Vegans School Dinners any good experiences?

[MrsTaraPlumbing]

I do love the idea that school will sort out the lunch time meal for my vegan children every day BUT - will they really be left hungry?

In Sept when my twins go into year 1 the school are removing the packed lunch option.

OK, I exaggerate there are chips and beans on Friday (yum) 2 other main courses that appear over the 3 week menu might be vegan. No vegan puddings so just fruit every day.
I am contacting the school but I really wondered if anyone had experiences they can share.

BTW, my older child went to a (different) school where meals were provided. He seemed to eat very little and came home hungry every day. Just a potato and some unappealing veg with no sauce.

Schools provide vegetarian options. I can't see how you can expect the school to cater for your lifestyle choice.

I would not expect a school to provide a vegan meal.

Do you mean you won't be allowed to take packed lunch? In which case the caterer needs to provide a protein vegan meal for your children. Our school menu has a few vegan choices, but certainly not daily.

Oh for goodness sake Vegan isn't a lifestyle choice. There are religions that are vegan and also for some it is just as strongly a belief as a religious one that they not eat anything made from animals.

I am afraid that at son's school, which has excellent food, the vegetarian option almost alway includes cheese or eggs.

My friend, whose religion requires a vegan diet, finds her children often come home having only eaten bread for lunch and some fruit. This is not enough for growing lads! On school trips she has to send their own packed lunch as the sandwiches offered are always tuna, cheese or chicken.

"Oh for goodness sake Vegan isn't a lifestyle choice."

For most people it is.

I would be interested to know which religions follow a vegan diet. I used to have a friend at school who was a Jain, and even she was vegetarian, not vegan.

I think the school are being unreasonable if they won't let you send your children in with a packed lunch, yet won't provide a vegan option.

However, I think it is unrealistic to expect the school to provide a healthy vegan option.

In our school the vegetarian options, even, are processed crap, so I dread to think what a vegan option would be.

Personally I have more time for someone who has chosen to be vegan for non religious reasons as it implies some degree of analysis and thought. Why is something okay if it's for religious purposes, and how far do you go? Because it seems that the religious argument stretches so far but way before we reach FGM for example , so maybe we should just not agree to anything if it's on religious grounds?

Are schools obliged to cater for every religious diet possible?

I'd guess that the school will back down - it would be quite a pain to have to cater for vegans every day if you aren't used to it.

Veganism isn't a religion but since most schools will cater for both vegetarians, and allergies (dairy and eggs not being uncommon) I would have thought catering for a vegan diet should be doable.

But I doubt there would be the time or funds for anything too adventurous, sadly.

How many non vegan restaurants and hotels provide good vegan options?

I'd have thought a decent vegan option would be a non-starter in a school that claims to be "nut-free", as most do these days. Personally, I would fight to keep your packed lunch. Our current primary will only do vegan with a doctor's note, but I have no idea what it is actually like. The vegetarian options are not great.

What would a school do if the children were vegetarian for religious reasons, but had dairy and/or egg allergies? Just wondering. As the OP hasn't confirmed if this is a lifestyle choice.

I gave up sending my kids in for school dinners and luckily their schools still allow packed lunches. There was never any vegetarian options left and my kids were left with nothing to eat despite quite possibly being the only 2 vegetarian children in the school. The dinner ladies on a couple of occasions also told them just to taste the ham. I would push to give them a packed lunch!

I would think that if the school are unable to provide an appropriate meal for any restrictive diet, a packed lunch should be allowed.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the school to provide a vegan meal. However, I don't think it's reasonable for the school to prohibit packed lunches either!

Many parents are unable to take their children home for lunch. If the school cannot provide a suitable meal, then they should allow the parents to send one in from home.

This free meals policy really hasn't been thought through properly, has it?

I think it's unreasonable of the school to prohibit packed lunches, and I also think it unreasonable to expect them to cater to what is quite a specific dietary requirement, particularly if it is not for medical reasons.

As others have implied, there isn't much you can make that's going to be interesting if you can't use meat, dairy, nuts or more expensive vegetables.

The question is, can you make the school see that two unreasonables don't make a reasonable?

Have you asked the school about it?

Rastafarian is a vegan religion. This is a reasonably large-ish minority religion where a live and the school's intake is such that there will be children there who are vegan for this reason.

*I live

Rastafarian is a vegan religion

Now I've heard it all. You've made my day .

The Rastafari movement is not a religion, and nor does it dictate that followers should be vegan, although some are.

As you were.

I know Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet, is vegan, and he is Rastafarian.
Off to google this now.

I'm Welsh and an atheist, ThatBloodyWoman - it doesn't mean all Welsh people are atheist or that all atheists are Welsh.

My search results show many Rastafarians are vegan.

Cheebame I am aware of that!

Just he is an example I know of, so it made me curious to see if that's the norm.

I enjoy learning about different religions, beliefs and cultures.

As you were.....