Guest Guest66881 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Schools have enough on their plate ( excuse the pun!) If you can afford to feed your kids feed em! Let the schools use that money to educate , more teachers etc. I agree with this, schools for learning and growing in a group situation/environment, feeding is also a communal thing that encourages verbal interaction, why hang the stigma chain around kids they don't need much to take the piss, make it a level playing field at meal times via either a purchased packed lunch or homemade packed lunch, no hot meals required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Why aren't parents interested in investing in a nice hot meal for their child then? Why does it have to be tax payer funded (even for those that can afford it) in your view? It doesn't..and I would happily pay for a hot school meal, I think it's a good idea that's all...like I say if you look at it as part of the package...I mean we don't expect to have to pay for pencils and learning materials in the UK do we? At the end of the day we pay indirectly for lots of things (could say we've already paid for the hot meal) and if this was a huge drain on resources I doubt it will happen. Free for all reduces stigma and inequality and makes it more 'acceptable'...I really think its a good move.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We used to have to pay for school dinners but I think it was 5 shillings and then went up to 7 shillings and sixpence for the week. That was back in the 60's, I finished school in about 1969. All I can say is the meals wee great, canteen was well stocked out with decent cooking equipment, plenty of staff who seemed to care that the food was good, two courses usually a meat based main with veggies and then a decent pudding. There was a mad rush for seconds on the days we used to get jam roly poly or doughnuts made in the canteen. We used to have two sittings and there was free school meals for the kids whose parents couldn't afford it. One of my best friends had vouchers for free school meals and he used to raffle them off at playtime if he didn't fancy his dinner. Must have been subsidised by the government heaps. It was the days of free milk in school too, I can remember drinking heaps as a lot of the kids didn't like it. Loved my school dinners, makes you wonder how they used to afford it as the country is supposed to be a lot better off now. I think a lot of kids get free school meals here in remote communities. They have a bus goes round to pick them up and then they get fed, just to keep the numbers attending up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 We used to have to pay for school dinners but I think it was 5 shillings and then went up to 7 shillings and sixpence for the week. That was back in the 60's, I finished school in about 1969. All I can say is the meals wee great, canteen was well stocked out with decent cooking equipment, plenty of staff who seemed to care that the food was good, two courses usually a meat based main with veggies and then a decent pudding. There was a mad rush for seconds on the days we used to get jam roly poly or doughnuts made in the canteen. We used to have two sittings and there was free school meals for the kids whose parents couldn't afford it. One of my best friends had vouchers for free school meals and he used to raffle them off at playtime if he didn't fancy his dinner. Must have been subsidised by the government heaps. It was the days of free milk in school too, I can remember drinking heaps as a lot of the kids didn't like it. Loved my school dinners, makes you wonder how they used to afford it as the country is supposed to be a lot better off now. I think a lot of kids get free school meals here in remote communities. They have a bus goes round to pick them up and then they get fed, just to keep the numbers attending up. Your time line is the same as mine P1P and yes 5 shillings and 7&6 ring true to me, no real problems at all with school dinners then, except the gristly meat in stews, and that snotty frog spawn sago pudding:nah:, even the lumpy custard was ok. Some of us used to have the job of packing all the trays into the warmer box's (eski) after dinner ready for collection, 10bob a week, good money then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 School meals at my school in the 50's were 10 (old) pence a day which bought a ticket at "register" time. Being in an orphanage, I was one of those that got a free ticket................the teacher seemed to take great delight in calling out those who were given free after everyone else, highlighting them as the "poor". The meals were great though and I still recall the wonderful smell of stewing steak in the playground and we could always tell from the smell what was for dinner. We used to peer through the canteen windows watching white overalled/turbaned ladies stirring big pots. My favourite was the semolina desert with a big blob of jam in the middle which we stirred in and made "road kill" patterns. It was the main meal of the day for most and evening meal invariably just consisted of toast with beans or egg thrown in if you were lucky. Couldn't face that nowadays as my first meal of the day is lunch which is just a salad sandwich and we rarely eat main meal before 8pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 What was it we called frogs spawn? Was it tapioca ? I should have had free dinners, but my mother was either too proud or didn't know. Discovered too late she was entitled to help, and they wouldn't back date it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Your time line is the same as mine P1P and yes 5 shillings and 7&6 ring true to me, no real problems at all with school dinners then, except the gristly meat in stews, and that snotty frog spawn sago pudding:nah:, even the lumpy custard was ok. Some of us used to have the job of packing all the trays into the warmer box's (eski) after dinner ready for collection, 10bob a week, good money then. There wasn't anything I didn't like K&L, even the frog spawn (we used to get it too). I was a server for a few years and people used to fight over who was going to be on our table at the start of term, they used to know I'd do the right thing with the amount of food I'd get. I learnt early in life that it pays to be nice and friendly with canteen staff. Pays off to this day. We have a UWA canteen over the road from where I work and I use it a lot. I get student rates and don't have a student card, as I have a chat and a laugh with the ladies behind the counter.:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 What was it we called frogs spawn? Was it tapioca ? I should have had free dinners, but my mother was either too proud or didn't know.Discovered too late she was entitled to help, and they wouldn't back date it. There were a lot of kids at our school who got free lunches. I can't remember anyone giving them a hard time over it, most of us thought they were lucky. Like I said my mate used to rafflle his off sometimes. I've been known to go into both sittings with his raffled free dinner ticket.:wink: Imagine if someone in the current government suggested doing the same thing with school meals these days. It would take them 10 years to do the enquires, cost benefit analysis, pay millions for consultants and then announce the country can't afford it.:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 What was it we called frogs spawn? Was it tapioca ? I should have had free dinners, but my mother was either too proud or didn't know.Discovered too late she was entitled to help, and they wouldn't back date it. Yes it could be tapioca, but really it was frog spawn wasn't it? and yes we got free dinners too during sometime in my school life, never too proud to get something for nothing but also proud to go out and earn a living too, paper rounds, milk rounds, Saturday jobs, gardening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 There wasn't anything I didn't like K&L, even the frog spawn (we used to get it too). I was a server for a few years and people used to fight over who was going to be on our table at the start of term, they used to know I'd do the right thing with the amount of food I'd get. I learnt early in life that it pays to be nice and friendly with canteen staff. Pays off to this day. We have a UWA canteen over the road from where I work and I use it a lot. I get student rates and don't have a student card, as I have a chat and a laugh with the ladies behind the counter.:wink: Under the counter service hey!:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maidensarah Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I just remember at Primary school those children who had free lunches were known as 'poor' which is sad for children to think that of other children that way from a young age. We were not well off when I was at primary school but my brother and I were not 'poor enough' to be entitled to free school meals and sadly I was only ever sent to school with marmite sandwiches crisps and chocolate in my lunchbox. Soggy and squashed marmite sandwiches still send shudders down my spine now haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 They have pre paid cards now so absolutely no need for anyone to know. The pre paid cards also stop kids trying to pinch money off each other. My Mum was a young widow and we were entitled to free school meals but never had them as she couldn't stand the " shame" but they wouldn't need to know now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 If you can afford to send a packed lunch to school surely you wouldn't mind contributing to a hot meal.I'm out of touch, does this mean no packed lunches allowed? I was racking my brains (difficult at my age!) I can't remember anything but hot lunches when I went to school in the 1950's. sorry, I'm not against children having a hot meal, I just don't think it should be free for all, but there must be a way that those who are or were entitled to a free meal not to feel stigmatised. I am pretty sure with the free school meals that is being introduced packed lunches will still be an option but hopefully less parents will send their children with a packed lunch if they can get a hot meal free (actually isn't necessarily a hot meal - at my son's first primary here there was a 'packed lunch' option, a bit like the children's bag meals that Tesco and Asda do with as much free fruit as they wanted and all for £1.10 (2008 prices!). At his school now sandwiches are an option, he usually has a hot meal but if he doesn't like what's on offer (he's vegetarian like us so only has the one choice) he'll get a sandwich instead - i must admit I was a bit annoyed one day when his lunch had been a jam sandwich!!! The guidelines went a bit awry on that one This is today's menu - I'd eat there Friday is 'Fish and Chips' day so not quite so healthy! [TABLE=width: 1134] [TR] [TD=width: 1114, bgcolor: #ffffff] FRIDAY [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114, bgcolor: #fde9d9] Spiced Parsnip Soup [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114] Fish Goujons Baked Coley Fillet with Mediterranean Crumb Topping [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114, bgcolor: #fde9d9] Mediterranean Vegetable Bake (Vegetarian Option) [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114] Chipped Potatoes Pasta with Olive Oil Peas/ Baked beans Baked potato [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114] Ice Cream [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=width: 1114, bgcolor: #fde9d9] Fresh fruit platter Assorted Yoghurts [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I agree with this, schools for learning and growing in a group situation/environment, feeding is also a communal thing that encourages verbal interaction, why hang the stigma chain around kids they don't need much to take the piss, make it a level playing field at meal times via either a purchased packed lunch or homemade packed lunch, no hot meals required. How can packed lunches be a level playing field? Like @maidensarah said all her parents could give her was Marmite sandwiches and money aside if you look at levels of obesity in adults and children an awful lot of people don't make good choices about food. Good nutrition is crucial for development (both physical and mental) and habits acquired young last a lifetime (though I'm sure my parents didn't give me this much wine and chocolate ) As I've said I think school meals are a good thing but I'm not entirely sure they need to be free for everyone - perhaps free for those that get child benefit?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Sorry a bit off topic but thinking about @maidensarah 's marmite sandwiches I suddenly got a craving for fish paste sandwiches!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Sorry a bit off topic but thinking about @maidensarah 's marmite sandwiches I suddenly got a craving for fish paste sandwiches!!! Yum not had fish paste in years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 paste sandwiches......I preferred school dinners:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I used to have chips gravy and whip up the shops for 10 fags for my lunch :embarrassed: oops, not at 4-7 years old though to be fair:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I used to have chips gravy and whip up the shops for 10 fags for my lunch :embarrassed: oops, not at 4-7 years old though to be fair:laugh: 10 fags, lol. I quite liked tuna paste with cucumber I have to say. My Mum had every flavour going... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 10 fags, lol. I quite liked tuna paste with cucumber I have to say. My Mum had every flavour going... Yeah chicken salmon beef fish you name it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 I used to have chips gravy and whip up the shops for 10 fags for my lunch :embarrassed: oops, not at 4-7 years old though to be fair:laugh: Ha ha, me too (my mam can't see this can she??) I got £1 a day, a baked potato was 15p which left 85p for 10 fags No wonder I was skinny in those days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tappers2oz Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 There are a few kids in my kids classes at school on free school meals (ours included currently). We hit a hard time when we moved last year (to the point we didn't know where we were going to get the money for dinners/milk/anything) and got a letter out the blue in June this year saying we were entitled to free school meals due to the combined household wage being so low. We jumped at it. It's been a godsend actually as it's cut our shopping bill and we know the kids are getting good food at school (ds gets seconds a fair bit). Don't get me wrong, we were always careful with lunches (sandwich, fruit, fruit bar things like that) but with so many things not allowed it was difficult to keep costs down. Not allowed nuts limited 'healthy' bars, not allowed choc and crisps (not that they have those anyway) but the list seems endless. We do send in the odd bit of birthday cake when those arise which the school seem fine with as no one has ever said anything about it. Even school trips the school sort out a packed lunch for them. Ds is in juniors so is covered by our situation but dd is still infants so is now covered by the government scheme. Even when our situation improves (later this month as hubby has a start date for a job he's been waiting on since Feb) then we will try and continue dinners at least twice a week for ds (Wednesday roast and 'fun' Friday at their school). I haven't seen or heard of any bad feeling towards mine or any of the other kids who have means tested school meals these days. Sadly I know more and more people struggling just to stay afloat. We were close to breaking point, but always made sure the kids were fed. Even nursery I couldn't pay at times but they still let littlest attend so I knew she got 1 (sometimes 2 portions) of dinner and only needed 'tea' when she got home. For someone to be in that sort of situation and see no way out, that must be so horrible. It put a HUGE strain on our relationship even though we knew ours was only temporary. Imagine being unable to feed your child. And thinking that people will look down on you if you accept help because you're 'poor' so rather then accept help, they stay quiet. And those who can't be bothered, I've seen kids in the playground given sweets for breakfast, schools/teachers are using their own money to feed kids. It's been going on for years. I think this is a good thing especially for the younger ones. And once the stigma has gone maybe people's attitude will change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 A lot of teachers give students food, seen it, done it and it happens all the time. The plain fact is that a lot of kids come to school not having eaten breakfast and with perhaps a bag of chips in their lunch box if they are lucky. Some schools offer hot breakfasts, these are generally low socio economic schools and as such they are given funding to enable this. The problem is when you have a school that is not classed as low socio and does not receive funding, but has children attending that do not eat regularly. Schools here do not want hungry children and so the school provides lunches - out of its own limited resources. Some parents just don't give a toss, others are genuinely in need and doing the best that they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishgirl1 Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 A lot of teachers give students food, seen it, done it and it happens all the time. The plain fact is that a lot of kids come to school not having eaten breakfast and with perhaps a bag of chips in their lunch box if they are lucky. Some schools offer hot breakfasts, these are generally low socio economic schools and as such they are given funding to enable this. The problem is when you have a school that is not classed as low socio and does not receive funding, but has children attending that do not eat regularly. Schools here do not want hungry children and so the school provides lunches - out of its own limited resources. Some parents just don't give a toss, others are genuinely in need and doing the best that they can. Totally agree, I have been surprised at the amount of kids that come to school with no lunch, as you say some don't give a toss and some need that little help. I help in the school Canteen, once the lunch orders are out the teachers come to get a sambos for a few kids, my heart goes out to them ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 Totally agree, I have been surprised at the amount of kids that come to school with no lunch, as you say some don't give a toss and some need that little help. I help in the school Canteen, once the lunch orders are out the teachers come to get a sambos for a few kids, my heart goes out to them ! That's awful...you just can't imagine it can you...a cycle of deprivation though...when I lived in the UK one of my friends used to have my daughter for me while I was working and she used to look after another womans little girl at same time who we met at the mums and toddlers...I always remember her saying the little one was always dropped off in a soaking nappy and dirty babygro, and she said she used to give her just a plate of burned smiley faces, most nights, nothing else for tea...her Mum wasn't a bad person, she was just a victim herself...its tragic. The more help and support and free meals the better IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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