Half term meals.

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Mo
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Half term meals.

Post by Mo »

A local business has come up with a scheme to provide free half term meals in conjunction with the local pub kitchen.
But I wonder if what they are offering makes sense.
A sandwich (ham or cheese), a packet of crisps, and a soft drink.
I contacted the organiser to ask if they would like some of my apples to add to the packs and they said they had thought of fruit but the budget was limited.
Could you do better for the money?
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lancashire lass
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by lancashire lass »

I suppose something is better than nothing but in terms of a healthy meal or variety, the suggested is seriously lacking. On the one hand, it sounds like a noble gesture to offer the food but there's a cynic in me wondering ...
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Mo
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Re: Half term meals.

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lancashire lass wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 15:44 I suppose something is better than nothing but in terms of a healthy meal or variety, the suggested is seriously lacking. On the one hand, it sounds like a noble gesture to offer the food but there's a cynic in me wondering ...
Well I was assuming it was well meant, but for a start, why a soft drink? Yes for a 'ready meal' at a petrol station when out for the day, maybe, but to take home to eat surely the money could have been better spent.
And he is offering them to our village and neighbouring villages, I can't see that one lunch is worth travelling far for (assuming those who need it have got a car). Even from the other end of the village it's nearly a mile (though it is near the children's playground and the village Co-op). He didn't have any take-up yesterday.
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Gwenoakes
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Re: Half term meals.

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I saw something similar on tv last night and immediately thought, why soft drinks.
Surely they could have a glass of water and the money saved would buy an apple/banana/pear or other fruit, wouldn't it? It would certainly be much healthier for the children.
To do something like this you have to think right to the end of the chain and as you say Mo even 1 mile is a fair way to walk which has rightly proven so as you said there were no takers yesterday. I think the one on tv was dropping the food off at various places, so not just one venue.
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Mo
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Re: Half term meals.

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And if you are at the other end of the village it's a mile each way. Not keen on the idea of crisps either.
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by manda »

I get they are trying to keep cost down and it's done off their own back which is admirable but I would have thought that a pasta or rice salad with ham /cheese would be more filling (because for some kids that might be their only meal of the day) and will keep...leave out the soft drink they don't need it and put the difference in cash into ingredients to go into the salad.
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by Gwenoakes »

Have just seen that an Indian charity is giving out meals to children in the UK. All I can say is bravo to them, from the way they are talking they have the right idea and I sincerely hope that everyone pulls together like they say to help.
Apparently they are focused on healthy food which in this case is vegetarian, so definitely on the right track, quality not quantity as it is in all life journeys.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 16:09 And he is offering them to our village and neighbouring villages, I can't see that one lunch is worth travelling far for (assuming those who need it have got a car)
if you can afford a car, then you must surely be able to afford to feed your kids (I know that sounds a bit simplistic assuming the car is for family use rather than for essential)
Gwenoakes wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 18:02 I saw something similar on tv last night and immediately thought, why soft drinks.
Surely they could have a glass of water and the money saved would buy an apple/banana/pear or other fruit, wouldn't it? It would certainly be much healthier for the children.
Mo wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 20:54 And if you are at the other end of the village it's a mile each way. Not keen on the idea of crisps either.
)t'
manda wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 21:46 I get they are trying to keep cost down and it's done off their own back which is admirable but I would have thought that a pasta or rice salad with ham /cheese would be more filling (because for some kids that might be their only meal of the day) and will keep...leave out the soft drink they don't need it and put the difference in cash into ingredients to go into the salad.
)t' I did think of this yesterday when I posted earlier but wondered if the added costs of cooking / preparation and packaging (a sandwich bag/bit of clingfilm round a sandwich is less expensive than a container with a lid) might have been the reason.
Mo wrote: 27 Oct 2020, 16:09 He didn't have any take-up yesterday.
{cry}
I'm wondering if the reason may be that (i) parents are embarrassed and there's a loss of dignity (when there's a room full of children eating a provided lunch, no-one is singled out whereas turning up on your own can seem intimidating) or (ii) there isn't really a need in the immediate area unlike some of the more urban towns? (iii) The logistics may be one reason for no takers, or those in need do not even know it is available (if you have no food to feed your family, I think you would walk that mile) (iv) Maybe it needs to be more targeted such as having a list of names (I can see that in itself being a problem and breach of confidentiality somewhere) or have drop off points such as at the local schools (which may mean expecting someone volunteering to be there to administer it) and those in need are told about it
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Re: Half term meals.

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I think the logistics has beaten them.
The car, well public transport round here is not good, so if you had a job and lost it, you would have needed a car.
When the children are at school you have no choice but to get them there, even if it does mean getting all the kids dressed and trundling the pram that mile and mile back and doing the same in the afternoon. The child is getting an education as well as food, plus company, and you are getting childcare. But doesn't it take ages when you might have a baby to feed and change. I remember what an effort it was. And if all there is at the end of it is a sandwich for the school age kid and you had to do it every day (or feed them stale sandwiches the rest of the week) would you have the energy. Yes easy to think only 2 miles, but we are well fed ourselves, and are not trailing hungry kids.
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by albertajune »

I just wish that cookery lessons were still given in schools. People have lost the art of making a hearty meal for a family. In my early day as a mum nothing was thrown away. We had no benefits then so had to make meals from what we had, and did. Hearty soups from mixed veg or small amounts of meat with dumplings or rice added are so easy and cheap to make. I have even added the bones from chicken etc to get the goodness . I do feel sorry for the kiddies that are going without today but it need not happen with a little more knowledge of basic cooking.
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Mo
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Re: Half term meals.

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Yes, very true. We had recipes, starting from simple things (do I remember cocoa and scrambled egg) crumbles and cakes. My children had 'food technology' but still some recipes. Not sure what they have now.
There are so many convenience things seem to outnumber the basics.
But the opposing view is put in this article
"All weekend on Twitter, people have been costing boiled eggs, pretending that they would be so much better at playing poor than actual poor people are. I’ve said it a thousand times: it’s easy to live simply and frugally when you have a secure roof over your head, your heating hasn’t been cut off, there’s water in the taps, and nobody’s banging on your door for council tax arrears. It’s simple to boil a 12p egg in your saucepan if you’ve the 99p to buy the whole box, and a saucepan to go with it."
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lancashire lass
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by lancashire lass »

Mo wrote: 28 Oct 2020, 12:45 It’s simple to boil a 12p egg in your saucepan if you’ve the 99p to buy the whole box, and a saucepan to go with it.
and can afford the gas or electricity to cook it

The best meals my mother made were from using cheap cuts of meat or offal (but not tripe )loo( ) into thick soups, stews, puddings, pasties and pies in a typical "meat & 2 veg" meal.

But these are not as cheap as you might think when buying all the ingredients and all the slow cooking or baking involved (assuming you have some cooking skills or at least knew how to make pastry or dumplings) using gas or electricity compared to cheap frozen convenience food which you can just throw into the microwave and serve within minutes or boil a kettle (I WAS thinking of cous cous but then I also got an image of Pot Noodle) Probably doesn't taste anything remotely as nice as home-cooking nor very healthy but when trimming back on costs especially when on benefits or low income and have rent or heating to pay, probably better than nothing. Even cheap cuts of meat are a rarity and unfortunately, they do tend to need longer cooking times (well, maybe not fried liver but not everyone like it or the very thought puts them off)
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by Mo »

My mother used to boil ham shanks and mince them to make ham & potato pasties. Served with heinz tomato ketchup.
Sunday roast was the cheap shoulder of lamb or pork. And it would mince as a shepherds pie or go in a casserole if there was any left. The fact that it was a fatty cut made the casserole gravy richer.
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by lancashire lass »

My fave was Meat & Potato pie with a suet crust - I can't remember if she used skirt or shin beef - but it was in the oven for hours. First in a bowl went the diced meat, sliced carrot and chopped onion just covered in water and seasoning, then when they were cooked tender (about an hour or so) lots of diced potato added and stirred in and back into the oven. When they were cooked (another hour), finally the suet crust on top (luckily not that long to cook as the smell from the kitchen was making everyone hungry) ... by then most of the water had evaporated off and the crust soaked up the rest so the ingredients were moist but not swimming in gravy. Traditionally served with red cabbage (don't ask me why it had to be red) The point I was making earlier though is that it wasn't so much the cost of the ingredients but the long cooking process which makes it expensive. I tried making it in the slow cooker (obviously not the crust) and it wasn't the same - I think the flavour and aroma was down to the slow (dry) oven cooking and the inevitable browning which added to it.
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Re: Half term meals.

Post by Mo »

True. And in rented accommodation you might be cooking without an oven, Baby Belling or the equivalent. Slow cooking will warm the kitchen, so in winter the fuel gets used twice which is fine for those who can afford to do it. Like buying a bigger pack is usually cheaper than a small pack, so those who have money can save money.
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