School dinners....

****

Something of a funk going on in Bradford about school dinners:

A probe is underway to find out how many children in the district are attending school without food or money to pay for school dinners after several headteachers raised concerns that pupils are going hungry.

OK so some parents are sending their children to school without the wherewithal to purchase those nutritious school dinners. And, of course, the culprit here is ‘poverty’ – but we should note that school dinners are pretty cheap. Here are Bradford’s figures:

In primary schools the current pupil price for a two course school meal, including a main course item with sides and a dessert is £1.50.

In secondary schools, students can pay for items individually, or take advantage of the set meals & meal deals. The standard price for these meal packages is £2.15, and for this you will typically get a main course item with sides and a dessert or drink

So for two children at primary a full lunch every day costs just £13, hardly a vast expense even for those on low incomes. Even at secondary school the cost in no more than £30 per week for those two children. That is for the main meal of the day.

I can only assume that these children are turning up to school without their dinner money because their parents have other spending priorities, forgot entirely or else really don’t give a fig.

....