School dinners

Mimpty · Post by **Mimpty** » 18 Mar 2005, 14:38

Bellybabe wrote:[
Ugh....didn't mean to sound quite so sanctimonious and nauseating.... Sorry!

No!No!No! - I'm just very impressed!

It's amazing to see that there are parents who put so much thought into what there children eat and yet there are those who feed their kids such a restricted diet to the point the kids can't recognise a leek or a potato.
I see what coca-cola can do to my nephews (they get this fairly rarely, as a kind of treat) I can't imagine if they were that hyper all the time far less trying to teach a class of them!

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 18 Mar 2005, 20:37

Bellybabe wrote:
He still won't eat his lunch.

Bellybabe,

My son very rarely eats that much of his packed lunch at school but then again, he never eats very much at lunchtime. He does however, eat a good breakfast and will usually eat well at dinner. I guess he just isn't that hungry in the middle of the day.
There are very few vegetables he'll eat. I compensate a little by making soup with all the veggies he won't touch and liquidising it - he eats it quite happily. The more green in colour veg is the more resistant he becomes.

I would never force food on him so now I just give him the things I know he will eat and enjoy and wait for boredom to kick in. He'll eat chicken, fish, pasta and rice so it's a question of finding things to make with those so, I guess, it could be worse.

I would have loved for my son to have seen some of the Jamie programmes but what with Jamies constant effing and ceeing it wasn't going to happen. I could have skelped him round the head and said "See, that's you that is" every time they showed shots of kids heaving over a plate of salad.

And how can you explain that he'll happily eat boiled eggs and toast but won't touch an egg sarni???

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 18 Mar 2005, 21:02

I too was unimpressed with Jamie's bad language. It was unnecessary and quite obviously for effect. Leaving this aside, and the fact that this has been a very succesful vehicle for the self promotion of the 'lad' himself, I have been greatly encouraged by the way that the whole profile of school dinners has been raised. I have no doubt that Mr Oliver is sincere in his mission and that his campaign will result in widespread and lasting changes in how we feed our children, at least within the school environment - IF as parents we do our bit.

The time to strike is NOW while the metaphorical iron is still hot. Hit them while they are under pressure. I urge those of you who care about how our children are fed to go to the campaign website at www.feedmebetter.com and to follow the 1-2-3 steps.

Over the weekend I will be writing a letter of complaint to Edinburgh Leisure regarding the food on offer at the Aqua Cafe at the Swim Centre. Have you seen the kids menu? Chicken Teddies, Chicken Nuggets etc. Slush Puppy drinks, child-height crappy sweet vending machines - and this in a place that is dedicated to health!

If you would like to support me in this, here's the email address:

enquiries@edinburghleisure.co.uk

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 18 Mar 2005, 21:11

Bob Jefferson wrote:
Over the weekend I will be writing a letter of complaint to Edinburgh Leisure regarding the food on offer at the Aqua Cafe at the Swim Centre. Have you seen the kids menu? Chicken Teddies, Chicken Nuggets etc. Slush Puppy drinks, child-height crappy sweet vending machines - and this in a place that is dedicated to health!

If you would like to support me in this, here's the email address:

enquiries@edinburghleisure.co.uk

I agree with you on this one Bob. I have managed to steer a healthy path so far by sticking to Chips and red sauce for girls and Chips and curry sauce for Dads.

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 20 Mar 2005, 20:28

Result?

Blair acts on Jamie's plan for schools

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 20 Mar 2005, 20:58

Yes...if you are concerned about dinners served in Primary Schools south of the border Bob!

Try looking at Scotland on Sunday for some news about current Scottish Executive initiatives (which actually pre-date Jamie's recent drive).

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 23 Mar 2005, 17:46

Dear Sir/Madam

My wife and I have a joint Pulse Direct membership and are very happy to support our excellent local facilities at Portobello Swim Centre. We have been very disappointed for some time, however, with the range of food and drink made available to children at the Aqua Cafe.

One might expect, in an establishment dedicated to health and well-being, a cuisine that reflected these values - NOT Chicken Teddies, Chicken Nuggets, Slush Puppy drinks and child-height sweetie vending machines.

We are delighted that Jamie Oliver's recent television programme has highlighted the important issue of what we feed our children, that the Prime Minister himself has promised action, and we hope very much that Edinburgh Leisure will not wish to be seen as lagging behind in this respect.

Please use whatever pressure you are able to bear to persuade the current operator to offer not just a 'healthy alternative', that kids will simply not choose, but to get rid of the junk immediately and permanently.

Thank you for your e mail of 20th March 2005 where you comment on the menu options at Portobello Swim Centre, more so the options for the children's menu.

The centre manager is currently discussing with the catering provider how they can meet current customer demands and expectations with regards how we deliver healthy options in catering provision. The recent media coverage of this subject has highlighted a greater awareness on this matter and we are looking to address this in anyway we can.

Information will shortly be displayed within Portobello Swim Centre to encourage and ask our customers for comments and suggestion on what they would want to see on the menu in the cafÃƒÂ© and what could be made available within the vending service.

Many thanks for your comments on this matter and we hope you will see some positive progress with the catering services at Portobello Swim Centre

Tracy Henderson

ecm · Post by **ecm** » 23 Mar 2005, 19:11

Nice one, Bob.

It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 23 Mar 2005, 19:54

If they get rid of chips with curry sauce you are DOOMED, Bob.

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 23 Mar 2005, 20:24

Unrefined Sugar, Modified Maize Starch, Salt, Maltodextrin, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Anti-caking Agent (Silicon Dioxide).

A few of the ingredients to be found in this:

Mind you, that's probably a good one. I dread to think what's in the discount catering pack stuff.

He's doomed!

Poppy · Post by **Poppy** » 23 Mar 2005, 21:13

Maybe the result of Mr M's liking for curry sauce is reflected in his 'signature emoticon' >>>>

?!

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 24 Mar 2005, 23:00

Bob Jefferson wrote:Dear Sir/Madam
The recent media coverage of this subject has highlighted a greater awareness on this matter....Tracy Henderson

What planet has she been living on? I cannot believe that it is only the recent media coverage that has made her realise that all Pulse centre outlets sell food of almost nil nutritional value. Rather ironic too, considering most of their sites have enough catering equipment to source half the restaurants in Edinburgh!

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 23 Apr 2005, 10:24

Well, no sign of the promised consultation but Aqua CafÃƒÂ© have now at least added some healthier options to their kiddy menu, although the junk remains.

Amusingly, one of the healthy options is a 'half baked potato'. Personally, I would have thought that most kids would prefer a fully baked one.

Maria · Post by **Maria** » 23 Apr 2005, 15:44

My son came home from school with a couple of questionnaires on the "Hungry for Success" menu that they have been using since August. It'll be interesting to see what most folk think about it.
I was also interested to hear, as I helped tidy up/weed St John's Primary garden today (and in the process, pick up numerous bottle caps, straws, etc.

) that Towerbank School has introduced a 'no packaging' rule. I can imagine it makes preparing packed lunches more of a hassle but after seeing how much rubbish is dropped by kids it sounds pretty good to me.
BTW it was disconcerting to note just how many pieces of fruit had also been discarded, uneaten

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 25 Apr 2005, 20:21

Marya wrote:...Towerbank School has introduced a 'no packaging' rule. I can imagine it makes preparing packed lunches more of a hassle but after seeing how much rubbish is dropped by kids it sounds pretty good to me.

Yes they have introduced this rule - it is part of their drive to gain some Environmental Standard they are seeking. Basically, if anything in a packed lunch is in a disposable wrapper, the kids are not allowed to take it out into the Playground.

I think the rule is a load of bo**ocks. The school are only treating the symptoms in that the kids have no litter to throw away. They are not effecting a cure by training the kids not to throw the litter away in the first place.

No doubt when the kids get to the High School they will merrily join the happy band of pupils who perpetually discard their litter in street.

mr magnolia · Post by **mr magnolia** » 25 Apr 2005, 20:43

I think it's about more than littering - it's about fostering an awareness of the amount of rubbish accumulated unnecessarily in our 'normal' lives, and about letting children understand that food is more than a package.

Pal of Porty · Post by **Pal of Porty** » 25 Apr 2005, 22:57

mr magnolia wrote:I think it's about more than littering - it's about fostering an awareness of the amount of rubbish accumulated unnecessarily in our 'normal' lives, and about letting children understand that food is more than a package.

An excellent point Mr M. and one that I whole heartedly support. It does not however fit with the vibes filtering back to the PoP household on this particular topic. I will ask when I am next at school.

Mimpty · Post by **Mimpty** » 26 Apr 2005, 13:36

mr magnolia wrote:it's about fostering an awareness of the amount of rubbish accumulated unnecessarily in our 'normal' lives,

Re- packaging and going slightly off topic - I went to Morrison's at Piershill recently and noted that they have started shrink-wrapping the individual peppers. What a waste. I took a stance and didn't buy any.
The amount of wrapping and bags to put things in is excessive.