School lunch rant - Would you complain?

Mupette

I'm not a veggie, but i do notice that the schools ds has been to has been nothing more than a limp lettuce, yet they will bring in halal meat for the kids that parents have asked for (yet these kids wouldn't eat it and preferred the western food !!!!!

OP the contents of your dd lunch box sounded super healthy, and i for one think its bloody stupid what they did. as for the TA well.... i would of been so angry that a pityful excuse of undermining authority to say sorry when she made your dd cry.. she sounds like a heartless b1actch

lostinrates

elvis86 wrote: »

If I said that those on free school meals shouldn't be so picky, I'd get lynched wouldn't I..?:D

I admit, I hadn't considered that. My argument was that as schools cater on a large scale, it may be difficult and unrealistic to expect them to offer a different vegetarian option every day. From the sounds of it, maybe I'm wrong.

i am a committed carnivore, but I'd argue it the other way: that healthy wholesome meals that catered to people of all major dietary restrictions would be easier and healthier to provide in one balanced vegetarian option....where each child is given what his neighbour eats, unless a less common restriction, so its inclusive, healthier cheaper and simpler!

poet123

I am a School Governor and I think the packed lunch policy many schools adopt and try to enforce, is so OTT is makes my blood boil.

Like most parents I send my kids to school for academic and social reasons not for them to try to take over my parental obligations across the board. These are guidelines, not laws, or commandments laid down in tablets of stone. Common sense needs to be applied, and give parents the credit for knowing their own child. What point is there in sending a child with any form of packed lunch if they will not eat it?

My youngest son asked for brown bread, for weeks he had brown bread, turned out he hated brown bread, but had been told it was the only bread worth eating, so he left it every day.

OP, your story is a disgrace, the TA needs re training and the limits of her remit explaining to her. I wish my kids ate so healthily.

borderlakland

GobbledyGook wrote: »

What about vegetarian children who are entitled to a free school meal? Surely they can't be expected to go without on certain days of the week.

I think they should be obliged to have something meat-free each day. It doesn't take a lot of thought and as I've mentioned several of their current dishes have meat on them that they don't need to have (pizza, pasta bake etc).

we are lucky compared to lots on here as our primary school lunches are quite good, and the packed lunch policy seams sensible compared to lots.
they have a 4 week rotated menu with a vegi option, meat or sandwhich choice every day and it's never the same during one week, on some days the vegi choice is the "main" choice on the menu with the meat option being the 2nd option (if that makes sense)
several days the vegi option is almost as popular as the meat alternative.

i do agree with the daftness of saying no cake/buscuits etc but offering sweet pud & custard 3 times a week.


op...if other parents are concerned maybe try getting together and talk to the school, dinner ladies, governer etc and thrash things out as a group. maybe get info off the net about other school policies, ideas etc.
maybe this could help clear things up and poss avoid this mess happening again to someone elses child.

Spendless

There's def a veg choice every day at my kids schools. A different option for each day over a 3 week slot. I currently have the meal planner in front of me. Meat eating kids will often choose the veggie option not cos it's veggie but cos they fancy it more than the meat option. For example one day the option is mild chicken curry but kids who don't like any spice, or don't like sauces would probably go for the alternative option that day which is french bread pizza.

GobbledyGook

elvis86 wrote: »

If I said that those on free school meals shouldn't be so picky, I'd get lynched wouldn't I..?:D

I admit, I hadn't considered that. My argument was that as schools cater on a large scale, it may be difficult and unrealistic to expect them to offer a different vegetarian option every day. From the sounds of it, maybe I'm wrong.

It did actually make me laugh.

They already make 2 main choices everyday so it's not really a hassle to make them vegetarian. In fact they do a vegetarian choice every day - it's just that on 4 days it's macaroni! It's pure laziness on the part of the cook.

The more I look at the menus the more I'm realising why she won "Most efficient" cook/caterer or some such thing. It seems to be the cheapest of the cheap. More worryingly they seem to have the same thing for 2 days, then something different for 2 days then their standard Friday menu. I'm wondering if the macaroni and the likes is made on day 1 and served both days. I won't assume it though, but I will ask why the council has a suggested menu plan that is on a 4 week cycle yet they seem to have a 2 week cycle at most for mains, but macaroni so blimming often (and pasta shapes in cheese sauce is the same as macaroni cheese imo).

littlerat

Wow!

When I was in primary school (18 now) we had a bit of this coming in, complaints if people had lots of chocolate, we also have the thing you had to eat the whole meal.

This was a problem as from about the age of 6 I would only eat lunch in school about twice a week, I wasn't at all hungry most days, never ended up tired or anything due to it. Anyway the more they pushed me the more I refused.

Caused major issues for Mum that did, at one point it was suggested she come in each lunchtime to make me eat!!!

I have to say, what would they have done if your daughter had refused the mac and cheese? I had that problem a few times in school where they tried to make me eat a certain thing I wouldn't (and I have a problem with too much dairy, so no wonder I'd not eat cheese like that as a kid, more than a small amount made me feel sick/ill), back then they just gave in, but I imagine it causes more issues now?

onlyroz

My daughter's nursery sends her home with all the lunch leftovers in her lunch box - so I end up with blackened banana skins and yoghurt smeared everywhere. I couldn't find a plastic lunchbox (unless I got a high-school musical one, which I wasn't keen on) so I got a small fabric coolbox thing, which now has ingrained yoghurt on and perpetually smells of banana. I think the nursery's reasoning is that I can tell how much she has eaten - but it's not much fun scooping out the sludge at the end of the day...

msb5262

Lots of discussion of how many options etc in school dinners...my school has just introduced a fab new system for school meals.
4 options each day, the week's menu is displayed from the previous Friday and each child chooses what he/she would like at register time and is given a sticker with the appropriate colour.
Usually there are two hot dishes - one meat and one vegetarian.
Almost every day, sandwiches are available as one of the choices and the children pick a filling (from cheese, egg, tuna or meat) and this is specified on the sticker.
Each class sends a list to the kitchen and the cook prepares exactly what is needed.
As children can see the whole week's menu, they can opt into school meals when they know something they like is coming up.
If there isn't a main dish they particularly like but they have a school meal every day, there is always the fallback option of a sandwich.
Working well so far!
MsB

sillyvixen

i think parents should complain if they have issues with the the lunchtime systems, whether it is the hot meal choices or the policing of the packed lunches provided!
i grew up in the 70's and have a problem producing an enzyme to digest meat products, my infant and junior school did not allow packed lunches (except school trips) one meal choice was provided a day - it was always meat based. i was given veg and mash most days (if it was cowboy hotpot it was only a scoop of mash, if it was roast potatoes i could only have a portion of veg!) the other option was going home for lunch and as both my parents worked this was not an option.
the school felt it was providing for my 'special dietry requirements' when in fact it was ripping off my parents and my mum was to scared to complain for fear of having me sent home for lunch and having to give up work.

it is good to see things have improved - but not enough in some cases.