http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23270715

Get a fcuking grip, it should be the parent's decision.

What my mother used to pack was healthier than what the school was providing...

I've never had a packed lunch before starting uni

The only time I had them was on school trips and then everyone had one.

My parents couldn't really afford school dinners, a packed lunch was a quarter the price and much healthier too.

Not every parent packs healthy food, and many kids will swap options if they are not keen on some things.


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Not all schools have catering kitchens. My wife's school doesn't because the demand for school dinners was very low. If they do do a big meal (say. heist as dinner), then that gets bought in from external caterers which is warmed up using mobile equipment.

I went home every lunch. Canteen had 3 courses meals for about 3.50 e that even teachers ate.

It's £2.25 a day at my kids school for school dinners.

Unless they made them a lot cheaper then I'm sure a lot of parents couldn't afford them.

I don't see that as pricey if the meal contains a good quality protein item.

It's not bad but little costs like this add up when you've got kids and as a packed lunch can be done for less than £1 it's one of those things people will save money on.
In my kids school actually cook their meals on site and give the kids a choice of main courses etc but I know other schools just bring in external catering which is warmed up. This external stuff is generally slop and kids don't want to eat it, especially when it doesn't fit in with their cultures and beliefs (or so they think from looking at it) so people don't want to waste money on it.

TBH my packed lunch would consist of:
- sandwich
- crisps
- some kind of mini choc/biscuit bar eg penguin, fudge etc
- some kind of drink (usually the little 200ml ones that you poked a red straw through)

Whereas my school lunch would be typically:
- some kind of main eg ravioli, tuna, egg & cheese
- 2 kinds of veg, or a bread roll + salad
- dessert eg cornflake cake + custard
- water (in jugs)

I will have to ask parents but it was either £5/wk or £10/wk. There were three of us so at the most, it would have been £30/wk. At the time, my parents' combined income was maybe £20-25k.
In secondary school, I got given the lunch money and would easily spend it in the tuck shop.

Also you can do a sizeable pasta salad for a lot less. Also with privatised catering you have to consider that they will want to make a big profit.

in the early 60's when i started school all school dinner meals where provide free for all pupils
then at the end of the 60's beginning of the 70's school dinners free of charge was abolished or charged for

over the years from the 70's packed lunches became the norm
my kids (3) had substantial home made packed lunches preprepared the night before for their school lunches

and these home made lunches were not just for my kids, they could share with their friends, that’s why they were substantial
(2 lunch boxes each at least with snacks) and their friends after school having a meal, at our house, while they waited for their parents to finish work (sometimes very late)

now ...
the private sector which provide these meals for our children require that 'packed' lunches be banned so they can provide meals at school for pupils
this is of course at a cost, but if all meals are only available from these sources then you can bank(ster) on it, costs for these meals will rise substantially, as you will be captive. ...

There might be cash reasons for schools to do this as well. They might be getting a slice of the revenue from caterers. Personally I wish they went back to free school dinners for all and make them healthy. The only exceptions should be for dietary reasons who should be allowed packed lunches.