Clearly these people are idiots.  I've only read a few articles about it - in FIL's Express for example.  They do seem to be saying that things like jacket potatoes are very expensive in the schools though, compared to the cafe down the road, (which does make one question why they don't buy them one there raher than go for junk food!).  It's important that healthy school meals are reasonably priced to avoid such accusations.  Why the heck don't they just make some good packed lunches though?

If the school dinners at this school are such a problem why dont the mothers send their kids to school with a packed lunch? Ok some packed lunches are still packed with rubbish but surely much better that pie and chips every day.

Were they not standing in a graveyard when they were passing the food though the school fence?  Shows that they don't seem to have respect for the death or the living. 

What I don't understand is that if the headteacher wanted to put a stop to this he could.  At my daughter's primary school there is a clause in the home-school agreement saying that parents are not allowed to stand by the fence to talk or hand things to the kids during school times and the children are not allowed to approach anyone standing by the fence.  This rule has nothing to do with school dinners, it is a simple safety measure because you never know who is out there.

Also doesn't a school have a duty of care?  If my children were handed food through a gate by strangers I would not be very impressed.  I don't want to sound dramatic but what if a child catches something serious like E-coli and dies?  Then who is responsible ?

I have the impression that in some cases unfortunately the problem seems far greater then school dinners, imo schools where this sort of things are happening have a massive discipline problem.  What is wrong with simple rules and boundaries?

Like most people in this forum I was also enraged by the news of these stupid mothers who were passing junk food to their children through the school fence.  It wouldn't surprise me too much if they were just after the publicity, wanting to get into the papers and the news - HOW SAD!  What they do not realise is that it's going to cost them (and sadly also their children) hard with all the opposition from the school and most other parents.  The fact that these mothers were also passing junk food to other kids is UNFORGIVABLE and, in my view, should give the school enough reason to expell their children.  Maybe these mothers should be given a doctor's assessment on what that food does to their children and shown how much it will affect (= decrease) their kids' life expectancy.

I believe that thanks to Jamie's campaign an enourmous amount of progress has been made and I have to say that in both my kids' schools the changes to healthier food (although from the children's point of view with some strange combinations sometimes) has been well received.  I think that the message that what the children eat affects not just their health but also their behaviour is slowly getting through.

I understand that the cost of school dinners is an issue to some families from poorer backgrounds, but I don't think that bringing down the cost of school dinners is the solution to the above problem.  After all the cost of
school dinners is very reasonable and I don't think the dinner ladies will manage to continue providing healthy meals if the money that goes into the ingredients gets squeezed even further.

I was absolutely fuming hearing about those women.  How stupid can people be? Here is someone who is relentlessly campaigning for the good of our children, someone who has done more good for them than most MP's have ever done and who is opening the eyes of most parents.  Someone who is working hard to spread a message to everyone which needs to be heard.  Along comes some ignorant people who do their best to undo it all because they're too small minded to see the good.  There is NO excuse for handing children junk food through the bars.  If the children are not eating properly at school, then you give them packed lunch or insist they come home for lunch until the school sorts it out. 

As for parents moaning about 'having' to feed their children healthily..pathetic.  Crisps, sweets, fizzy pop, chocolate..it's all unnecessary.  When push comes to shove, it's easier for someone to throw in a lunchables and a pack of crisps with a kit kat and a can of coke than it is for them to think about what they are doing. Peeling a carrot, chopping up cucumber sticks...buying more than one variety of fruit...is it really that hard to do?! Pure laziness.


Message for Jamie if you ever read the messages on the forums...

Keep up the good work.  We need more people like you who are willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in.  You are making a difference, despite what a minority have to moan about.   I have noticed a vast improvement in the school dinners at my daughter's school and while there's still room for improvement (ie ban the chips full stop, remove the pizzas even if they are only once a week), overall the menu is much healthier and they make a point of providing home cooked food now.  Give yourself a huge pat on the back because you're making a difference to the way our children are being cared for, which can only result in healthier and happier children (and grown ups!).  Well done x