The complexities of lunch and other ways to alienate yourself.

Well the kids went back to school today...ALL of them :D

Hmm, when did I get old enough to have THREE kids at school...damn!

So 3 pack lunches went into school with them today...and it brought all the past terms grievances back to the fore.
You see, as we are on benefits we are entitled to free school meals. Now in theory this would be fantastic, it would mean the children's dinner at home could be soup or sandwich, something light and inexpensive, that's the whole point of the free school meal.
We were all ready vegetarian and then @ 18 months ago we gave up dairy. This was, initially, a health move..I get asthma and the eldest and youngest son get eczema..all of which either vastly improved or disappeared all together, so you can imagine the results were worth the effort!

School was wonderful, yes they could still provide school meals even though they were nearly easting vegan, I even made it easy for them by allowing the menu to include fish and eggs (fish is something we don't eat at home and we only eat our own chickens eggs usually).
The meal company was informed and we were told that the meals would be provided and a menu sent to us in due course.

A whole YEAR went by and no menu came, despite repeated attempts by myself and the school administrator AND head teacher to get in touch.
In the meantime the two eldest were coming home with increasingly bizzar lunch tales...baked potato and rice...banana sandwich and pasta....seriously 3 or 4 days out of 5 was baked potato and baked beans..a good meal but not every day.
When the headmistress complained to the meal company about the lack of variety and haphazard nutritional value (sometimes 3 carbs and no protein, often no vegetable)they told her that school meals where designed to be spread "nutritionally" through the week not day to day!!!!!

I could have stuck it out and fought the good fight for the next child, but that winter my normally robust and healthy kids caught every virus and cold that went about, I had no idea what lunch would be for them so planning dinner was a nightmare.

The headmistress reluctantly agreed that it would be best to give them a packed lunch..but she was angry that I would now have to provide meals for my children when I was fully entitled to free ones at school.

We are on a budget...look at the price of a lunch box, an insulated bag, a flask, extra small pots for grapes and other small food...then times it by three.

However, it can only be worth it health wise.
They went today with apple juice, seeded wraps filled with peanut butter, kiwi fruit, carrot sticks, strawberries a pot of homemade potato salad and a homemade courgette muffin for break time.

It will be interesting to see how their health is this winter :)