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[Joyce]

I donate to food bank up here.  As for gastric bands for 13 year olds. 

[CLKD]

Well - I could cut childhood obesity within a year - do not allow schools to sell off for building their playing fields; encourage children to do sport; make all parents walk their children to school; have proper school meals cooked by proper kitchen staff; ban fast food outlets  ……. we rarely had obese children in our school!

We have just seen an advert for a loan company and the payback of %%%% is probably 1 of the reasons why parents have no money  - it's tied up so they have to go to food banks 

[Taz2]

Good ideas CLKD but totally unworkable I would say! How do you force parents to walk their children to school and then give them enough time to walk home again and get to their place of work on time? Also what are "proper" school meals? I remember our school dinners being full of fatty meats and stodgy puddings!

I know a few families in our area who use the food banks. Lots of info here http://www.trusselltrust.org/how-it-works

Taz x

[honeybun]

Parents are so very stretched these days. Too much to do and not enough time to do it. Until you have had to get kids up in the morning, washed dressed, breakfast, packed lunch and then into school in time .....if you have not done it then it's difficult to understand just how hard it can be.
Also the pure cost of food is such an issue.....do you buy a bag of apples or a packet of biscuits that fill them up more and cost far less.

I was very very lucky as a stay at home mum and even then kids were hard work but some young mum's deserve a medal.

We did not have the same entertainments that kids have now so we went out to play. There also was not the perceptions of danger that mean parents keep kids very close to home. Not every child has a garden to play in.

The reasons go on and on.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

Buy less, eat less.  Filling foods i.e. sponge pud with syrup will keep the body stoked for hours.  Going back to my Grandparents' years when there were less 'convenience' foods and basics could be bought in the village …… or the van would arrive with bread/fish/meat etc..  Always handy. 

We had 2 miles to get to school so Mum had to get us up and out …….. in the dark and home in the dark at this time of year  ……… we had School dinners      I remember the only thing I liked was chocolate semolina but because I HATED the vanilla version I wasn't allowed ends of the chocolate type     â€¦â€¦.. and a quick meal at 5.00 p.m. usually boiled egg or beans on toast or fish fingers in the Winter.  Thick slices of home made fruit cake filled us up.

We played outside too.  Cycles. Roller skates. Scooters ……..

[Ju Ju]

My children lived 2 miles away from school, but walking there when there are no pathways and the lanes are narrow, and traffic....... No chance!

My daughter struggles financially, but they have a healthy diet. She buys carefully, keeping to her budget and cooks from scratch. She puts me to shame. She learnt how to budget at uni.

[Mrs January]

Hi

I know some health professionals who have to access food banks for clients on their caseloads ...ensuring that they keep going. Here in Norfolk some families have fuel poverty too as places heated by oil and can be expensive.

My angel boy use to cook from scratch all the time and shop late in the day when foods were reduced. he was amazing and said he learnt skills from me.......

Mrs January xx xx

[CLKD]

We should ignore food use-by dates too 

[Limpy]

We should ignore food use-by dates too 

Wish you would come and tell my OH that.
Tonight he insisted on throwing out some dried "herbes du provence" (spelling?)
Mind you the use by date was end of 2012............ 

[CLKD]

Herbs when dried can't go off  - how would he have survived in the Meadeval times 

The things I tend to throw are yoghurts - but only when they have gone a little mouldy ...

[Limpy]

I totally agree and had said as much.
However, he had thrown the herb jar in the pedal bin - full of fluid from defrosting pork steaks.
Didn't seem appropriate to retrieve herbs   

[CLKD]

   …….

[Hurdity]

We have a food museum in our house....... Yes - we totally ignore sell by and use by dates and use common sense depending on the food! We've just been making bread with 2 year old flour.....(never opened).

As for Food Banks - I am absolutely horrified at how big and mainstream they have become and how many families have to rely on hand-outs as essential in 2014, and especially those who are working too. It is shocking and I think down to a combination of low wages, zero hours contracts - and most of all the cost of housing which is now out of control both rented and house prices. I think it is immoral that there are so many landlords making huge profits out of an essential need - a roof over your head - while people can't afford food. I have donated to the Trussell Trust but at the same time I am angry that it has to exist!  . I feel the same about food waste and sell-by dates and supermarkets, as well as the hospitality industry. Surely someone could come up with a better way of redistributing food as well as doing something about housing?

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

No Council housing any more.  Once those were sold off  …….. and rental is so expensive!

[honeybun]

The herbs at that age would be fine if probably tasteless. Herbs loose flavour as soon as you grind them. Two year old flour will have had flour mites/beetles in it but  no doubt  it gives an extra crunch 

Think you have to use common sense when it comes to use by and sell by dates. Fish meat and chicken also eggs and milk products it's best to keep to the dates. Canned foods without a doubt should be used before the date on the can. Veg fruit and salads can be used safely if it looks ok.

The dates of some stuff is there for a very good reason. We should not ignore all if them.

There is a small amount of social housing being built up here. Not nearly enough but at least it's something.


Honeyb
x