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Takeaway takes on school meals
8:59am Thursday 26th June 2008
Comments (46)A ROW has broken out over a takeaway meal deal targeted at hundreds of York teenagers on their lunch break.
Concerned parents with children at All Saints' RC School have contacted The Press to complain about a cut-price "School Kids Deal" at Fryways takeaway in Blossom Street, York, within easy walking distance of the school and Millthorpe secondary school.
Between 11.30am and 2pm the takeaway is offering chip butties and sausage and chips at £1.75, under cutting the price of school meals at £2.05, and angering teachers, keen for pupils to have healthier dinners on site.
There are about 1,102 pupils at All Saints' RC and 1,012 pupils at Millthorpe.
One All Saints' parent, who did not want to be named, said: "I am concerned that a shop is deliberately targeting youngsters and encouraging them to eat an unhealthy lunch, particularly as the school is doing it's best to encourage pupils to eat healthily."
All Saints' head teacher Bill Scriven said he has yet to visit the takeaway to take the matter up with management, but he is frustrated by their stance.
He said: "The school, like all schools, has a healthy eating policy which we have worked hard to put in place and this action flies in the face of that.
"It really is very frustrating and is making things very difficult for us, because it is a huge temptation for the children."
Mr Scriven said children at the school's lower site stay in school at lunchtime and the increase in uptake of school meals had been noticeable, but children aged 14 and over can go off site at lunchtime.
The school canteen offers a range of menus with everything from roast chicken, spaghetti bolognese and salad or jacket potato, with chips served once a week.
Mr Scriven said the menus had been carefully crafted in conjunction with pupils on the school council and the cooks take pride in their work.
Fryways manager, Yilmaz Haeag, defended the meal deal which discounts meals from their standard price of £2.30 for sausage and chips in sauce or chip butty and sauce from £2.55, to £1.75 each.
He said: "We are using healthy ingredients, all the food is cooked in vegetable oil and the chips are made from fresh potatoes. The drinks in the offer are not fizzy drinks.
"We think pupils should have a choice."
This comes as obesity figures in York show that nearly one in ten city children are obese by the time they start primary school - a figure that almost doubles by the time they reach secondary school.
The statistics, which show 8.4 per cent of reception class children and 15.6 per cent of Year 6 pupils are obese, were revealed in The Press in February, following the city's first-ever mass weigh-in of children.
Of the 1,900 pupils in the city aged ten to 11, some 296 are now classed as obese, with 266 being overweight.
Your Say YourYork Press
Gypsy, Netto says...
9:08am Thu 26 Jun 08
Avid Reporter, Selby says...
9:09am Thu 26 Jun 08
Mike, York says...
9:10am Thu 26 Jun 08
All except sixth formers should be kept on the premises during lunch break. the choice should be school meals or packed lunch.
This would also reduce littering, anti-social behaviour and afternoon truancy.
bobby_spray, york says...
9:17am Thu 26 Jun 08
The school should not be letting 14 year olds out to play amongst the traffic on Blossom street. They have duty to supervise the pupils during lunch break and cannot fulfil that duty from the staff room.
It's a school not a prison ffs
little1, york says...
9:18am Thu 26 Jun 08
my opinion, york says...
9:26am Thu 26 Jun 08
Angry and Frustrated, York says...
9:35am Thu 26 Jun 08
Also, when I was at school, it was a suspendable offence to leave the school grounds during school hours without a note either from my parents or a teacher. In response to the "it's not a prison ffs" posting - there has to be a way of monitoring which children are in school etc - if there was not and there was fire in the school, say at a lunch time, how would they know which children were on the premises ffs?!!
Chris, York says...
9:38am Thu 26 Jun 08
petethefeet, York says...
9:48am Thu 26 Jun 08
At the end of the day, it's up to parents to decide what the kids eat and not the schools. Agreed, we should all promote a healthier lifestyle but there are better ways of doing this than imprisonment. As avid reporter said, all that's required is a means for parents to pay the school directly and thereby ensure that their intensions are not subverted.
Rob Marley, Haxby says...
9:51am Thu 26 Jun 08
In many parts of the world, people would be greatful for a warm meal be it fatty and fried or not.
We've all got to die of something. Eating has been a media hot potato for years now. Don't do this, do that, eat this etc.
We're all going to die in the end, accept it. You may prolong your life by eating better but a couple of extra years at 75, what use is that?
bobby_spray, york says...
9:53am Thu 26 Jun 08
Your argument about safety is preposterous. I take it that you are caged inside your office at lunchtime (just in case there is a fire).
What about kids who go home at lunchtime? Either sometimes or all the time, How would you cope with this in the event of fire? Freedom to choose anyone?
Rob Marley, Haxby says...
9:57am Thu 26 Jun 08
bobby_spray wrote:Bang on! This is all a case of media-hyped politically correct eating gone mad.
Angry, I don't know where you went to school (East Germany perhaps?) but when I was there all the kids were allowed to do as they please at lunchtime. Eat chips, pizza or whatever takes their fancy, walk into town and generally have a break. The school meals were appalling and from what I hear they still are. Your argument about safety is preposterous. I take it that you are caged inside your office at lunchtime (just in case there is a fire). What about kids who go home at lunchtime? Either sometimes or all the time, How would you cope with this in the event of fire? Freedom to choose anyone?
Better not breathe, it might make you older. What? It does? We die? What about my human rights? And the right to choose? And moan? And my entitlements? Worth nothing? You don't say!
ennoch, York says...
9:59am Thu 26 Jun 08
BL, says...
10:09am Thu 26 Jun 08
D Armstrong, York says...
10:12am Thu 26 Jun 08
D Armstrong, York says...
10:12am Thu 26 Jun 08
avidreader, York says...
10:12am Thu 26 Jun 08
tombo, york says...
10:15am Thu 26 Jun 08
Its called parenting.
Papa Lazarou, Walmgate says...
10:26am Thu 26 Jun 08
platform 9, york says...
11:02am Thu 26 Jun 08
bjc, York says...
11:06am Thu 26 Jun 08
Kids, and adults for that matter, have eaten chips etc since they were first invented and will always do so. The answer, surely, is moderation.
We don't live in a dictatorship ( well not quite!) and to suggest that a shop selling takeaway food should alter it's menu to suit parents is a nonsense.
Take some responsibility for your children's eating habits ( and behaviour ) and stop expecting others to do it for you... pathetic.
MikeyFul, York says...
11:18am Thu 26 Jun 08
MikeyFul, York says...
11:19am Thu 26 Jun 08
tombo wrote:Ye Ha exactly!
Well done parents why not try a new menu. Its called parenting.
my opinion, york says...
11:21am Thu 26 Jun 08
platform 9 wrote:and discarded food ,you can feed 4 kids on 1 portion they give out at the bridge chippy,
I've not a problem with the kids eating out at lunch time, what I have a problem with is the discarded wrappers, cans and bottles thrown in my garden after they have eaten. I live on the Canon Lee to Crichton shops route and you can follow the litter trail all along it!
lis, york says...
11:29am Thu 26 Jun 08
Brian, york says...
12:01pm Thu 26 Jun 08
platform 9, york says...
12:31pm Thu 26 Jun 08
my opinion wrote:I'd agree with that!
platform 9 wrote: I've not a problem with the kids eating out at lunch time, what I have a problem with is the discarded wrappers, cans and bottles thrown in my garden after they have eaten. I live on the Canon Lee to Crichton shops route and you can follow the litter trail all along it!and discarded food ,you can feed 4 kids on 1 portion they give out at the bridge chippy,
No News Is Good News, York says...
12:50pm Thu 26 Jun 08
Stevie in Selby, Selby says...
12:50pm Thu 26 Jun 08
You only need to look at the large groups of kids hanging around shops at lunchtime, most of them smoking, many of them dropping litter, to see that schools who allow kids off-site unsupervised are failing in their duties to the students and to the community.
AdmiralN, York Centre says...
12:54pm Thu 26 Jun 08
lis wrote:Ha, i bet your little angel is outside the newsagents cadging ciggies as you type!!
the kids don't have to go out for their lunch all the parents have to do is send in a packed lunch or pay for a school dinner. My child wouldn't be wondering around blossom street with money in their pocket. Anyway with reference to the meal deal all chippys do this there not on their own. Good advertising in the press though!!!
Angry and Frustrated, York says...
1:04pm Thu 26 Jun 08
bjc wrote:I agree wholeheartedly with this and that was the point that I was trying to make. The fact that parents have the cheek to complain is ridiculous!!
The responsibility for eating 'unhealthy' food lies with yourself - not a school or a shop owner. These kids are of secondary school age, are capable of making choices and knowing the consequences. Kids, and adults for that matter, have eaten chips etc since they were first invented and will always do so. The answer, surely, is moderation. We don't live in a dictatorship ( well not quite!) and to suggest that a shop selling takeaway food should alter it's menu to suit parents is a nonsense. Take some responsibility for your children's eating habits ( and behaviour ) and stop expecting others to do it for you... pathetic.
"Angry, I don't know where you went to school (East Germany perhaps?)" Filey actually.
"Your argument about safety is preposterous. I take it that you are caged inside your office at lunchtime (just in case there is a fire).
What about kids who go home at lunchtime? Either sometimes or all the time, How would you cope with this in the event of fire? Freedom to choose anyone?"
Actually, we have to sign out so that in the event of a fire, they know I'm not in the building.
However, you are missing the point. These are CHILDREN we are talking about - last I heard, they should do what adults tell them. To follow your comment to a logical conclusion, you are saying that no parent has the right to make a child go to bed, do his/her homework etc, let alone stop them from leaving the house in the middle of the night.
If you cared to read my posting correctly, I said "without a note from a teacher or parent". If a child was going home for lunch, it is assumed that they would have the requisite note from the parent.
Again, following Bobby Spray's argument to its conclusion,, how many parents reading this would be happy to know that their children are not monitored in any way and are free to roam round town during the school day? Not many I suspect!
petethefeet, York says...
1:16pm Thu 26 Jun 08
my opinion, york says...
1:33pm Thu 26 Jun 08
we were allowed out of school at lunchtime every school even at junior,no big deal, obviously its not good to eat chips everyday but since when did kids listen to advice? , you cant blame the chippy though, theyd go there anyway so at least their getting some extras for their money while there running these deals,
AdmiralN, York Centre says...
1:39pm Thu 26 Jun 08
Thats what my friends used to do.
yorksonlyteam, Chester says...
1:41pm Thu 26 Jun 08
At least they're only crossing one busy road going there, surprised that wasn't brought up!
LilyThePink, York says...
2:00pm Thu 26 Jun 08
I'm actually quite a healthy person now and so would probably be horrified if my son did the same! I'm such a hypocrite, along with most other parents who try to make their kids choose healthy options! Mine's on pack up so he has no choice!
thin libby, york says...
2:31pm Thu 26 Jun 08
ouserower, york says...
2:58pm Thu 26 Jun 08
tonesview, york says...
3:02pm Thu 26 Jun 08
my opinion, york says...
3:02pm Thu 26 Jun 08
AdmiralN wrote:lol, with us itd be the odd iced finger from thomases in town and the odd bottle of cheap cinzano from jacksons
Yes id say that the kids are quite shrewd, shopping around for the best dinner deal and the money saved can go towards a bottle of white lightening or a 'henry the 8th' on friday night. Thats what my friends used to do.
even better when you could cadge a dinner ticket of someone
cynic, York says...
8:40pm Thu 26 Jun 08
cynic, York says...
8:40pm Thu 26 Jun 08
paama, york says...
9:42pm Thu 26 Jun 08
you carry on drinking the white lightning and the henry 8th don't judge people by your standards most people unlike yourself know where there children are if you have any but by your attitude i doubt anyone would be mad enough to conceive with you
paama, york says...
9:44pm Thu 26 Jun 08
you carry on drinking the white lightning and the henry 8th don't judge people by your standards most people unlike yourself know where there children are if you have any but by your attitude i doubt anyone would be mad enough to conceive with you
AdmiralN, Nether Poppleton says...
1:00pm Fri 27 Jun 08
Im actually quite wholesome nowadays, I grown up to have a great job, a big salary, a nice house, a sporty car and a dog and two cats. And im not even 30 yet. I also have a 16 year old brother and know from my own experience that things rarely change, i know full well that the 'partys' he goes to on a weekend involve drinking and maybe even a dabble in light drugs. thats no great worry of mine as he regulary discusses this with me and knows that there is someone out there who will always be in a position to help him out.
Unlike your kids who are so bitter and twisted towards there over protective parents who absolutely know where they are all the time (locked in their bedroom) who cant even look at a page 3 pic without getting the third degree.
I bet your kids hate you deep down for it and it will show when they finally leave for uni see what the real world is like and embrace it with open arms 10years too late because of you!
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D Armstrong, York says...
9:03am Thu 26 Jun 08