Universal Free School meals

scottser

It's great. An extra 10 minutes in bed for me, cheaper grocery bills, kids are stuffed coming in so they don't eat before dinner which is then fully eaten.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.

literally

Geuze

I object to the word "free" in the thread title.

It's taxpayer-financed school meals.

Nothing is free.

amacca

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

To me its a symptom of a dysfunctional society if schools are providing free meals etc....its another case of treating the symptoms and not the causes of the problem.

If a large number of kids are showing up without adequate food in their stomachs then its hard to argue that schools shouldnt provide food if they are in a position to do so and funding and facilities and workers with adequate pay rates etc etc are put in place

But wtf is it necessary at all ?...Im thinking it shouldnt be if things were being managed properly.....its more running around chasing tails instead of working on the causes of the problem

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122031593#Comment_122031593

Let me straighten that out for you.

If a child is being sent to school hungry, with no food. This is a sign of neglect, it does not mean that the child is being neglected or abused, it’s a sign. If you work with children you are legally mandated to report signs of neglect/abuse.

TUSLA should then investigate to see if the child is being neglected. They do this by meeting with the child and its parent/s. If there are more signs of neglect, they may be forced to take action. That is up to them.

As stated previously, under the Children First Act 2015, anyone working with children has an obligation to report any and all signs of neglect or abuse. They don’t have to prove neglect or abuse, they just have to report any signs of it. It’s not an opt-in or opt-out situation, they are legally bound. This is explained in the Children First e-learning that everyone working with children or vulnerable adults are mandated to take.

mariaalice

It's to do with being comptant, the parents could both be highly education and have well paying careers yet not be able to run a home. The house is a mess they are not organised enough to shop correctly so the children loose out, it's not always parents with issues.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088198#Comment_122088198

If the parents, despite their high education and well-paying careers, don't have the wherewithal to manage a home to the standard required to feed their children properly, that's a huge issue right there.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122082522#Comment_122082522

Schools have to apply for it, themselves. There was a bit of “uproar” in one of the online parent’s groups around here due to angry parents giving out about DEIS and Educate Together getting everything.

Turned out the principal of their school didn’t want to go for it as it might make them look like a DEIS school.

fuzzy dunlop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120419147#Comment_120419147

Its not behind the curve though. Two of Europe's most advanced countries don't do it at all. While many on the list such as England has seen it devolve into Burger and chips every day. America is in that boat too. In other countries there is widespread theft of the food. We are barely getting prefabs out of our schools. People should be providing nutrition for their kids and taken to task if they don't. If people don't know how then that is the problem that needs to be solved.

https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/09/04/school-meals-in-europe-which-countries-provide-free-food-for-students

fuzzy dunlop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120421303#Comment_120421303

Show us the data then…

fuzzy dunlop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122029982#Comment_122029982

Finally something sensible.

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088382#Comment_122088382

That’s not true. The scheme is being rolled out to all schools on a phased basis. It’s

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088612#Comment_122088612

Schools were asked to apply for it, maybe it’ll be rolled out to all eventually but, right now, it’s going to the 900, or so, schools that have applied.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088354#Comment_122088354

Society can't be perfecte, individuals can be very competent and excellent in one area of there lives but disasters in other.

One of mine was in a relationship for a long time with some who worked in a senior IT role, yet often left the house without his wallet or coat his spectrum disorder affected his life in a lot of ways, yet he could do an extremely complex job and get well paid for it.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088722#Comment_122088722

Yes, but someone's ability to do a complex job and get well paid for it is wholly irrelevant if they can't feed their kids. Their inability to feed their kids is a huge parenting issue, and it doesn't cease to be a huge parenting issue because they do a complex job and get well paid for it.

randd1

Our kids school is part of the trial run. It's only recently that it came in.

It's been a godsend for us, and the kids like it. So I'm happy with it for now.

That being said, it was brought in on the idea that kids should have at least one hot meal a day, and so that kids aren't hungry. Not a bad thing in fairness.

However, there's plenty of times my lads went to school hungry because they didn't want toast or cereal or eggs or whatever we asked them did they want for breakfast. Sometimes they just didn't want to eat. And sometimes, they just wanted a banana and an apple for lunch.

Just because a kid is hungry, or has a small lunch, doesn't mean they're not being looked after or neglected.

Now our lads are in a small country school. I can safely say not one kid in the school is neglected, and there's very few single parents of any of the kids. And the one child that did experience neglect is now living with foster parents who may the kindest people you'd ever meet and dote on the girl, who really dotes on them in return, and is well looked now.

The point is, it's probably not required at our kids school. I'm thankful it is, and it's certainly a help to us, but if this scheme is to be rolled out, then it should be rolled out in schools where there are concerns regarding childcare or where single parents are more common to help those schools first. It seem to a scheme that while having great intentions, probably should have waited until the new school year, gathered the relevant information form teachers regarding students circumstances, and then been rolled out in the schools that need it most rather than picking some arbitrary schools that filled out a form.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088750#Comment_122088750

And if he couldn't feed his kids, it's likely he couldn't manage to clothe them, clean them or teach them how to interact with society, either.

Just feeding his kids for him would be a feel-good band aid, not solving the real problem, and leaving the kids neglected.

mariaalice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088817#Comment_122088817

The person I mentions didn't have kids at the time, it's not as simple as that there are various levels of all this.

If someone went in to a home with children and saw 3 different pack of nappies opened clean clothes all over the sitting room floor and kitchen table clothes never ironed, toys and gadgets every where, the house not very clean but not dirty, yet the kids are loved and it's a warm loving home are those children beeing neglected?

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030039#Comment_122030039

What meal would they need to serve for Ramadan out of interest?

How anyone could be against feeding children I don't know. Fair enough to reduce the child benefit to pay for it however.

gym_imposter

Doesn't sit well with me , more big government actions, parents can feed their own children

Everything that transfers more responsibility to the government has a price long term

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088918#Comment_122088918

Muslims tend to fast from dawn to sunset during Ramadan so I suppose they would not need school meals on those days. Some people abstain from drinking water, I'm not sure if kids often do that though.

Schorpio

Only on boards could a reasonable and well-meaning policy ensuring children are fed, turn into an (at times toxic) multi-page debate,

It's no wonder the site is slowly dying.

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088670#Comment_122088670

can confirm this, I've a kid in 3rd class and his school applied, my nephew in a different school isn't getting it because the school didn't apply.

My kid has been satisfied with the food so far, apart from one that he just didn't enjoy but did his best to eat some of it - the other two, he ate all of what was given to him. It's handy enough, and means we aren't having to make lunches any more. He gets his bowl of porridge at home each morning, brings a snack for little break and gets this meal at lunch time, then comes home and has dinner with us in the evening.

mariaalice

There are a few libitarians here who hate any taxes and goverment spending what's so ever.

The rest who are against it's a mix of hate of any sort of welfare, along with its not fair and or have never moved on from black and white thinking about everything.

I do think from a public policy point of view those who promote this initiative should produce evidence of its benefits

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122088918#Comment_122088918

Again, this was in reply to a scenario where the hot meal was cooked and served from a canteen like location that only provided a single option. So in this particular case they would need to have a list of students who are observing the fasting so they don't cook too much and waste. With this modern system, if they fast they simply don't order.

If you're replying to me in the second paragraph, I'm not against this, actually I fully support it, though I'm against reducing child benefit - simply because some people would rather have the full benefit at the expense of denying their children this meal.

randd1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122089043#Comment_122089043

One obvious benefit for that I can see anyway.

We could increase social welfare payments. But there's no guarantee that will go on food in some households. At least this is a guarantee children will have at least one meal a day.

Hodors Appletart

Kid is just home, and said today's dinner was the best one so far. I think he'll enjoy tomorrow's also, so 80% hit rate in week 1 is a good ratio, there are 30 options on the menu so we can swap a few next week and keep an eye on what ones he likes then rotate them until the end of june.

Between this and the free books, this govt has done well by Primary School children and families of such. It should be applauded for that.

maninasia

Until you try to get your kids into a school with no local connections and see the absolute shiteballs 'system' for allocating places.......but yeah some advances.

Water John

Lot of people don't feel like eating first thing in the morning. Great to have a hot meal in the middle of the day. Seems here that some don't believe workers should have a canteen at work, bring your own.

Starfire20

just make the program universal.

take the benefit back at tax time for those who are wealthy and don't need it.

that way, you also save on the means-testing bureaucracy.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122091078#Comment_122091078

Or do like Britain in the 80s, use vouchers. People that can afford to and want to, buy vouchers for their kids. Those that cannot afford them, get vouchers supplied. Those that don't want either, send a packed lunch or bring kids home for lunch.