School Dinners?

[CardyMow]

Should the school dinner be the same size for all year groups? In other words - is a portion for a reception child that is 4yo meant to be the same size as for a (very tall - 4ft9) 9yo in Y5? DS1 is coming home every day ready to chew his own arm off.

I give him a good-sized breakfast, cereal with fruit. He takes a piece of fruit and a cereal bar for breaktime, but he is still coming out starving - and grumpy because he is hungry.

I can't afford to do packed lunch, as I get free school meals. Even DS2 (almost 8yo, in Y3, not a great eater) is starting to complain some days that he is hungry - he gets the same breakfast as DS1, and the same snack.

Admittedly, today, DS1 DIDN'T get the full dinner - he has a lunchtime club, was first in the hall, got Jacket potatoes with beans and sweetcorn - DS2 went in later and got the above PLUS meatballs (DS1 says there were no meatballs for him) but even when he HAS been given the full amount of food he is still starving.

Surely a portion of food that is dished up to a 4yo (that gets fully eaten by a 4yo) is not going to be the right sized portion for a 9yo?

Me and DD were talking about the same thing. She only has school lunch on Fridays because it's chips. She and her friends were complaining about the 3 chicken nuggets and small portion of chips they've had for the past three weeks. They get exactly the same as the reception children. There isn't any bread either.
She did consider raising it at the school council meeting (she's a rep) but has decided she'll leave it for a couple of months.
Her meals are £2.10

We asked our school if the children could have an afternoon snack as they were hungry. School agreed, so we all send an extra piece of fruit for the afternoon.

I remember at my own primary school, donkeys' years ago, we had "mini meals" or "maxi meals". Maxi meals cost slightly more per week but were larger portions. Seems silly to assume that a 4 yr old and 10 yr old will eat the same quantity.

Luckily our school are quite free and easy on packed lunches. DD has gone in today with tinned spaghetti in a flask with a cheese topped roll and a fruit puree pouch thing. She won't eat school lunches as she has never liked potato in any form - even chips - and she thinks sponge pudding and custard is the work of the devil!

Sponge pudding and custard is nectar from the Gods. Your dd is bu.

Thing is, there being no leeway means that few children are catered for. DD might be in reception and actually she's the youngest child in the school but she's also the tallest in her year. And taller than most y1 and some y2 children too. The portion sizes are not adequate for her. Likewise, her bf eats like a bird and doesn't manage even half of his dinner. But they don't allow anybody to have seconds or leftovers. So dd comes home ravenous and her bf leaves half his dinner daily. The whole thing needs rethinking.

I think generally school meals are pretty small. My daughters come home starving and eat a full-on cooked lunch and a cooked dinner afterwards! I think maybe it's just meant to get them through the school day, not constitute their main meal for the whole day.

But it's not even getting DS1 through the school day! He comes out of school and you can hear his tummy rumbling!

At the DSs' school they charge more for junior meals than infant meals, because they give them bigger portions.

DD is in infants and eats as much as an adult. I wouldn't be pleased if she got a half portion. They get main meal (chicken casserole and dumplings today) side of vegetables (curly kale and carrots today) a salad bowl, then pudding (apple crumble and custard today) then yoghurt and chopped fruit.

They get a morning snack of fruit and an afternoon snack of milk and fruit.

I agree the fruit quota is too high. But I would support a mini/maxi meal idea rather than portion size based on age - DD eats like a horse. It's not good for the kids to be starving though. Does the school let parents go in for lunch? Could you join them for lunch one day and have a look at the portions?

DS1's lunch today? One boiled potato, one sausage, and soggy (apparently) cabbage. He was allowed two dessert spoons of sweetcorn from the salad bar. Pudding was a fruit pot the size of one of my 8mo babies bowls. Is it any wonder my very tall 9yo was ready to chew his own arm off when he had finished his after-school football club?

He ate a cheese sandwich on the bus home (I'd taken it because I knew he'd be hungry after footy). Then he had an apple, a packet of crisps, another slice of bread and butter, and THEN a full plate of dinner. Which he ate all of. And then he had a yoghurt for pudding.

I have been in when they had the 'Mother's day dinner', the portions were what I would dish up to a pre-schooler (and none of my dc are overweight, all have a healthy BMI). And according to DS1 & DS2 - the portions were LARGER that day than they normally are!