Janine
Thank you. That is what I was trying to get out LOL.
I am not the teenager but I have one.
All things you want to put forward for the canteen have to go through the P&C (parents and citizens) meetings and believe me they are not always productive.  I think but don't quote me, that private schools fall under their own rules about canteen.

Hi all,

this is my first post on this forum.

please note i am a genuine person and i am not trying to advocate what these parents did, however i would like to say something from this side of the fence.

I run a award winning fish & chip shop in the midlands, we work very hard to reduce fat and increase quality of our product , over the last five years we have also reduced the number of school children coming through the door, i honesltyu beleive that my product is not bad for any one and fish and chips is a staple meal which people should be able to enjoy on a regular basis..

i dont agree with the F&C , burger shop that provided these mothers with these meals especially when they knew who and what it was for.

At our shops we now have started to get rid of processed foods like, nuggets , chicken burgers and fish cakes and replaced them with Homemade Fish Cakes ( made with real fish, fresh boiled potato and fresh herbs like parsley), home made whole fillet nuggets and chicken burgers. we have also localised our burgers from a award winning butcher and got a higher meat content sausage which is the highest available in our trade.

i hava had enough of the bad reputation that fish and chip shops who target young children on their lunch breaks and mothers who feed them.

it needs to stop..

im not to sure if jamie oliver reads this forum however you can all know that i and alot of other Fish and chip shops care about this situation..

i am passionate about my trade and i we have reduced the fat and salt contents by alot , in comparison with the other meals people choose to eat.

what do you members think ?

stelios

Stelios - every thing you say you're doing sounds good.

Esin - I do not know what sort of home you have - but have you tried growing some plants in pots? Herbs and Tomatoes grow really well in pots, as do some lettuces (you can grow two or three varieties in one pot).

If you have a sunny balcony or courtyard area it is possible to grow quite a lot.

This may ease the pain.

Last edited by sadie-hoshi (Fri 08 Jun 07 4:02am)

hello, bacalau!

it sounds like a great job you have been doing for your costumers and your fish and chip shop.
there is absolutely nothing wrong with fish and chips.
i used to live in the uk for more than three years. and i loved it.
(i love just about everything that me and my family so call 'very british' and one day we will return for good.)

the problem these days is not the possibility to get all the 'unhealthy' food.
but the problem that many parents don't teach the kids anymore how to eat properly. they often don't know it themselfes. but they do notice that something is going wrong.
and instead of sweeping in front of their own door, they blame everybody for the dirt, except themselfes.
fish and chip, burger, asian....

it's not the fact that these (and your) restaurants exist, but the fact that people are 'abusing' them in a mannor that leads to unhealthy eating.

it's saving the time to shop, prepare, cook, clean the dishes and the kitchen, too.
this is what children learn these days. not how to shop, how to chop or how to clean the dishes. but how theget satisfied with as less effort as possible.

so being aware that something is going totaly wrong, they never blame themselfes.
why should they? if there is a fish and chip shop around to blame?!

in my eyes blaming you for serving what you advert at the shop door, is absolutely wrong 
they should blame themselfes for consuming it to such an extend. and not  teaching their children any better!

as to esin
yes you are right. as long as the processed food (with all the work and artifical stuff, that stayes behind it) is cheaper than buying fresh unprocessed food it ist hard to get around in a healthy way with a low budget income.

but that makes it even worse that the schools are serving such a crap.
school meals should be the same for all kids, but with income depending prices. this way the costs will not burst the budget. neither yours nor the schools.

and yes, some parsley in the window and a few tomatos in a flowerpot are nice to have and handy. but it will not make a meal for a child. not every day....so in my eyes, too this is only a little 'fun' on the side. and not realy a choice to the school meals when you depend on them.
but try to shop at the fresh market. that realy can be a alternative. at least for vegetables and fruits. and sometimes even for meats.
and you might have a chance to get lower prices. there should be one close to you at least once a week.
i used to make deals....
for exaple: one offeres potatoes 3 kilos for a pound. you ask him for 6 kilos and offer him 1,50.....it often, not always works. and such things like potatoes, carrots, apples, oranges a.s.o. you can store for a while.
short before closing the market, on cold rainy days when no one goes out. this is when you can get realy good deals.
i know that. i used to shop on snatterton market. every sunday 

w.k.r.

gipsybunny