school lunch rip off

wendywitch

I'm glad someone posted this thread as I thought it was only me that felt this way!
I was paying £1.90 a day for my DD2's school lunches and they sound the same as one mentioned on here.
The schools " cook" (I use the word loosely as things are either under cooked or raw) also caters for the local Infant school - where my mum is a dinner lady and after my daughter and my mum comparing notes we have found that the portion sizes were the same for a 4 year old as it was for a 10 year olds!! :eek:
The Junior school are supposed to have a choice of "chilled" water (out the tap no chilling involved) or milk, but the milk seems to be on a first come first served.
There is a choice of hot or cold meal, cold being a "dry old roll with left ouver meat in it" quote from daughter and her friend!
And pudding is either "something gross" another quote or a cookie the size of a digestive or 3 pieces of apple and 3 grapes in a bowl!
Neither of the schools have enough food to go round either. Roast day is a Wednesday on several occasions there is not enough meat so the small portion is cut in half! Or they have to have some grated cheese instead!
And don't even ask about any 5 a day fruit and veg . . . :mad:

provista_2

I am always amazed by the number of school cooks that can't cook.

provista_2

This a link to menus being used locally



https://www.servinglancashire.org.uk/catering/education/primary/StandardMenu.pdf

nadnad

wow this is all terrible. i mean when i was at school i complained about the dinners but they were cooked on premises and were always well rounded meals with a proper pudding and plenty of it and if you wanted seconds you could usually have it though I suppose this is 20 years ago.

my little boy is only 8 months old but I'll be taking a big interest in the school dinners provided when he goes and if they arent up to standard then to me its easy to provide a healthy packed lunch - at least i'll know what he's eating.

angie_baby

DS used to have school dinners and the menu's were sent home, on paper they sounded great, but there not so great when you see them. DS now has packed lunch every day and it saves me a fortune. PLus DS eats like a horse, hes always hungry!

minimacka

My ds is now at senior school and takes £2 ish a day for his meals is say ish because the school has implimented a finger print system where you put money into his account and each day his lunch is deducted from his account using his finger print to recognise him. I dont like this system because to me it doesnt make the children account for the money they have i used to give him £2 a day and he had to add up what his meal cost but now he just gets what he wants. They school put a cap on how much they can spend each day but i thinks its an astonishing £4 a day :eek: .
Anyway getting back to Junior school, my ds is a fussy little thing and also doesnt like bread or pastry and as the school meals were/are awfull he used to take a packed lunch. I used to give him a selection of chicken nuggets with little pot of sauce, cheese strings, plain crusty roll, little sausages, crisps, chopped up fruit, biscuits etc. He did get very fed up of eating that by the end of year 6 but at least he was full for the rest of the day until he had our home cooked meal. So what im trying to say (in a very long winded way) is that fussy eaters can have packed lunches. There is also somewhere a very good list of packed lunch selections, from home made biscuits to tray bakes etc which will work out a lot cheaper in the long run.

MM

jayII

Try: here , here , and here

bride_on_a_budget

i saw my son in the playground just now and he said he had a lovely big roast dinner and only wants something small for tea!
i am gobsmacked, this is the first time he has ever said that to me, but her still want packed lunch tomorrow as its the dreaded lentil casserole.

i'm glad im not the only one who thinks we are being ripped off.
thanks for all the comments
bride

3_cheeky_princesses

I am having the same thing my my home. My daughter school dinners are £1.60 a day.

Most days she has stuff like

Yorkshire pudding with beans in and cheese on top with a squash and something for desert. I dont think this is a full meal.

I think they cook in school where she goes. I would prefer her to have packed lunches like my other dd and ds but she likes to sit with her friends who all have dinners but i dont like it as they meals dont seem very substantial. Even a baguette with salad and tuna with fruit and a drink would be better more filling & healthier then what she is getting at the mo!

tiamai_d

Asda do pack lunch bags (they are expensive though) I think it's thermos... anyway, it keeps food hot (you get a sachet that you ping in the microwave) pretty much all day. DH has one and when I have made him hot food he says it stays hot (and it's left in a car for 6+hours). Baked tatties are easy enough to make the night before (I cheat, 20mins in microwave then 15 in high oven to crisp them up for DH and I, kids like soft skins) and can be pinged in the morning. You also get soup flasks that I have used for mac'n'cheese (make it with more sauce so it runs easily), stovies, spaggy bolly (cut the spagghetti small and mix it up). By lunch time it has cooled, but down to a temperate suitable for kids anyway.

DS1's school menu is ok, when he does have a school dinner (he asks occasionally) he will say he had fish and chips or a cheese pannini or a sandwich with a drink (milkshake, or fruit water), a cake or grapes. I give him £2.00 but he is fly, he will watch what he buys so he can get a sweet for him and little brother out the machine at care club! (2 freddo bars, so 30p, meaning he spends £1.70, somnetimes he has an extra 20p).

I did have words with his care club though, they were giving irn bru and diet coke as drinks at snack time! It's for primary school kids!!!