Meals at school

[Surfer01]

Excuse my ignorance, but this is a genuine question as I did my schooling overseas. Why are children in Britain supplied with breakfast and dinner at school? When I was at school in the sixties school started at 8am until 2.30pm.

Our parents made sure that we had breakfast as we have to get up at 6am to be ready to go to school by about 7.30am as we had to walk to school which was about 2 mile away. Every morning my parents would make us sandwiches to take with us and we also had some fruit like apples, grapes etc.

Our parents never received any child benefits or any benefits of any kind as they were not available. We certainly were not well off and it was a struggle from day to day, but we managed and I had a good upbringing. Here people get various child benefits, but why are all kids also given meals which must cost the state a fortune?

[scotgal68]

Dunno about breakfast but dinners aren't provided free for ALL pupils only those whose parents are on certain benefits.

For some kids, school meals might be the only meal of the day.

I had free dinners when I was at school, so I'm in support of that provision - I have no issue with funding this!

[Surfer01]

Dunno about breakfast but dinners aren't provided free for ALL pupils only those whose parents are on certain benefits.

For some kids, school meals might be the only meal of the day.

I had free dinners when I was at school, so I'm in support of that provision - I have no issue with funding this!

 

I am not knocking it, just wondering why. Why would the school meal be their only meal on that day. What happens on weekends? I am trying to understand why this is happening in a first world country when it was not available in a third world country where I lived where it was needed a lot more. Many kids went to school barefoot, but this did not bother them and we who had shoes never looked down on them as we all got on together.

[scotgal68]

Unstable homes? Dysfunctional family, addicted parents. Perhaps they go hungry at the weekend? Maybe only have toast or a cake or a packet of crisps at home. Who knows, it might be a 1st world country but extreme poverty exists, despite what the government spin doctors say. Child poverty in particular, is a bloody crying shame in this day.

children in the UK are living in absolute poverty. Giving them a meal is only the tip of the iceberg.

[Surfer01]

Unstable homes? Dysfunctional family, addicted parents. Perhaps they go hungry at the weekend? Maybe only have toast or a cake or a packet of crisps at home. Who knows, it might be a 1st world country but extreme poverty exists, despite what the government spin doctors say. Child poverty in particular, is a bloody crying shame in this day.

children in the UK are living in absolute poverty. Giving them a meal is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were referring to a third world country as poverty should not exist in Britain. If we have all this poverty here, why are we sending money to overseas country. Actually why do we have Comic Relief and Red Nose days?

[leigh04]

If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were referring to a third world country as poverty should not exist in Britain. If we have all this poverty here, why are we sending money to overseas country. Actually why do we have Comic Relief and Red Nose days?

 

simple answer our government likes to look after others and not ourselves, even in recession they pay out for other countries with no worry about us lot.

[Desperate Daniella]

Totally agree with you, leigh. It is absolutely ridiculous to be sending aid to countries which are funding their own nuclear programmes, or space programmes, or where the dictators running the countries have luxury yachts, planes and much more. Over here pensioners have to freeze because the cost of gas and electricity is so high. We are now totally in a situation where the lunatics are running the asylum.

 

As far as school meals are concerned, despite receiving benefits a lot of parents are completely feckless and it is the children who suffer. You only have to look around you in one of the cheaper supermarkets to see hard-faced parents with the trollies full of chips and the nastiest cheap frozen or tinned food - 20 beefburgers for £1, or 'hot dogs' made with mechanically recovered meat, in other words sludge.

 

They will also have 24-packs of beer and then they'll be queueing for 200 cigarettes and rizla papers. It's not that they cannot afford food - they'd just rather buy booze and cigarettes.

 

That is why it is important that these children do get at least one meal a day. They may get nothing at home.

[leigh04]

100% agreed with you DD x

[scotgal68]

Some parents don't even go to shops, there are parents who lack parenting skills, others addicted some just don't have the ability to nurture, however there are families who just can't make ends meet, no fags, beer or chips n hotdogs x

[Surfer01]

Some parents don't even go to shops, there are parents who lack parenting skills, others addicted some just don't have the ability to nurture, however there are families who just can't make ends meet, no fags, beer or chips n hotdogs x

Probably get shot for saying this, but maybe those sort of people need sterilising? Even the parents of the poorest kids at school made sure their children had food first and I mean proper food not churned out garbage. No such thing as supermarkets and ready made foods in those days.

[scotgal68]

Thankfully shooting and forced sterilisation are illegal - that's my only reply to your comment

[Nystagmite]

I received free school meals when I was at primary school. Parents were on a very low income then.

 

Some children may have breakfast at school because of the hours their parents work. I used to do a work placement at a nursery and it wasn't unusual for a child to be dropped off at 8am and then the parents go to work.

 

Not all kids are given these meals for free.