Smaller school meals

[Kizzy]

School meals have shrunk... and a shocking 62% of all school meals provided are free as the family income is less than £16'000.
I would have thought the government could pressure the greedy outsourced companies providing this megre meal to serve something more substantial...Considering they are paying for it...
Teachers are concerned it is having a detrimental effect on learning ability.
Families paying £95 per year per child must be furious too as Im sure they expect lunch to be adequate?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/03/pupils-hungry-school-meals-shrink

[Suze]

School lunch portions are now so small that many children in England are hungry during afternoon lessons, teachers have warned.

Canteens are cutting costs by reducing portion sizes, the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) heard. Some run out of food before all children have been served.

At the same time, teachers said, the number of children eligible for free school meals was on the increase because of rising unemployment. Pupils are entitled to a free lunch if their parents' joint income is less than £16,000 a year. For many of these children their only daily hot meal is eaten at school.

An ATL poll of 503 school staff found that more than a third had noticed a rise in the number of children eligible for free school meals. Just over three-fifths (62%) said the cost of school meals had risen by up to £95 a year per child. But many warned that portion sizes had been reduced and the choice of healthy options had become more limited.

School food experts said this could have a damaging effect on children's concentration and behaviour.

One teacher, who did not want to be named, said children at her primary school were served "very small portions and very limited choice. Children who come with packed lunches eat a lot more at lunchtime."

Another said the portions at her school were very poor. "There seems to be no regular inspection of the food, the kitchens or portion sizes," she said. A secondary school teacher said schools offered chips, pasta and rice rather than vegetables and salad because that was what cooks could prepare in bulk quantities.

Many schools outsource the running of their canteens to private firms. Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said: "Private market forces risk taking over what we are feeding the nation's children. The size of a portion will, to some extent, affect the size of the profits of an outsourced firm … it is absolutely the case that children are going hungry."

The Jamie Oliver Foundation, a charity that helps the public to make better-informed choices about food, said a nutritious lunch increased children's concentration, improved their behaviour and made it more likely that they would achieve top grades.

That's disgusting that they run out of food before all have been served :( Poor little blighters :(

[CharlieO]

Many children wouldn't harm from eating less anyway. So I am glad.

[CharlieO]

Read the article. They need to stop showing all this ****ty food.

[Marc]

them kiddies are fatties nowadays

[Kizzy]

What kiddies marc?

[thesheriff443]

please sir, can i have some more!

[Kizzy]

I know theres some people ...and mods ...chattin shiz on ma thread, but can you not close it?.....FANKS! :D

[thesheriff443]

small portions kizzy,

[Patrick]

Yeah tell me about it - and they're over priced as ******.

Literally my school has had a 'Healthy Eating' thing in place since first year - and we use to all buy Paninis, until they went up in price.
So buying hot food - they literally charged me £1.50 for three chicken nuggets the other day, that was all I had.
And for a small portion of chips that's the price too.

So I've stopped going, for the past 4 weeks I've been going to McDonalds after school - far cheaper, they can go and ****** themselves - charging kids that much for a piece of sh*t that you would feed a Puppy? No thanks.

[Marc]

Packed lunches!

[Kizzy]

Thats disgusting! back to the money making scam it was before Jamie Oliver tried to shame local authorities into providing better quality food....Shameful!

[Kizzy]

Packed lunches!

What about them marc?

[Jords]

Its not gonna stop them snacking on Maccy D's when they get home.

[thesheriff443]

Its not gonna stop them snacking on Maccy D's when they get home.

only if you got a maccy d,at home:joker:

[Locke.]

Didn't used to like eating school dinners anyway, would wanna just get out as fast as possible and play footie. These kids are hopefully the same.

[Marc]

What about them marc?

They're cheaper and healthier.

[Kizzy]

I get that locke you ate till you were full and left some,and went out to play nowt wrong with that. It seems now theres not enough to fill most of the class.....But it does make you think , have the portion sises got smaller?....or have the tummies of the kids got bigger like some have said?
Wonder how you find out? the writers of the article sem to think they have.

[thesheriff443]

size and qaulity will always go down hill to make money

[Me. I Am Salman]

Years ago, they used to serve proper yummy unhealthy stuff at my school. That was before Jamie Oliver got his grubby sissy claws involved, now they just serve cardboard :bawling:

Oh well I'm leaving in a month so who cares :thumbs2:

[Niall]

Many children wouldn't harm from eating less anyway. So I am glad.

Excuse me?

[Marc]

size and qaulity will always go down hill to make money

You read the Prostitute Manuel wrong..

[Kizzy]

Yes but the question is...is there enough cardboard to go around?....

[Shaun]

The standard was pretty shocking at my primary school but my secondary school always had a good selection... was quite pricey though if you didn't want the 'meal of the day'.

[Kizzy]

Excuse me?

Don't niall....I would rather not hear more ...haha

[Niall]

Don't niall....I would rather not hear more ...haha

On second thought, neither would I. :joker:

[Kizzy]

Not that im a stranger to controversy you understand....:wink:

[Omah]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/03/pupils-hungry-school-meals-shrink

Many children wouldn't harm from eating less anyway. So I am glad.

them kiddies are fatties nowadays

Yeah, the school meal shown is burger, beans and chips ..... and would do me for lunch ..... :laugh2:

[Me. I Am Salman]

I've occasionally tried to take a packed lunch, but always seem to finish it before I even get to the school gate :(

[Kizzy]

The meal shown is a spoonful of beans.... about 2p worth, about 15 chips... about half a spud, and some offal n breadcrumbs...about 10p

If the lad eating it is 15 and 6ft2 like my lad....or even his lil cousin at 10 and 4ft4 ....Its not enough.
And the profit margin.......

[Kizzy]

I've occasionally tried to take a packed lunch, but always seem to finish it before I even get to the school gate :(

Bless you....Have you tried eating breakfast?...:)

[Benjamin]

I always had a packed lunch when I was at infant and junior school. Only when I got to secondary did I have school lunches. They were pretty reasonable at my school, and had quite a good selection.

Portions sizes shouldn't be cut, but the food should be improved. They need a stable diet.

[Omah]

The meal shown is a spoonful of beans.... about 2p worth, about 15 chips... about half a spud, and some offal n breadcrumbs...about 10p

If the lad eating it is 15 and 6ft2 like my lad....or even his lil cousin at 10 and 4ft4 ....Its not enough.

Give him a bigger breakfast, then ..... ;)

[Kizzy]

oi...I'll have less of that lol :)
my boy has to eat every 20 mins he has hollow leg syndrome as my mother calls it...lol
Gotta love adolescents :love:

[thesheriff443]

You read the Prostitute Manuel wrong..

are you a working girl?,lol

[thesheriff443]

oi...I'll have less of that lol :)
my boy has to eat every 20 mins he has hollow leg syndrome as my mother calls it...lol
Gotta love adolescents :love:

more like a third leg,

[Kizzy]

more like a third leg,
What?....

[Niamh.]

I agree with Marc, packed lunches are cheaper and alot of times healthier anyway

[Ammi]

I'm not sure where the article has it's facts from..or what it's aiming at.
..There is certainly no change in any primary school meals around here..not in size..and there is a very low percentage of free school meals too..and I know that the authorities make very little if any at all profit
..with the upper schools..where there is a canteen..most of those are contracted out to catering companies..and I believe thay are expensive...I think it's better to take a packed lunch..and have a hot meal later