Teachers reveal worst school packed lunches… with some containing lager shandy, Red Bull and a McDonald’s Happy Meal
Teachers have taken to Facebook to detail some of the worst ever lunches pupils have taken to school
TEACHERS have been revealing the worst packed lunches their pupils have been sent to school with – including one with a day-old McDonald’s Happy Meal.
A child was sent to school in Birmingham with a Happy Meal box which had a cold McDonald’s burger and fries inside.
His gran said it had been bought for him the day before but he hadn’t wanted it at the time and it was a “shame for it to go to waste”.
In another example, a primary school pupil had turned up with only a pork pie and a can of shandy for lunch.
The boy told his teacher in Halifax, West Yorkshire, that he had made the lunch himself because “that’s all there was in the fridge”.
A teacher in Leeds said one pupil had arrived with only a packet of ginger biscuits and explained their mum had simply been “too tired” to go to the shops.
What the NHS recommends schoolkids have for lunch
The NHS gives a number of suggestions and guidelines on their website:
- Base the lunchbox on foods like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes - wholegrain ideally - too keep kids fuller for longer
- If your child isn't keen on wholegrain, try making sandwiches with one slice of white and one slice of wholemeal bread
- Try to keep lunchboxes interesting by using a variety of shapes like bagels, pittas and wraps
- Make food fun as lunches can be more exciting if the child has to put them together, like having foods for dipping and makes a change from sandwiches every day.
- Opt for low fat foods, like lean meats or fish.
- Cut down on the amount of spreads you put into sandwiches
- Always add a bit of salad and vegetables to the meal
- Cut down on the crisps
- Chop up some fruit or peal satsuamas and add those instead of sweets
- Cheese can be high in fat and salt so pick strong tasting ones or go for low-fat varieties
- Get the kids involved in making the lunch - they'll be more likely to eat it if they helped make it
The same teacher also questioned a mum of a pupil who had been given their kid a can of Red Bull and a packed of Monster Munch for lunch.
The mum was told: “He’d had a late night on his Xbox and seemed like he needed a pick-me-up.”
An eight-year-old lad and turned up to school with a can of Dark Fruit cider he had grabbed, not knowing it contained alcohol.
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In one shocking example a teacher told how a child had turned up with no packed lunch or any money for food.
When the pupil was questioned by the teacher he had told them he’d had cereal with water for breakfast as “mum needed the milk for her coffee”.
The teacher, who had been sharing their experiences with others on Facebook, said: “I’m not ashamed to say I cried when he told me that.”