anyone else having problems with school dinners?

JodyBPM

JBD wrote: »

That was exactly the same choice when I was growing up. The difference was that I often didn't eat it. I don't cook different meals for my children but I do try and give my children food that I know they like and will eat. The simplest thing for the OP is just to provide them with a packed lunch so she can give them what they will eat [within healthy guidelines of course]. I understand that money is tight but she would be providing them with lunch during school holidays so why not during termtime?

In general, I agree with what you are saying, but if REGULARLY or FOR SEVERAL WEEKS they are not able to eat the choice offered (even if its only one) then this points to me as there being food choice issues within the family that shouldn't be perpetuated. As I believe someone alluded to earlier, just because something isn't your favourite, doesn't mean you don't like it/can't eat it. I think this needs to be addressed. Most children eat most things. Of course there may be some things they don't like, perhaps one item out of the three or four that you will have on your plate in an average meal. But if they are saying they don't like most things, then that suggests to me they don't know the difference between not liking and not being a favourite.

Oldernotwiser

meritaten wrote: »

but there is a problem - some posters have said that all thats left is peas!!! dont know about you but i dont call that a meal!
other posters have said there is no dessert available. how can this be?
I dont know about you but i would be annoyed if all i had for lunch was peas and even if i had mains no dessert would be awful. after all - its paid for!
I accept portion control is needed but not to the extent that latecomers or last in line only get a portion of veg!
unacceptable.
EVERY child should recieve a healthy meal!

I thought that the OP's daughter was offered cheesy pasta and a pudding but chose not to eat the pasta and so wasn't allowed pudding.

fletty

Well I'm a school cook and unfortunately someone always has to go last and quite often there will only be one choice left. I have a very strict budget to stick to and get pulled over the coals if i do happen to go over it - we get told at every school cook's meeting that we are over budget and uptake is poor.

It is impossible to make enough choices of 3 main meals so everyone has a choice. Children's tastes change from week to week, sometimes it's peer pressure one takes jacket potato and the next 7 do and then the next time no one does!!!!

School meals have come on leaps and bounds lately (in some areas) and I can honestly say we produce good quality food with good quality ingredients. Children who have special dietary requirements are made known to us at the beginning of each school year and we keep food back for them if it looks like were running out. The kids are sent up in a rota so the 1st years come up 1st on a Monday, 2nd on Tuesday, 3rd on Wed etc.
I hate it when we run out of choices but I would never see a child I cater for go hungry even if I make a sandwich or just eek a salad out with Ham and cheese I make sure they have something they'll eat, I have even gave the head's dinner to a child on occasion.

I have no idea who is on free school dinners and who pays, I get a list from the office saying 50 free meals, 70 paid purely for my paperwork.

After all thats said my two are soo fussy and I know they would eat hardley anything which is why I give them packed lunch!

System

My younger brother often went without food as the bigger kids fought their way to the front and had all the good food, in the end my mum put him on packed lunches as it was the only way she could be sure he'd eat

JodyBPM

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

My younger brother often went without food as the bigger kids fought their way to the front and had all the good food, in the end my mum put him on packed lunches as it was the only way she could be sure he'd eat

But what is "good food"? Surely most people (and children) can eat most things? If the school offer (which I believe most primaries now do) a choice of meals, all of which are broadly healthy, then you eat the meal in front of you. It may not be your favourite, you may choose not to eat, perhaps, one of the selection of veg, but you are being offered a healthy meal. To me, that is "good food". I honestly cannot believe that there are primary schools who are ONLY offering say peas as a full meal, or ONLY offering cheesy pasta without veg or sides. From what I know of the primary school environment, backed up by what the school cook on here has said, staff would go out of their way to ensure that every child would be OFFERED a healthy meal. They may not choose to eat it, but I would bet you a full, healthy meal is offered to every child every day.

The issue is with the child, and their food preferences, not the school. You can of course opt to give them packed lunches, only containing their favourite foods. It's likely to not be as balanced as what is OFFERED by the school. But that is your choice.

System

In the case of my brother they didn't have full meals on offer by the time he's get there. Literally all he'd be offered would a sausage roll (which he's have but obv. still be hungry), that was it. Though this is secondary school not primary school.

JodyBPM

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

In the case of my brother they didn't have full meals on offer by the time he's get there. Literally all he'd be offered would a sausage roll (which he's have but obv. still be hungry), that was it. Though this is secondary school not primary school.

I must admit I can't comment on secondaries, as I went (decades ago:() to a private school and my children are still in primary, so I just don't know.

But in primaries, I am sure that staff and dinner staff would bend over backwards to make sure at least ONE healthy choice is OFFERED and AVAILABLE. They can't force the child to accept/eat it though, that is down to the parents...

ailuro2

OP, since most people are commenting on who should eat what, which isn't the real problem here.

the school is running out of food, write to them and suggest they use the system described by another poster - the kids at my DD's school do the same, they nominate whether they are a green red or blue meal and that's what they get. It must save the school dinner budget a sizeable amount of money, and also save a few kids each day fro not getting something they like.

Be proactive, sell the new system to them and the fussiness issues are the only problem left, which you can deal with at home.

Spendless

The school isn't running out of food. It is running out of CHOICE. I can see what a lot of people are saying to the OP- address the issue- widen the horizon of what your children will eat and they won't be left stuck when they are last in (which all children will be at some point). If it is just an issue of her kids disliking 2 items cheese and scampi then I can sympathise, but the OP uses words like 'nuts to serve scampi' which then makes people think that her kids eat limited amounts of variety.

I re-read the OP and noticed it being said about kids coming in hungry. Is this new to them? Mine come in 'starving' every day. I have 1 on dinners and 1 who alternates between dinners and packed lunches it makes no difference -for some reason school makes them hungry. It's been the same since DS attended PM nursery! Not the long walk home either - we live 2 mins from school gate.

My school sends a 3 week school dinner planner, sometimes they are also on council website. If you look thru maybe you could spot the meals in advance that will be 'problems' for your kids. You could then decide to send packed lunches that day. Introduce these food items at home to see if your children would be more more inclined to try them or let them come home for dinners that day.

mrcow

lanavdt wrote: »

Growing up, I was given two choices-eat it or don't. I eat almost everything lol.

Me too.

I ended up anorexic for years and nearly ruining my heath/body.

Perhaps if eating hadn't been such a stressful thing for me when I was younger, that wouldn't have happened?