How many of you pay for school dinners?

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DS started Key stage 2 in September, and as you are aware free school meals are no longer available for them once they get into KS2.
Our school dinners are £2.44 a day which includes a pudding, they can choose a hot meal or sandwich bar/salad bar jacket potato option also.
Since DS has started I've paid for his lunches so far working out at £12.20 a week, which I don't think is bad at all and well worth the money.

I'm aware if you didn't have the spare money then parents would just do a packed lunch, but I'm grateful and lucky to have a household income where we are able to spend this on school dinners weekly.

It just got me thinking I wonder how many people actually pay for school dinners for their DC once they are no longer free?

Do the majority now do packed lunches?

I don't mean the post to come across rude or judgmental at all, I am aware every one's circumstances are different and £12.20 a week may not be worthwhile or do able for some households.

I was paying for school dinners but now my younger 3 get free school dinners because we are on a low income. Ds2 takes a packed lunch to college.

We’re in London so free school meals all through primary. I’d pay regardless as I have better things to do with my time than make packed lunches, to be perfectly honest! Luckily, the school meals are decent and she eats a good amount/variety that lessens the pressure on weeknight dinners. Maybe if one of us was a stay at home parent, I’d think differently, but these are our circumstances and we’re all content with the status quo.

No SAHPs here, and I also have far far better things to do with my time than make 3 packed lunches every day, but the quality of ours is so poor that I wouldn’t feed it to my dog.

I pay as its only me and my daughter so I don't always have loads of food in, and she goes to after school club too and gets tea there so the majority of the week I just have to feed myself. Its a bit lazy too if Im honest don't want to clear out a stinky lunch bag at the end of the day 🤣 She loves the food and has a big choice and for £2.50 a day I think its worth it for time saved and ease. She tells me she's "Good friends with the lunch ladies so often gets an extra portion of pudding" 🤣 I think she's in the minority in year 5, but then when she goes to holiday club in the school holidays and gets a packed lunch from home she loves it more as its a novelty! Also like the fact in winter she gets a hot lunch. Well worth it in my opinion!

I'd happily pay as I like to outsource as much as possible but the school lunches in our school are awful, lots of UPF, they don't have a kitchen on site (small village school) it's brought in by a company. So we do packed lunches so I know he's getting healthy real food.

We will be paying for it (free at the moment) the meals at our primary are really good (cooked onsite). It’s a very small school so I think it’s easier for them than catering en masse. It helps us as we don’t have to do a full on dinner at home every night (she does have dinner but it’s likely to be bowl of pasta or wrap and salad or an on toast thing) which helps as she’s not home much before 5.30.

It’s £2.50/day at the moment. I detested doing DD’s packed lunch at nursery, she eats incredibly healthily but they cost a lot as she wanted berries etc. we used to easily spend £2 a day on them.

This is an interesting thread because I actually think packed lunches are probably the more expensive option?

we do packed lunches because like others I feel like I can offer a much more balanced and nutritious meal. But I’d say I’m definitely spending more than £2/£3 a day! Interesting to hear that school dinners are considered the more ‘well off’ option!!

Agreed, I think we spend more on packed lunches a day than school meals cost. Worth it for us though.

I would def spend more than the £12/13 a week of doing packed lunch

Mine are no longer in primary but when they were, we'd look at the coming week's menus on a Sunday and then work out what days they wanted school dinners and what days packed lunches. As some days they didn't fancy anything at all, but show DS a cheesy bean wrap on Tuesday, or cinnamon bun for pudding on Thursday and he was in like Flynn.

Neither of them were keen on the routine fish Friday options.

It depends what you put in them doesn't it?

Loaf of bread, pack of ham, pack of cheese, yogurts ,a bag of apples , a multipack of supermarket's own crisps? About a fiver for the week, especially if not branded. Some kids just get the sandwich.

Id like to think that if families were struggling to provide more than a sandwich they would be entitled to free school meals regardless of age

Making a packed lunch is my absolute least favourite parenting job - I just hate doing it! And no matter how much food I buy on a Sunday, there's never a whole lunchbox worth by Thursday. School dinners all the way for my kids (although, this is my first year having to pay for three children, and I'm really feeling it)

We used to pay for school dinners, £2.50 a meal. Over a year ago in London they became free, one of Khan's polarity boosting policies. However, since they have been free the quality is shocking, portions smaller and kids just have packed lunch now.

*meant 'popularity' boosting! Though polarity may be fitting too...

DD would take the same thing for lunch every day if she took packed lunch, so we pay for lunches so she gets more variety.
I'm not making up 5 lunches a week either, just too much faff. I have better things to do with my time.
DS is in specialist school and it's included.

I tried school dinners with my children and they used to come home starving because they didn’t like any of the food. I started teaching in their school and saw how small the portions were and the quality of food and quickly agreed to packed lunches. It’s not about cost, they can be as expensive as I choose. It is a lot of effort but time isn’t an issue.

@Waitingforthecold you'd think so. The income threshold is really low. Less than 7400 a year before any benefits.

For people that get child tax credit(is anyone even still on it) it's £16,190 a year.

I'm really sad to hear how many schools seem to still have dreadful quality food. Our primary has a varied menu, and most of the meals are fairly similar quality to what I cook at home - pasta bolognese, veggie fajitas, chicken leek and potato bake etc. Only have processed "fish bites" once a week on a Friday, which seems fair enough.

How do FSM work in England? I thought all primary School children had free meals! I live in Wales and FSM are free for all children in primary regardless of family income.

I had 3 in school at 1 point. Total was 35 a week then (10 years ago) they fluctuated between packed lunches and school dinners as long as we gave a week's notice. At one point I think they had dry spaghetti and a tuna sandwich. I went in to complain along with other parents when that happened and it dramatically improved after that.

Just started year 3. Could afford to pay the £3 a day being charged. But the food is shit quality processed crap, so I just can't justify it. I send my son with a packed lunch. I put up with it pre year 3 as it was free.

It's free for all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England.

£3.25 per day for my DD. Hearing her say “I ate 1 sausage, half my beans & 1 potato then left pudding” makes me want to weep!

I wish lunch was after play as it just makes them rush their lunch!

Be boring to have a ham Sarnie and an apple every day

So would need ham cheese chicken

Apple pear grape orange

Variety

Which she gets with school dinners

Diff meals - fruit and pudding