Food & Poverty

• Is what we are eating actually as good as it seems?

• Is it worth the price? If not, what can we do about it?

In answering these two questions many of the participant expressed concerns regarding school meals and this became the focus of much of the conversation. Other topics included understanding of what is in their food and food skills.

School meals:

The conversations had by young people around their school meals focused on the quality & limited choice of food available, the unforgiving attitudes by school staff & regulations and the price and availability of food.

These subjects were of course not discussed in isolation; many ideas that fall into one category were exacerbated and made worse by factors that fall into other categories.

Poor quality & limited choice of food available:

“As long as it’s edible, all food is good” – this was said in relation to a conversation about the moderation of sweets / chocolate / foods typically considered “unhealthy” (in wider society, not exclusively in schools), but when asked why they had chosen that expression, the young person said that the food they are presented with in school often is “inedible” and “gross” but is promoted as being “better for you” than a packet of crisps and other “snack” foods. This young person did not believe this statement to be true based on the quality of the food sold at school.

Young people felt that cooked food has clearly been sitting in the canteen under warmers for several hours. They request greater variety – both in terms of more choice on the day, but also a different range throughout the week. They are offered the same limited options every day. Reference was made to pre-packaged food; “pasta pots” and pre-made sandwiches/wraps.

When asked if a hot option is available, most young people responded that yes there is, but that they “don’t bother” to choose it as this is usually the most expensive and least satisfying option. Meat items are not only the most expensive, but “barely cooked”, bland, and often “don’t even look like real meat”.

Vegetable sides are being promoted by the school so are often less expensive to purchase, but insubstantial. One young person explained that while the veg portion costs 70p, they do not choose it because they then have to spend significantly more on additional cooked items that cost more than they can afford in order to eat a full meal. They would rather have something more substantial, like a pasta pot, which usually costs £1.50 for a small portion, but “at least it’s safe – you can’t get pasta wrong”.

When asked what they would like to see at their school canteens, these young people said they want “well-cooked, substantial food” that “actually tastes decent”.

It was highlighted that schools with different canteens for different year groups are serving different foods / options in each canteen. Students in higher year groups reported worse quality food than students in lower groups.

Unforgiving attitudes by school staff & regulations:

Some dinner ladies used to give generous portions or extra food for free – it has been observed that they don’t work at the school anymore.

Students who ask for more are given dismissive responses (e.g. “we’re not just here to wait on you, you know”) or are laughed at by catering staff. This makes students wonder why they should show the expected levels of respect to members of staff, when that respect is clearly not reciprocated, and they feel the staff have done nothing to earn it from them in the first place.

Often when students reach the canteen, there is nothing left. Younger students push in line and do not face consequences for doing so – older students who try to prevent this are punished for causing disruption. School bullying means that some students who pay for their lunch still do not get to eat – “if your plate’s slapped out of your hand, you can’t go back and get more. Or you can, but you have to pay for it again.” Many students cannot afford to do this.

Students “in isolation” over lunch are not given any choice over what they are given to eat. Often, they are just handed one sandwich by the supervising staff member, that they didn’t choose.

Catering staff at schools work for external private companies and “obviously don’t care” about the quality of food provision in the school.

Concerns were raised regarding the safety of personal possessions in the canteen areas. “You can’t line up with your bag and your coat on, you’ve got to leave all that at your table and then go up… I just know someone’s gonna nick something out my bag, or pour juice in it or something.”

Price of food available:

Free School Meals daily allocation is not enough for a decent lunch. The allocation is £2.20 in some schools and £2.50 in others – that it isn’t the same everywhere was considered to be unfair, but these amounts are insufficient either way. The young people present would like to see an increase to £4 per individual per day, in addition to improvements to the quality and range of foods stated above.

It has been observed by parents at Stanleys Community Centre in separate conversations that the daily allowance for students receiving Free School Meals has not changed for at least the last 10 years, despite the fact that the price of food has increased significantly in the same time frame.

Drinks (including bottled water) and desserts also cost extra, so a young person with the free school meals budget can only buy a main meal and a drink for their lunch. This was universally considered to not be enough food for the day.

Students who are not receiving Free School Meals still cannot afford to pay for a substantial meal.

Some young people who do not receive Free School Meals simply cannot afford to pay for food at school. They either purchase food from a nearby shop before, during or after school, or they do not eat at all during the day.

Young people have noticed that the pre-packaged food served at school is significantly more expensive than equivalent products seen in shops.

One young person said that they regularly do not eat sufficiently, or at all, at school because they share their FSM allowance with another student who often brings no money for food at all. “At least I’ll eat at home… but I know she probably won’t so I just give her mine.”

The above notes can be summarised by this quote from one participant: “I don’t bother eating at school anymore. It’s disgusting and you can’t choose, so I just don’t.”

Lack of understanding / clarity on what is in food.

Lack of understanding / clarity on what is really in their food, and concerns around the conditions in which it is prepared and packaged. The young people feel that packaging is misleading or difficult to read and are not confident that food is being prepared in clean environments.

One group was very keen to create an awareness campaign on this subject and speak to people in charge of food production.

Food Skills

There was a desire to learn more about food and cooking in school, and how to creatively combine ingredients into interesting and exciting meals. It was felt that if food is presented as a creative and interesting thing, it may go some way to reduce “food trends” and the associated impact that these have on eating habits and mental health.