• Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )

Children

Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
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As a kid who grew up on free school meals because my dad was a feckless criminal I agree with this being rejected.
I can see that during regular school time some parents would struggle to fine the extra meals they were counting on if children are sent home. However the parent is already paid benefits that are meant to pay for feeding their children beyond the school meals. What are they spending their benefits on?
 

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
Staff member
Moderator
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If the people doing school dinners were not so sodding greedy folk could afford them

As a direct comparison dinners were a shilling around the early 60's, pretty much the cost of a loaf or bread
Today the average is £2.4o TWICE the price of a loaf
 

Duck n Dive

Rebel without a clue ...
Club Sponsor
If the people doing school dinners were not so sodding greedy folk could afford them

As a direct comparison dinners were a shilling around the early 60's, pretty much the cost of a loaf or bread
Today the average is £2.4o TWICE the price of a loaf


But today they're "outsourced"
Apparently it's more efficient or cost effective or some such.

I suspect it's more like whoever does the accounting and finance carefully skews the way in which the calculations are made to reach the conclusions they had already decided they wanted
 

Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
If the people doing school dinners were not so sodding greedy folk could afford them

As a direct comparison dinners were a shilling around the early 60's, pretty much the cost of a loaf or bread
Today the average is £2.4o TWICE the price of a loaf

Two bits to your comment John:
1. I have a son at school and I have to have an 'account' which has to be in credit. So like you say I pay for his meals (more than average!) but they also get the interest from holding all the parents money in their account.
2. Even if meals were more affordable certain parents would still want everything for free*

* Some parents do struggle through no fault of their own. But some just want everything for nothing.
A year or so ago I was dropping off some stuff at a charity shop. The shop also ran a food bank - two blokes in the line for free food were happily discussing the latest computer game they had purchased - over £60 worth!
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
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The Government have extended the half term by another week, this means parents have to provide meals for five days where they would normally be free, daughter’s friend holds down two cleaning jobs & gets a small amount of family income support, she can barely afford beans on toast.
 

sr71caspar

B̶a̶n̶n̶e̶d̶
Club Sponsor
I have 2 kids at school, which I pay for their meals.
I also pay for any meals they have at home.

I'd go without to feed and clothe my kids.


I wonder how many of those who want free school meals have a £1000 smart phone on a £40 a month contract, a new car on a £400 a month pcp etc.
 

Squag1

Can't remember....
Club Sponsor
Like as always the genuine hard cases suffer because of the freeloaders
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
I have 2 kids at school, which I pay for their meals.
I also pay for any meals they have at home.

I'd go without to feed and clothe my kids.


I wonder how many of those who want free school meals have a £1000 smart phone on a £40 a month contract, a new car on a £400 a month pcp etc.
No doubt many are just owt for nowts but in daughter’s mate’s case her husband abandoned her, he gave up a well paid job as he’d prefer to spend his time drinking himself to death, as I said she works two jobs, she drives a fifteen year old fiesta, her Mother pays for her phone, her kids are 11 & 6 & growing at a horrendous rate, the 11 year old will soon be in adult clothes, the poor lass is at her wits end but always manages a smile, the problem is all her confidence has been knocked out of her, she is dreading Christmas.
 

Pow-Lo

Make civil the mind, make savage the body.
Club Sponsor
I have 2 kids at school, which I pay for their meals.
I also pay for any meals they have at home.

I'd go without to feed and clothe my kids.


I wonder how many of those who want free school meals have a £1000 smart phone on a £40 a month contract, a new car on a £400 a month pcp etc.
To get to our house in Kent from Maidstone town centre, it's (unfortunately) necessary to drive through a pikey area. The local Mozzers is in the same district. It never ceased to amaze me how many (what can loosely be described as) young girls would shamble in and out of the supermarket wearing their pyjamas shoving a pushchair or pram, have at least three kids, fag hanging out the corner of their mouths and holding the latest iPhone or Galaxy. I doubt they had cars but how they had the money for the phones they carried I know not. With fags being, what, £10 for 20, they must have been raking it in from somewhere. Oh, and inside their trolleys would be full of soft drinks, alcohol, microwave meals and general shite.
 

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
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To get to our house in Kent from Maidstone town centre, it's (unfortunately) necessary to drive through a pikey area. The local Mozzers is in the same district. It never ceased to amaze me how many (what can loosely be described as) young girls would shamble in and out of the supermarket wearing their pyjamas shoving a pushchair or pram, have at least three kids, fag hanging out the corner of their mouths and holding the latest iPhone or Galaxy. I doubt they had cars but how they had the money for the phones they carried I know not. With fags being, what, £10 for 20, they must have been raking it in from somewhere. Oh, and inside their trolleys would be full of soft drinks, alcohol, microwave meals and general shite.
Did they?
 

slim63

Never surrender
Club Sponsor
Surprisingly one of the few things I am now entitled to after paying my taxes since the age of 16 is free school meals for my granddaughter who we are raising, only once has she had a school meal & after seeing the crap that is served up I never want her to have one again ....... honestly I wouldn't feed it to a pig & some parents are paying for that cold swill :mad:

Sometime at the start of the year the provider changed (cheaper) now the menu is half of what it was & they have really must have worked hard to make the crap served even worse than it was under the old provider :eek: The result is that at a guess 75% of kids now take a packed lunch including many of those that genuinely struggle to afford to feed their kids :(

During lockdown we did get a weekly food "hamper" instead of school meals (which she still wont have even if I have to sell the shirt off my back) all we ever did with that was pass it on to a friend who struggles to make ends meet every week despite her being in part time employment & her husband working 2 jobs 6 days a week ....... even she wont let her 3 kids eat that pigswill served up at school & she is entitled to it for free
 

Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
To get to our house in Kent from Maidstone town centre, it's (unfortunately) necessary to drive through a pikey area. The local Mozzers is in the same district. It never ceased to amaze me how many (what can loosely be described as) young girls would shamble in and out of the supermarket wearing their pyjamas shoving a pushchair or pram, have at least three kids, fag hanging out the corner of their mouths and holding the latest iPhone or Galaxy. I doubt they had cars but how they had the money for the phones they carried I know not. With fags being, what, £10 for 20, they must have been raking it in from somewhere. Oh, and inside their trolleys would be full of soft drinks, alcohol, microwave meals and general shite.
You missed the fact that many of the poor souls also get taxis to get back home!
 

Bluelagoona

Not ready for me coffin yet.
Club Sponsor
I find it really distateful that a group of adults all earning a minimum of £82k plus expenses can find it in their hearts to cut off free meals for our poorest children.
The fact said adults enjoy a subsidised menu at our expense grates even more.
It speaks volumes for our country.
 
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Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
I find it really distateful that a group of adults all earning a minimum of £82k plus expenses can find it in their hearts to cut off free meals for our poorest children.
The fact said adults enjoy a subsidised menu at our expense grates even more.
It speaks volumes for our country.
But they have not cut off free meals. They (I believe quite rightly) have refused to provide free meals during holidays when parents are expected to pay. And as an aside, the vast majority of these parents won’t be the hard working variety but the ones on full benefits and largely unaffected by COVID.
I do have empathy for those genuinely struggling and trying their best but free food give away is not the answer, IMHO.
 

Bluelagoona

Not ready for me coffin yet.
Club Sponsor
But they have not cut off free meals. They (I believe quite rightly) have refused to provide free meals during holidays when parents are expected to pay. And as an aside, the vast majority of these parents won’t be the hard working variety but the ones on full benefits and largely unaffected by COVID.
I do have empathy for those genuinely struggling and trying their best but free food give away is not the answer, IMHO.
Sorry Brian I can respect your view but I disagree.
In this day and age no child should go hungry despite a feckless parent it's not the child's fault.
When Goverments waste millions on non existing ferries or billions on massive lorry parks around the country to further their brexit agenda, not ensuring kids are fed is just plain wrong.
Sure, you will get the freeloaders who abuse the scheme but is that a reason to abandon the rest ?
Having been very close to using food banks in the past I know how easy it is to slip from a comfortable living to desperate times.... and we are in desperate times , how we help our most vunerable people in adverse situations is how we will be judged by our children.
 

derek kelly

The Deli lama
Club Sponsor
But they have not cut off free meals. They (I believe quite rightly) have refused to provide free meals during holidays when parents are expected to pay. And as an aside, the vast majority of these parents won’t be the hard working variety but the ones on full benefits and largely unaffected by COVID.
I do have empathy for those genuinely struggling and trying their best but free food give away is not the answer, IMHO.
The problem has come about by the Government adding an extra week onto the holidays, a week where children would have been receiving free school meals but now parents have to make child care arrangements & pay for meals, not good when you’re on a tight budget
 

Dangerous Brian

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
Sorry Brian I can respect your view but I disagree.
In this day and age no child should go hungry despite a feckless parent it's not the child's fault.
When Goverments waste millions on non existing ferries or billions on massive lorry parks around the country to further their brexit agenda, not ensuring kids are fed is just plain wrong.
Sure, you will get the freeloaders who abuse the scheme but is that a reason to abandon the rest ?
Having been very close to using food banks in the past I know how easy it is to slip from a comfortable living to desperate times.... and we are in desperate times , how we help our most vunerable people in adverse situations is how we will be judged by our children.
You are right, I let my hatred of those parasite parents (which my own father was one) drive my opinion. I guess you will always get those who will put their children last and still abuse the system. Your argument is compelling when you do compare the millions lost to other shit government ideas.
 
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