School Lunches for Children

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smkean
smkean Posts: 132
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Hi, apologies if i am putting this post in the wrong board...

I was considering signing up for school lunches for my child, I had a look on the board for what they would eat in a week, as although i do NOT have an overweight or fussy child i just wanted to be sure...

I was shocked at what i saw! It was meals like pizzas, fish fingers and chips, pies, and things like that... The healthiest thing that i saw was a roast dinner once a week, every week, on a Thurday. Maybe i am mad, but this is not a healthy diet! I do not want to pass my insecurities on weight onto my child, which is a massive part of why i am losing weight, but i found this ridiculous! I struggled to find so much as one 'healthy meal' with puddings to go with it like chocolate pudding, sponge cake with custard, angel delight and so on, only one fruit salad in a week...

I find it very strange as the school is very strict on what we put in our childrens packed lunches, no cakes, biscuits, limited chocolate, no crisps, nuts and so on (i realise the no nuts thing is for the kids with nut allergies). I was under the impression that the schools were trying to make lunches healthier, but looking at the menu for the month, this was very contradictory!

If you think about it, a child consumes 250 calories for a breakfast, about 450 calories at dinner, and thats just with you, if the lunches are totalling (using the example of 1 slice of pepporoni pizza (250 average calories) and a child sized portion of chips (around 200 calories and a piece of sponge cake and custard another average of 200 calories)) that is around a 600 calorie lunch! With an estimated grand total of 1350 calories in a day, and that is providing you dont give them an after school snack or pudding after dinner! This is the higher end of calories they should be eating and WAY over in fat and carbs.

I want to stress that i am in no way pushing m y own weight insecurities/issues onto my child, and i dont mention weight in front of her, but i was shocked at the poor nutritional choice of menu, and the lack of education around nutrition at lunch (sorry but as a working mum, i dont sit down and have a massive lunch at work, i eat a sandwich and druit or a pasta or a ham salad etc which is similar to what the other 4000 people on site here eat) and when i was at school we didnt have these sort of things either! (and it wasnt that long ago either!)

So my quetion is, is that as my daughter is only 4 and this is her first year at school, I have no idea if this is the 'norm' and I was wondering if other schools served menus like this (with no alternative choice either) or whether the school my daughter goes to (which i already dont think very highly of and will be moving her in the new school year anyway) is just a poor school? What happened to 'Jamie's school meals (or whatever it was called)?

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  • NoMoreStretchyPants
    NoMoreStretchyPants Posts: 307
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    That's a real shame.

    My daughter is 2 and she is in daycare twice a week (for socialization) but considering I will be going back to work again in a few weeks, she is going to be there 5 days a week soon. However, her school offers lunches and dinners to the children of working parents and before signing her up, I took a peek at their menu; I was really pleased to note that their menus are very healthy - foods like chicken soup, barley soup, whole grains, broiled & baked fish/chicken, fruits and steamed veggies feature prominently on their menus. However, my child goes to an international private school (owned and operated by Russians) who are very strict on what their students (ranging from 6-week old babies to kindergarten + an aftercare program for students up to age 13) eat and learn.

    To answer your question however - it took a long time to find a school like hers and it most certainly is not the norm where I live to focus on healthy eating. I'm going to guess that many schools offer unhealthy options because they want to give foods that children will eat. We know how fussy children can be, however sensible eating starts in the home and if a child is not accustomed to eating 'clean' they won't eat well (or at all) at school. Not good for business, is it? :) You mentioned Jamie Oliver, who has been battling this very issue for a while now. He kicked off the 'Jamie Oliver School Food revolution' program not that long ago which is a great initiative in my opinion: https://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/school-food
    As to how popular it will be? I'm not sure where you live, but I hate to say it - in America I don't think it's going to do well at all.

    In your shoes I would either speak to the Principal if their food choices are that bad or alternatively, how about offering your child a packed lunch? Is that an option?

    I applaud you for not turning a blind eye to it though. It's really important to make sure your child eats well and has a balanced, nutritional diet, not fried junk covered in grease. Good luck!
  • smkean
    smkean Posts: 132
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    Thanks :)

    When she was in nursery i found that the food was excellent! Unfortunately it doesnt appear to be the same when they start schhol. As she is moving schools anyway in the new school year i will be very careful where i put her!

    She gets a packed lunch at the moment, containing the normal stuff of either a sandwich ot pasta + something fruit or veg related + something like a babybell/youghurt/'school bar'

    Was just very disappointing!
  • sentaruu
    sentaruu Posts: 2,206 Member
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    I dunno how it is in EN, but in the US your kid could get expelled for what you send in their lunches...
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    That sounds pretty typical of school lunches at my son's elementary school, and I'm in Southern California. I just threw away the menu that came for next month, but it had the same types of stuff on it. In fact it proudly proclaims on the front of the menu form that breakfasts average 497 calories/14.91% fat and lunches 662 calories/26.67% fat. That's a GOOD thing?! My sons take a home packed lunch daily and IF they have a school lunch it's a treat. I'd never let them have it on a daily basis.

    edit: The first week of April's lunches are going to be: Galaxy Cheese Pizza, Grilled Chicken Drumstick w/ a wheat roll, Corn Dog, Tostada Bowl, and Chicken Burgers.
  • Tight_Fit
    Tight_Fit Posts: 453
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    Chevy Chase(the actor) is actually a huge advocate for Children's health, and he spoke about the public lunch situation. The reason why the lunches are so disgusting is because school's are required to feed the children a certain number of calories in each lunch in order to get government funding for their meal programs. I too find it upsetting because they could feed them salads, grilled meat, fresh fruits and steamed veggies which would be much more nutritious, but the government is only concerned about the calories, not how they reach them.
  • siouxsie3278
    siouxsie3278 Posts: 17 Member
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    The parents plan the menu at my son's preschool at a quarterly meeting. The kids get salad and fresh fruit and the menu usually consists of home style meals such at meatloaf or grilled chicken. Occasionally hot dogs and chicken nuggets make it on the menu. I have taught him what foods are healthy but at 3 1/2, he has a hard time making the right decision. He says "this will give you a big tummy" as he eats food that is unhealthy. After he's done at this school and moves onto the next, I do worry about what is available...pretty much the same your school offers. In talking to one of the school board members, trying to get the same meal planning set-up will take several years and any meal options can be override depending on the budget. We've already decided he will be taking a lunch to school everyday when he gets there.
  • siouxsie3278
    siouxsie3278 Posts: 17 Member
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    breakfasts average 497 calories/14.91% fat and lunches 662 calories/26.67% fat.

    That's more calories than I eat at breakfast and lunch!
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    breakfasts average 497 calories/14.91% fat and lunches 662 calories/26.67% fat.

    That's more calories than I eat at breakfast and lunch!

    me too

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