Observer II Posted January 13, 2021 Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 I must say, I'm struggling to believe all the hype about kids going without meals. Yes, there was an obvious blunder with the school meals issue, but I wonder why kids can't get at least one good square meal at home ? Could it be that parent(s) can't cook, can't shop for cheaper cuts of meat like offal; and depend on junk food ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 13, 2021 Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 Thinking back to when I were a lad (many moons ago) and took a packed lunch to school, it was 4 rounds of bread and butter with meat or fish paste, and a Thermos of coffee. Fruit you ask? Of course I had fruit - on a Sunday if I'd been good 😉. When I got to 14 the school got a brand new canteen and kitchen built so bye bye packed lunches 👩🍳 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 13, 2021 Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 Easy to doubt while we’re not forced to live on the breadline but it’s true, we all managed to survive well despite the fact we didn’t have anyone trying to tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat. I’ve just worked out the total cost of what I’ve eaten today (excluding cups of tea & coffee) as £1.95, assuming an egg costs about 10p and none of this involved home cooked stuff that would probably make it cheaper. I completely missed breakfast but a bowl of cornflakes with milk would only be about 40p. If it came down to it, I reckon I could easily survive spending less than £1 a day by shopping for cheaper items. Asp, please don’t ask me to prove this one. 😊 Bill 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 I think the give away comes when hard bitten groups start asking for cash benefits rather than food vouchers - they need cash for the booze and fags. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 13, 2021 Report Share Posted January 13, 2021 3 hours ago, Bill said: Easy to doubt while we’re not forced to live on the breadline but it’s true, we all managed to survive well despite the fact we didn’t have anyone trying to tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat. I’ve just worked out the total cost of what I’ve eaten today (excluding cups of tea & coffee) as £1.95, assuming an egg costs about 10p and none of this involved home cooked stuff that would probably make it cheaper. I completely missed breakfast but a bowl of cornflakes with milk would only be about 40p. If it came down to it, I reckon I could easily survive spending less than £1 a day by shopping for cheaper items. Asp, please don’t ask me to prove this one. 😊 Bill 😊 To be honest Bill I think you need to cut down a bit, obesity is a killer you know 🤣. But seriously, food isn't expensive if you are prepared to put a bit of effort into shopping sensibly, preparing and cooking meals for yourself. Probably healthier too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 Surprising how far some mince and a onion will go to provide a decent meal for up to four people. !/4 kilogram of 5% fat mince. 1 medium onion. tin of garden peas or red kidney beans two boil in the bag rice or whatever rice you want to use couple of oxo and you have enough to feed four people (you can add curry powder if you are that way inclined. and some gravy thickener if it is a it too runny.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 There was no government help with school meals or packed lunches when i was a kid. I bet most of these moaners are festooned in the latest hi-tech gismos & trendy clothes & trainers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 14, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 God helps those who help themselves - there's enough TV progs on cooking and shopping to educate folk, but they seem to want everything provided free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 I got free school meals at the age of 14 which I seem to remember was a bit embarrassing at the time, but my mother had died a year earlier, and my dad had to finish work due to health issues so there wasn’t a lot of money in our household. My paper round went into housekeeping rather than my pocket and even when I started work as an apprentice, I only earned the princely sum of £5 and five shillings. But as the saying goes what you’ve never had, you’ll never miss so the way it was didn’t seem too bad to me. I quickly had to learn to cook though and eventually became fully domesticated and these life skills have stayed with me to this day, although Mrs Green may argue otherwise. 😊 Even now, I still live a pretty fugal lifestyle, I’m not some kind of tight arsed person who watches every penny but I’m just not attracted to some of todays trappings, like posh watches and upmarket phones. I think todays lunch is the same cheese and onion rolls I had yesterday and tonight it’s push the boat out time with a homemade pork stir-fry. Bill 😊 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latchford Locks Posted January 14, 2021 Report Share Posted January 14, 2021 6 hours ago, Davy51 said: There was no government help with school meals or packed lunches when i was a kid. I bet most of these moaners are festooned in the latest hi-tech gismos & trendy clothes & trainers. And not to mention sky sports and Netflix 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 I think a lot could be achieved with better money management and vouchers for food instead of cash. But then you will get shot down for taking away civil liberties! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 Other than maybe some feeling a bit embarrassed at presenting a voucher, there’s no ideal way of doing this. Understandably some people believe that giving cash will result in parents spending it on fags and booze but using a voucher for food leaves the same amount of cash in their pockets to do that and the same can be argued even if they have to use food banks. I’ve just been following a debate on a taxi forum where some drivers are claiming that some using foodbanks are spending as much on taxi fares than the value of what they receive. Without knowing everyone’s personal circumstances, I think that’s a bit harsh, even when they argue, “and they also had the latest iPhone”. I don’t think this problem is restricted to just the poorer sections of society as a lot of people who normally wouldn’t have any issues have suddenly found themselves in a huge mess due to this virus. Most of us oldies have experienced hard times in the past and learned to adapt but for people today this is all new and overwhelming. Bill 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 I've been stuck behind women at the checkout with loads of vouchers cut out of magazines for the checkout operator to check, none of them seemed to be embarrassed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 Think some serious analysis of lifestyles is required, to see just how "poor" these people are, and why they can't cope. Perhaps if the parent is a lost cause, some time could be spent on the kids themselves, with home economics and cooking included in school curriculums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 17, 2021 Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 It doesn’t matter how you try to analyse it Obs, how poor people are is relative and depends entirely on perspective. If we took kids from a famine hit area of the world. then in comparison our “starving kids” would seem overfed, so short of actually asking the kids if they feel they’re not getting enough to eat, we’re stuck with someone’s opinion. I know what you mean though, I’ve seen families that have made the lifestyle choice to live on benefits and milk the state for everything they can. I don’t agree with it and I certainly don’t think it’s good for the kids being brought up in that sort of family, but I think I understand why they do it. Ironically, these sorts of families at the bottom of our social scale are probably less affected by the lockdown measures than most others. I don’t think trying to teach kids to have better skills in home economics is ever going to work because they’re just going to follow the lead of their dysfunctional parents. The can't afford to feed the kids thing is just a small part of a very much bigger problem that needs an even bigger fix. Bill 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2021 Sounds a tad defeatist Bill; think we also need to examine the kind of food these kids are feeding on; a huge bag of crisps in front of the telly isn't healthy; so perhaps the vouchers should specify the type of healthy food they can get ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 Perhaps "WE" should keep our noses out of other peoples' business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 If "WE" are paying taxes for it - it is our business. 😠 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 We pay taxes for a lot of things we find disagreeable, so what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 I wouldn’t call this being a defeatist Obs but just being a realist. I think most people believe that we have enough regulations telling us what we can and can’t do at the moment without trying to force people to feed their kids in a certain way. Everyone understands the meaning of a balanced diet or what’s good or bad for the kids but you can’t force people to eat in a certain way or limit what food they can buy. And to use one of your favourite analogies, we’re a long way off being told to what day we should eat Soylent green on. It’s a fact of life that richer families probably eat better than poorer ones. Nobody likes this but it is what it is and it’s the same right across the world. To try and change this would be near impossible so the only thing we can do is to try and educate the feckless few on the importance of childhood nutrition. Bill 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer II Posted January 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 23 minutes ago, asperity said: We pay taxes for a lot of things we find disagreeable, so what? Free Country = free speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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