Weezl and friends Phase 2 -giving it a whirl for Shirl! Testing meal plan for a month

weezl74

ooh just found this on directgov:
Free school lunches

Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,040
• Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment finishes or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week

I read that this is 1.8 million children in the uk.

SusanC_2

weezl74 wrote: »

ah:o

I'm so clueless!

So who gets free school meals then?

I think you have to have income under a certain amount but also not be getting WTC. In effect I think it means it's people who are on IS/JSA etc and people who are not working enough hours to qualify for WTC.

wendy+5

Just as a comparison to Julie's school dinners...

Ours are £1.70 per day and for that you get the choice of a meat dish, a veggie dish or a sandwich type dish.
Our meals are rotated 4-weekly.

WEEK 1 -
Monday -
OPTION 1- Haddock and Tuna pasta bake, herby bread, peas and fresh carrots, salad.
OPTION 2 - Vegetarian mince wrap, fresh potato wedges, peas and carrots, salad.
OPTION 3 - Cheese sandwich with salad or vegetables.
Ginger and sultana sponge
Fruit yoghurt pot.

TUESDAY
OPTION 1 - Beef chili, wholemeal rice, fresh cauliflower, green beans, salad.
OPTION 2 - Vegetarian lasagne, herby bread, fresh cauli, green beans, salad.
OPTION 3 - Ham baguette with salad or veg.
Mixed fruit muffins
Raspberry smoothie.

WEDNESDAY
OPTION 1 - Roast turkey, roast or boiled potatoes, whole baby carrots, fresh cabbage, gravy, salad.
OPTION 2 - Quorn curry, wholemeal rice, carrots, cabbage, salad.
OPTION 3 - Tuna and sardine sandwich with salad or veg.
Rice pudding and fruit.
Fruit salad.

THURSDAY
OPTION 1 - Pork steak in gravy, new pots, peas, sweetcorn, salad.
OPTION 2 - Cauli and broccoli bake, garlic bread, paes, sweetcorn, salad.
OPTION 3 - Beef tortilla with salad or veg.
Chocolate sponge and choc sauce.
Fruit yogurt pot.

FRIDAY
OPTION 1 - BBQ chicken, chips or boiled pots, baked beans, fresh green beans, salad.
OPTION 2 - Breaded fish, chips or boiled pots, beans, green beans,salad.
OPTION 3 - Egg sandwich with salad or veg.
Oat and fruit crispy.
Mango and orange smoothie.

Each day they also have juice or milk, bread, and a choice from the fruit cart.
The only time the menu is repeated is for the sandwiches.
It's gorgeous food. Tastes nothing like school dinners!!

I don't know how the free school meals work though.

SusanC_2

Allegra wrote: »

I think that might be incorrect, Susan - DD's friend gets free school meals, and her mum is working and in receipt of wtc - so it can't be just income support (or whatever that's called nowadays) and jobseeker's.

I can't work out how she would qualify under the criteria weezl posted (which are roughly what I remembered but hadn't remembered all the detail) unless she's just gone below 16 hours per week and is still getting WTC from when she was working more hours.

Allegra

Either that or I got the wrong end of the stick and it's not wtc she's getting, which is quite possible Thanks guys, the mystery is solved.... Ish

Julimk

DD has explained that the dinner ladies make the children take a piece of fruit or a small pot of salad as well as the main meal, so presumably this is included in whatever nutritional calculations have been done.

Although DD said that she always eats her fruit (she would say that wouldn’t she!), quite a lot of the children don’t, though she is not sure how many. They swap & share, aren’t made to clear their plates & there is quite a lot of waste. So clearly they won’t get exactly what has been calculated for them even if they always have school dinners.

weezl74

Julimk wrote: »

DD has explained that the dinner ladies make the children take a piece of fruit or a small pot of salad as well as the main meal, so presumably this is included in whatever nutritional calculations have been done.

Although DD said that she always eats her fruit (she would say that wouldn’t she!), quite a lot of the children don’t, though she is not sure how many. They swap & share, aren’t made to clear their plates & there is quite a lot of waste. So clearly they won’t get exactly what has been calculated for them even if they always have school dinners.

If the dinner ladies asked DDs friends to take either an apple or a piece of cake with sultanas in (and if it was a nice cake!) does she think more of her friends would eat it?

(and please thank her for helping the doughnut lady to understand more things )

Julimk

She said, yes, she thinks more of her friends would eat the cake.

Then she said, thanks a lot I'm hungry now! Stormed off to the kitchen, and is now eating - fruit!

weezl74

Julimk wrote: »

Then she said, thanks a lot I'm hungry now! Stormed off to the kitchen, and is now eating - fruit!

:rotfl::rotfl:

weezl74

allegra :AI forgot to say a proper thank you earlier for the shopping list

what a great asset for shirley.

Poohbear's daughter was finding it hard to convert the list to weekly, so I know she'll be thanking you for your efforts