Universal Free School meals

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027511#Comment_122027511

Studies support this idea.

Concerns about adverse outcomes on student BMI were not supported by the literature; in fact, several studies detected a potentially protective effect of universal free school meals on BMI. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8000006/

Makes perfect sense.

Give them proper foods, like protein, veg and the kids will eat less sugar and crap.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026616#Comment_122026616

What I remember (another northerner here - I didn't know free school meals weren't a thing in the south) was that somebody - maybe Thatcher? - made school meals much more expensive for all but the families on free meals, with the result that the rest of us started bringing in sandwiches, and some of the kids on free meals just stopped going because they wanted to eat with their friends. I know that because my best friend was one of them - and I know she wasn't the only one. We used to share our sambos with our friends, but I'm sure their parents would have been really annoyed if they'd known.

El Gato De Negocios

My kids both get lunches in their school and have done since last year. The school is in a small rural village in the midlands but there are 300 or so pupils. While there are some kids that are having difficult upbringings, the area is by no stretch of the imagination deprived.

I'm a bit perplexed by it tbh. I can understand having it in lower socio-economic regions but tbh, I think its a bit of a waste of money and what's been spent on it would be much better spent on school facilities, educational supports for kids with learning difficulties etc.

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027535#Comment_122027535

Same here in Manchester 50yrs ago

A team of dinner ladies serving hot meals in primary school everyday

They got so many things right over there . It's a shame the way they're gone

Poon Tang

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027587#Comment_122027587

I guess it comes down to how well you do it really.

Just dumping out any old crap from a school cafeteria, would probably be a waste of tax money. And in this country, I would be worried that without strong controls put in place that's exactly what would happen in many areas. And you will get kids who are practically allergic to the sight of a piece of lettuce, so there will be some push back. Variety of choice would be important. Doing all of that inside a budget isn't easy, but it's not an impossible goal either.

Poon Tang

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122028010#Comment_122028010

Does it not perhaps have some other less obvious benefits though? Like school camaraderie? Kids all sitting down eating together, the social aspect of that? Maybe some other things too, like teachers could spot an issue going on with a kid that they might not notice during a busy class where they're distracted with lessons? I'm just throwing out some ideas, I don't really know tbh without being involved in it…

El Gato De Negocios

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122029214#Comment_122029214

Nope, because they always eat their lunches in the class room anyway, regardless of whether the school provides it or when we did.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120424418#Comment_120424418

We had that too. The parents paid for the milk.

TokTik

Not everyone is on welfare. Correct.

But everyone with kids gets child benefit. This should be garnished, by say €10 a week to pay for the scheme. Everyone wins. Taxpayer pays less. Child benefit goes where it should go, to the child.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027535#Comment_122027535

Meat and veg, menu options being only yes or no? Maybe it worked 40 years ago, today they need to cater for halal, ramadan, vegetarian, vegan and all the rest of these notions and nonsenses, and that's before you consider real issues like allergies and intolerances.

The hot meal my kid started to get after Easter is decent enough, he liked most options and he's a fussy eater. You order online for the next week and there are plenty of options.

Is it free? Nothing really is, even if you don't pay for it directly. If you pay taxes, you pay for it.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122027545#Comment_122027545

Yes, if kids are being neglected, remove them from the parents that are neglecting them. Seems fairly obvious, no? And every teacher in Ireland is a mandated person who has a duty, through Children First, to report on any knowledge, belief or reasonable grounds of a child being neglected to TUSLA.

We aren’t in old Catholic Ireland any more, so mother and baby homes mean absolutely nothing these days. Ban surrogacy and have children adopted by families that actually want them, rather than see them as a cash cow.

Boggles

Yes in lieu of a meal scheme we should mass confiscate children from their families.

Lunacy.

Dick phelan

How healthy is the stuff being offered? In principle I like the idea, however, i asked my niece what she had for lunch as her school recently started the scheme, She got a chicken fillet similar to what you'd get at a deli, cubed potato, and a bread roll. She didn't have any veg or fruit. I am all for providing healthy meals to kids as the benefits make the price worth it imo, but if it's just going to be deli style or airplane type food then I'd say it's a bit of a waste of money.

Cordell

It's more like airplane food than freshly cut fruits and vegetables. But it's hot food, not deli, see below a snip of a ~45 items list.

markodaly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030044#Comment_122030044

Yes, if kids are being neglected, remove them from the parents that are neglecting them. Seems fairly obvious, no? And every teacher in Ireland is a mandated person who has a duty, through Children First, to report on any knowledge, belief or reasonable grounds of a child being neglected to TUSLA.

So let me get this straight, you and @Mrs OBumble would advocate removing kids from parents who don't provide their kids with a proper lunch, as that is neglect, in your eyes.

So let's dig into this.

A study from UCG showed that approximately 16% of children go to school hungry.

https://www.universityofgalway.ie/media/healthpromotionresearchcentre/hbscdocs/factsheets/fs_13_2006_july09.pdf

I guess their parents neglect them.

There are approx 550,000 children going to primary school in Ireland.

16% is 88,000 children we will need to whip away from their parents and put them… somewhere under the care of the state or some other NGO or institution like the Catholic Church.

As I said, ye would love to get the nuns and priests back to sort out these issues.

Of course, your argument is both ridiculous and preposterous and reeks of an overdone sense of snobbery and morality.