Universal Free School meals

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120424374#Comment_120424374

gyms won’t be appropriate as the majority of modern facilities in schools these days have modern commercial grade bespoke rubber gym flooring or smooth varnished wooden flooring that won’t stand up to the constant arrival and departure of hundreds of students every day and tables and chairs being dragged over them, food being dropped. Constantly being washed / cleaned and sanitised.. bad enough some are being used as classrooms now. Does each student need trainers ?

I laughed at this a little because that's exactly where the hot food vendor was at St Flannans in Ennis. Upstairs off the end of the basketball/gymnasium court. Served hot soup and sandwiches. Don't see much of a problem with that either, it was multifunction to begin with, theres a stage on the other side.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120425607#Comment_120425607

Focusing on all the wrong things here. What, you think if a parent is malnourishing their child already, that continuing to not give them a meal at school, or worse pulling their existing meals from school, is going to magically right the wrong? You want to abuse the child to spite the parents? Walk me through your logic, the actions and all the consequences because it sounds like you're thinking how dare family support services feed the hungry. And I don't get it at all. Also seems incongruent with The Family Clause of the Irish Constitution. The alternatives are not to starve the child or orphan the child? If you think you can do better to correct disordered parents to be better parents then perhaps you should consider enlisting in family support services.

Donnchadh2024

Reading through the comments there is a lot of nonsense being talked about this.

health food and eating are core

https://assets.gov.ie/128268/d07bed24-dd1d-4055-8ced-5e381621ca65.pdf

It is to address a range of education and health issues and has been very successful

https://assets.gov.ie/251427/6b3e8499-4cca-4f32-aa7d-cbcad0b660e2.pdf

mohawk

I am a bit torn here because increasingly the state is inserting itself into the role of the parent. However, there is no denying that lots of children are not getting proper meals at home.

If it means children that are not getting adequate nutritional food now get a proper meal that it’s probably for the best. Sadly there is no solution to unsuitable people having children so society has to step in.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122025933#Comment_122025933

So we need to build dormitories so the kids can get sleep, and wardrobes so they can get adequate clothing and shoes too.

Because you can guarantee that parents who cannot manage food cannot manage sleep or clothing either.

Jinglejangle69

These meals aren’t even aimed at disadvantaged schools or kids anymore.

They are now been rolled out to every school even schools in well off areas, so the theory of feeding kids who’s parlays won’t bother goes out the window.

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026451#Comment_122026451

I don't expect more from you but I don't believe that's true

I did the whole manchester national school and hot meals was a great job

Sure how would parents be providing hot dinners for school

ArthurDayne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120418553#Comment_120418553

I went to school in the North and free school meals were always a thing for eligible kids. I'm presuming it's still the case but it never really seemed to cause much of an issue.

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120422816#Comment_120422816

In most cases the hot, cooked food will be transported to the school, I think.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026681#Comment_122026681

In our primary school, they installed big ovens to heat the food. A section of the hall was sectioned off into a new room to house them. A new hall is due to be built this summer, and the current hall demolished and new classrooms constructed, so I assume this is a temporary arrangement. The ovens were installed over the Easter holiday, and the meals started when the kids went back last week. It's been a success so far from what my kids tell me, although it hasn't reduced the amount I'm making for their lunches, as they see it as extra food.

I was talking to another parent in a very small rural school. They got notified that their oven (singular) had arrived over Easter. It seems the company providing the food supplied the oven, but they were waiting on it to be hooked up to the electrical supply. I don't know what part of that school it is housed in.

AMKC

Ooh times have changed. When I was in Primary school there was nothing like this. We were lucky to have a play area never mind hot meals.

I did not even get hot meals in Secondery school. We had a shop in the canteen that was it.

Sure we had a shop across the road that did hot meals but we were not supposed to go there during school hours. That did not stop us do but we had to spend our own pocket money no free meals.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026501#Comment_122026501

I knew kids of well off families who would be looking to come back to ours after school because their packed lunch did not keep them fed until both their professional parents could get home and get the dinner on.

These were good parents working under pressure paying mortgages and long hours / commutes .

I was lucky in my job , I could change my hours to suit my growing families needs eg finish at 3 or 4 to get home and cook a dinner .

Did mean I might have to work some nights or late evenings / weekends but we worked it out myself and himself .

But not every working parent can do those odd hours/ shorten that commute .

And often they give their kids money to supplement replace the packed lunch but we all know that can be spent on rubbish or other non nutritious things.

Hungry kids, wealthy or poor , is not what any reasonable person wants in this day and age .

I support it .

Like free school books for all and universal child benefit it will float more boats and help reduce child poverty just a little bit .

I would also be in favour of applied supports to those that need FIS and BTS payments .

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122025933#Comment_122025933

I saw a comment underneath a social media article on this topic from a lovely mother who wrote "about f#ck!n time".

It wouldn't cross her mind that she is responsible for her child, not the "gubberment".

What does she expect the state to provide next for her child I wonder.

victor8600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027252#Comment_122027252

My view is that all schools should be providing cooked meals to children. This is not about some mythical "government control" or a nanny-state absolving parents from their responsibilities. I can make the best cheese sandwiches and sliced veggies for my kids, don't you worry. But cold sandwiches are not proper food, and eaten 5 days a week for more than 10 years are bound to have a detrimental effect.

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027308#Comment_122027308

Who says you have to feed them sandwiches 5 days a week for 10 years?

I'd also be curious on the nutritional value of these hot meals. I can't imagine the budget per meal is high.

Anyone know what their kids are being served?

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027360#Comment_122027360

Anyone know what their kids are being served?

The options for our school tomorrow are:

• Roast Chicken with Mash, Seasonal Veg and Gravy
• Leek & Potato Soup with Soft Brown Roll
• Chicken Curry on Rice
• Mexican Chilli Beef Wedges
• Chicken goujons with wedges and peas
• Vegan Atlantic goujons with wedges and peas

One needs to be chosen in an app before 10pm tonight. The app has photos of some dishes, but not all. The full list of ingredients of each constituent part of the meal are available (e.g, what the wedges are made of, what's in the gravy), but they don't give a nutritional content breakdown of the meal as a whole.

There's basically a 3 week menu that then gets repeated, so my kids have already put in their orders for the first 3 weeks, then they'll make some adjustments based on what they liked or didn't.

Different schools are using different providers (each school chooses their own one), so the menus and process could be different.

We're a week and two days into it now. Two kids in 4th class. One is kind of fussy, one is a bit of a foodie. Only complaints so far are that the portions aren't huge, one didn't like the tomato soup, and the other accidently ordered vegan spaghetti bolognaise instead of beef. But she still ate it.

OscarMIlde

How do they cope with children with food allergies? People mentioned vegan and halal but those are life choices (don't care what flak I get for that). As someone with both a milk allergy and coeliac disease it's next to impossible to get both catered for in the same meal. I can't even eat in the canteen in work as they don't label any dishes as GF and I can't just take the word of whoever dishing it out. Of course vegan and halal dishes are listed, despite not being a medical necessity.

JP Liz V1

It's a good idea for all kids in all schools, I see our Taoiseach Simon Harris taking credit and photo opportunities etc., what a man

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027360#Comment_122027360

:)

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027392#Comment_122027392

The app our school is using asks you to check off allergens from a list when you're setting up the kid's accounts. You can update it then once the account is made.

Every dish on the menu lists the allergens (wheat and gluten are mentioned separately. I haven't looked at all the dishes, but I've seen dairy and soya beans mentioned too) , and there's icons to show if it's vegetarian, vegan or halal.

My kids don't have any dietary requirements, so I don't know what options are presented to you if you do have an allergy or intolerance.

Oh, there's a note at the bottom of each day's menu that says

Allergen blocking functionality only applies to schools where pre-ordering is available thourgh the app. For purchases from the canteen, please consult the allergen handbook on site or ask a member of the catering team.

I assume the company who provide the free lunches also (or previously) provided paid-for catering in schools. I also assume that if you've entered an allergen in your profile, that you're not offered dishes containing that substance. But I don't know if you're then offered an alternative or not.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027308#Comment_122027308

Cold sandwiches are perfectly proper food for lunch, and what many, many people eat.

Parents should be providing a hot dinner for their own kids after school. Parents who cannot manage to do that should be getting support to enable them to.

downtheroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027391#Comment_122027391

That sounds great.

By the way I am all for this scheme. I just didn't like seeing a comment of "about f#ck!n time" from some degenerate who expects the state to provide everything for her "little angle"

Poon Tang

Would this not be worth the investment, if you think about it from a bigger perspective. These meals could be made as healthy as possible, and it could be a way to combat the looming obesity epidemic in our society. It would be a small price for the taxpayer, if we could make an impact on that particular problem.

When I went to school, kids were always stuffing their faces with crap on lunch breaks. You could force a bit of proper grub down their throats instead and save billions in healthcare and other costs down the line with diabetes heart disease etc. That would be my big picture thinking on it.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027492#Comment_122027492

This is support that enables the kids to have a hot meal.

Your objections are nothing more than moralising and shaming. There are untold numbers of reasons why parents will struggle to provide sufficient nutrition for their children that will run the gamut from financial difficulties, to time problems to indeed carelessness and laziness. Distilling down why each of these problems exist and implementing solutions is going to be a lot harder, more time consuming and more expensive then just giving hungry kids some food.

OscarMIlde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027437#Comment_122027437

That sounds good, presumably they have a few dishes without the most common allergens, hopefully it varies a bit.

TheCrank

My children get free meals in their secondary school. The quality is awful, they have to stand outside to eat it and every single meal is served in a polystyrene tray that gets thrown in the bin. The majority bring sandwiches and will take the meal when it's nuggets and chips.

It is a world away from what I got in Belfast 40 years ago where schools had dinner halls and served meat and 2 veg followed by dessert daily. Back then if you wanted the dinner you bought 5 dinner tickets at the start of the week. If you were on welfare you were given a ticket that very nicely said "FREE" so everyone could laugh at the poor kids. They eventually copped on and made all tickets identical.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120418949#Comment_120418949

But what use is that if the neglect is not going to be identified as a result of no/poor lunches being provided (and then dealt with)? How likely is it that a kid where the only significant sign of neglect is that parents aren't sending in "good" lunches will be spotted as being at risk?

IME it's far more likely that all the other children will know but that the school will be blithely unaware.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120425607#Comment_120425607

If you are providing family support, and the families still aren't managing to feed their kids, then it sounds like you are not doing your job correctly.

Oh FFS!

What do you propose @Mrs OBumble ?

Get the state to take the children from their parents because in your eyes they are failing their children? I wonder did we ever try that before in this state!

At the end of the day, there are good parents and bad parents. We don't live in a tyrannical dictatorship where we can whip kids from their parents because they fail some parenting test.
Instead what we can do is make sure kids get school books, an education, a hot meal and so on. Programs like these work as per international studies show.

It sounds to me you would open up the Mother and Baby homes again and fill them with kids because parents are failing them.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026451#Comment_122026451

You would have loved it when the nuns and priests ran the place I take it.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027492#Comment_122027492

Yes. Indeed .🤨

This is what this is ..

without the singling out of individual children /families as requiring support .