Furious parents blast claims by Welsh Labour that children are turning down free school meals because they prefer processed foods instead

• All primary school pupils in Wales are to offer free school meals under scheme 

Parents have hit out Labour claims children are turning down free school dinners because they prefer processed foods – and say they want to offer more choice.

All primary school pupils in Wales are to offer free school meals under a new scheme brought in by the Welsh Government.

However the Labour-run Monmouthshire County Council says almost a quarter of children are not accepting a free meal under the new scheme – and that many prefer processed foods.

Other reasons given for children turning their noses up are portion sizes and a lack of choice for pupils.

Leah Campbell, 25, says she chooses for her son, Noah Bushell, six, to have free school meals as he really enjoys them and also gets more variety into his diet. Leah pictured with her daughter Ayla Cocks

Grandmother Melanie Vaughn, 66, from Cardiff, has three grandchildren aged 10, seven and six in primary school

Cardiff is among the local authorities which have partly started the scheme by offering pupils from reception to year 4 free school meals.

And parents at Lansdowne Primary School in Canton, Cardiff, say they chose to give their children packed lunches to offer more variety in their diet – not because their children eat processed food at home.

Dina Varsani, 37, has one five-year-old daughter in the 454-pupil primary school who is entitled to free school meals.

She said: ‘She chooses not to because either there isn’t enough of a meal and she’s quite hungry afterwards or the options, as we’re vegetarian, are not that great. It’s not something we would offer at home – so she’s never been exposed to it.

Rebecca Warren, 39, a cook at the school, has two children, aged eight and 10, who only have school meals

Dina Varsani, 37, has one five-year-old daughter in the 454-pupil primary school who is entitled to free school meals

‘The days that she did used to have it, it was like little pizzas and little mini bread rolls and she wasn’t really keen – so we tried. We’ve sort of cycled out of it – and now she has packed lunches.

‘Also, kids are complicated. They don’t like saucy food and stuff, they don’t like it together – so serving her a Quorn curry with everything mixed together is not ideal for her. She would eat it if it was all separated.

‘It’s things like that which is more of an issue, rather than ultra-processed food at home. It would probably be more variety, ethnicity and cultural and that sort of stuff, rather than frozen food and stuff like that.’

The Welsh Government rules mean all children should be given the same portion size of food – regardless of whether they are four or 11 years old.

But Dina found that a packed lunch was far more filling and offered her daughter more of an option – as they needed to bring food with them for her to have a snack when she was picked up at the end of the day.

Monmouthshire council officer Debra Hill-Howells also said the Welsh government’s rules on same size portions was also contributing to food waste.

‘It is a frustration for us and frustrates the older learners who are not getting enough and it is too much for some of the younger ones.’

Grandmother Melanie Vaughn, 66, from Cardiff, has three grandchildren aged 10, seven and six in primary school.

Melanie says that one of her grandson’s is a fussy eater, and that’s why his parents provide him with a packed lunch – while the other two ‘really enjoy’ the school meals.

Commenting on parents being accused of feeding their children processed food at home, Ms Vaughn said: ‘No, my son and daughter-in-law eat really healthy.’

Two mums who wished not to be named said their children switch between packed lunches and free school meals throughout the week.

Parents at Lansdowne Primary School in Canton (pictured), Cardiff, say they chose to give their children packed lunches to offer more variety in their diet – not because their children eat processed food at home

All primary school pupils in Wales are to offer free school meals under a new scheme brought in by the Welsh Government

One, a mother-of-one said: ‘Personally, for me, I think it’s the variety – I cook everything from scratch.

‘I have no freezer food, so if I’m late from work one day and I don’t fancy cooking, there’s no other option – I have to cook because that’s what I’ve planned.’

The admin assistant, with a seven-year-old in primary, said: ‘I think that’s a very unfair assumption on parents, because not everybody does processed food, but at the same time not everybody has the means to buy fresh all the time – because fresh and healthy food is expensive.’

She added that parents being blamed for children having processed food at home is ‘really out of order.’

Another mum-of-two said her children have school lunches for part of the week – and packed lunches for the remainder.

The charity worker who has a six and nine-year-old said she does this ‘to give the kids a bit of a variety because sometimes what’s on the menu at the school, they don’t fancy if for that day.

‘I think when it’s warm as well, you don’t really want a hot meal.’

Rebecca Warren, 39, a cook at the school, has two children, aged eight and 10, who only have school meals.

She said: ‘I find we have more children in our kitchen than in packed lunch – they seem to love the food.’

She added: ‘My kids don’t eat processed food – I like all the fresh stuff, so yeah they love it. We’ve got cakes back on the menu so they love that.’

Leah Campbell, 25, says she chooses for her son, Noah Bushell, six, to have free school meals as he really enjoys them and also gets more variety into his diet.

The mum-of-two said: ‘My son has school dinners. He’s also quite fussy with food. I find in school he’s a lot better at trying new things.

‘He tries a lot more things than he did in the last few years – things like mash, he’ll actually eat that now. But he will eat a lot more things like that now and it’s easier, a lot easier.

‘Otherwise he’d only eat ham sandwiches. So it’s a lot easier.. and gets a lot more variety.’

A spokesperson from Cardiff Council said: ‘In Cardiff the universal free school meals scheme for primary aged children is provided to all pupils from reception to year 4.

‘Council teams continue to work hard to increase catering capacity and put provision in place so that free school meals can be rolled out to the remaining primary year groups against the target dates, as soon as schools are able to do so.’

Any changes to menus have to adhere to guidelines set by the Welsh government.

A government spokesperson said: ‘Our regulations and guidance set out the type of food and drink which should be provided to ensure children and young people have a healthy balanced diet while encouraging them to develop good eating habits.

‘Our guidance contains information on suggested portion sizes which differentiate between primary and secondary settings.’

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