefers dinners on PE days so his bag isn’t too full. Takes leftovers in a flask for packed lunch and a sandwich and will buy snacks and drinks from the canteen daily.
The school dinners are pretty awful and my DC tend to make choices based on speed of eating so I prefer them to have lunch from home.

School dinners, even when they are no longer free. I have no idea if they actually eat it or if they prefer it, but they have never had a choice. I think we pay £2.40 per meal. The 50p per lunch I might save by making them myself is not worth the time and mental effort of planning, buying, making and washing up after a packed lunch every day.

Packed lunch - but with a food flask in winter to ensure something warm. Usually the night befores leftovers, eg spag Bol, stew, roast meat veg and spuds etc.

Switching here too. Depends whether they like what’s in the menu for that day!

Packed lunch Monday- Thursday and school dinner on Fridays because that's when they have some version of fish fingers and chips and he loves that. The other days he really dislikes most of the meals on offer so would just choose a sandwich anyway, so paying £3.20 for that seems daft.