Mum defends sending son to school with COLD fast food for lunch

16 November 2019, 10:30

When teachers in Lancashire revealed children are bringing leftover fast-food in school lunches parents like, Amy Mullen, from Blackburn, said they can relate.

"It's hard being a parent," the mum of three told the Daily Mail.

"I can understand why some parents have to give their children fast-food for lunch."

“I’ve had to send my children to school with whatever I could find in the fridge some days.

“Parents who resort to fast-food probably think it’s better to give them something rather than nothing."

Read more: Teachers reveal the worst packed lunches

She explains she can relate if parents are struggling to buy food for packed lunches. “I know I find it hard to budget every month - the money just doesn’t last.

"By the time I’ve done the shopping and paid the bills most of it has gone.”

Read more: Can you spot why a teacher called this packed lunch "unhealthy"?

An unnamed teacher from Lancashire explained when parents send leftover fast food the children are sent for school dinners instead: "I've also had children being sent in with chicken nuggets and an expectation that the kitchen will warm them up.”

Danielle Stewart, whose son is 11, told the Daily Mail she gets why parents do it when they're struggling. But adds, "some people probably need to deal with their money better."

It could also be a matter of taste. “Some kids just prefer fast-food for their lunch to be honest," she said. "Not every kid likes healthy food and the schools can be too strict."

Parents have complained about packed lunch policing in Australia last spring, when in separate incidents a teacher in banned homemade biscuits and another threw out a treat from a child's packed lunch, both saying it wasn't fair on the other students.