School meals in Poland

This isn't... real life. You do realize that, don't you?


you can't do anything to me... you do realize that, don't you?

Don't answer... you are too boring to interact with...

Maffy, are you having a bad day again ?


Of course.
Same in the U.S. as we didn't have all the commercialized foods back then that we have today.
Meat, potato's and green beans but what kid wants that today when there is Pizza Hut and McDonalds filled with taste enhancers.
How many parents even cook at home today ?

A project I'm familiar with for single mothers in a deprived area of Leeds did something similar. There was a budget for some training, and what they wanted was to learn simple dishes and to know what was good; they had no real idea of nutrition and the project was a success.

Education is the key; this however has to be widespread and sustained in order to be truly effective.

See that's a big cultural (practical) difference... I can't imagine Polish parents grabbing a frozen pizza as a regular thing (though things might be different for the youngest parents)... I had the impression that the ready made crap starting to clog up Polish stores is more for working singles...

In English speaking countries cooking tends to be perceived as menial work and cooking for the sake of cooking has more... importance in the Polish scheme of things.

Maybe not pizza but I know for a fact that many working mothers buy readymade versions of Polish staples because they don't have time to cook them from scratch. They also serve a lot of pickled and tinned veggies rather than fresh and they do a lot of fried food because it's relatively quick to make.

Well pickled veggies are very healthy (store canned... not so much though home-canned aren't bad).

Polish cooking has long been fry heavy (partly maybe because that crappy PRL ovens were unreliable and cooks rarely found them worth using... I wondered why there weren't more baked/roasted types of dishes in Poland until I tried using one of these things... not encouraging. Ovens have improved a lot, but it takes time to catch up.

A difference might be that young Polish women can generally cook if they want/need to. A whole lot of American women... can't cook (cooking was kind of collateral damage of feminism) can most young-middle aged Irish women cook?

Yes, in general they can. They did a survey a couple of years ago as it's an area that is starting to be researched and found that most Irish women could and did cook. But things are changing. People aren't picking up their cooking skills at home so much. I suppose they watch TV chefs and use the internet or cookery books and go to cookery classes. When I was a kid, I never 'learned' to cook, I just picked it up from watching my granny (she lived with us) and my mother. I cooked my first Sunday lunch, roast stuffed chicken with roast potatoes, homemade gravy and all the trimmings when I was thirteen. My mum was in bed with flu and I just copied what I'd seen her do, with a bit of running up and down stairs to check with her about find details :))

About the Polish one - what worries me is the lack of fresh fruit and veggies again. Some of those drinks are also quite strange, especially in the morning - what's wrong with plain water? I also have doubts about those afternoon 'meals' - why are they doing so many blended drinks when a piece of fruit would do the same job?

The English ones: not particularly happy with them as well. There's cake/sweet stuff daily, while I'm really unimpressed with the idea of serving up lasagne to small kids. There's also a lot of bread there - and we all know how chemical British bread is.

@delphiandomine
Kids get fruit and veggies for free in Poland. There's that UE programme.
Don't you have it where you teach?

You know, I've taught in three schools, and every time, I notice that it's badly implemented. I keep trying to convince colleagues that the deal should be that the fruit/veggies should be offered after the first break, so they get used to fruit/veggies as a snack. Will they listen? Nope. :(

Right now, despite my best efforts, what happens is that they're given the fruit/veggies at lunchtime.

Actually kids I know get them after the second lesson in the schedule.

I'm not so much of a fan of that, because (at least where I work), there's a 15 minute break between 9:30 to 9:45 so they can eat their second breakfast. They're probably not going to touch fruit/veggies then :(

@delphiandomine
So when's the right time if not the breakfast break?
Some start at 9 so it'd be funny to start your school day eating. And if they get their fruit before 10, they can have it then or leave for later as not everyone eats school lunch.

Yes, it is suspicious. I look at it and am thinking of my kids - they would eat about 50% of dishes in it. Buckwheat? Sorrel soup? Forget it. Ours are quite fussy (or normal considering other kids in Poland) . That is why we have never sent any to school canteens - they have always had lunch/obiad at home.

I'd be inclined to give it to them at the first break, but you're right, some kids start later. Meh, no good answer that would cater for everyone :)


From the school I work in, I'd estimate that a lot of food gets wasted as well. I had one chat with a parent about it, and his exact words - "we eat food from around the world, yet my child goes to school and the only thing on offer is bland, tasteless rubbish".

That has also been my observation both from my young days as a student and later on as a teacher. Most kids have certain taste preferences and the menu in Polish schools is too limited, l mean the choice of one, two dishes for a day is a silly idea. We need to develop canteens which offer much bigger selection, like in a real diner in town. Then kids can choose what they really like. But that requires funding which is unavailable right now.

restaurants waste massive amounts of food....

I didn`t know about it. I worked in eateries but that was 30 years ago. Don`t the staff in restaurants eat the food that is to be wasted anyway?

Anyone but mostly Atch:
My friend has a problem. Her kid has rotten teeth (and it went also on her few adult teeth). The kid has
School meals and every day something sweet. The mother asked multiple times but the only response was that she will feel bad if she is the only kid without something sweet. What can she do?

The mother has to put her foot down. Whom has she been speaking to? Catering staff, class teacher? She needs to speak directly to the principal, if she hasn't done so already. If this were 'the west', I'd say that she should tell the principal in no uncertain terms that as the child's mother, she is the final authority on what her child is allowed to eat and the final authority on her child's mental health. However, this being former PRL territory, I would suggest t that mother tries to get a letter from the child's dentist saying that she is not to have sweets or sugary dishes in school.

Sorry, I was assuming this was a friend in Poland! If it's the UK, give the principal an earful and if that doesn't work, get the letter :))

From what she said she spoke to the class teacher. After one conversation she picked up the kid early next day (doctors appointment)and the girl run out with a piece of brownie in her hand.

I will suggest the principal then

Is it Poland or UK, Lenka?

It's in UK. I was actually quite surprised she wasn't listened to.

So am I - it sounds as if the class teacher is either young and inexperienced or not very well trained or a combination of both. Is she a fully qualified teacher, I wonder? Sometimes when schools are short-staffed, they take on people who have a degree but are not properly trained primary school teachers.

I told her to tell the teacher that if the kid was allergic to something she wouldn't let her have it just so she is not sad, would she?

And the kid is 7, she is big enough to understand!

If it's the UK, it's likely that it's the dinner ladies being twats about it. They're notorious for having very funny and specific ideas about how children should eat, and the teacher might feel as if she can't overrule them.

Your friend should write a formal letter to the headteacher, informing them that she's not to be given dessert or other sweet food due to her dental condition, and that she requests a reply confirming that this will be implemented immediately. Simple, straight to the point and no ******* about.

I will let her know that putting it in writing might be a good option.

The thing is the kid already has a problem and not addressing it will only make things worse.

She needs to be very firm - that it's against the orders of the dentist, and if it's not resolved, then she will hold the school accountable. If you want, let me know and I'll write the letter for her - I'm a master in the firmly worded letter ;)

A reminder that the title is "school meals in Poland"

This is what I mean about inexperienced or inadequately trained teachers.....people think teaching is just about delivering a curriculum but it's really all about relationships and handling people. As a teacher you have to balance the children, their parents, your colleagues, support staff - including getting along with dinner ladies, school caretaker, cleaners (who can be quite prickly) and your principal.

A reminder that the title is "school meals in Poland"
The query by Lenka and the advice given, could apply as easily in Poland, perhaps even more so. School menus here contain a lot of desserts, but even worse, sugary drinks and compotes which are hugely damaging to teeth, With no healthy eating policy, parents who are concerned about their children's diet might well have to approach a class teacher of school management about it.


Yup, that's the bottom line. The difference between the UK and Poland, is accountability. In the UK, the mother would have a legal case against the school if her child's teeth are being damaged and it would be an easy enough matter to pursue it and get it resolved in her favour. In Poland, that right might exist on paper but good luck with spending years trying to sort it out. The child would probably be in college by the time it came to court and schools know most parents won't bother. In Poland, the 'confrontation' method, where you rant and rave at the principal and she responds with an outraged 'prosze Pani, blah, blah' before backing down is the best approach, coupled with letter from 'person of authority' ie dentist, saying the child is not to have sweeties.

Except she'd presumably know how to handle the situation in Poland (short version: like you said, start getting in their faces....)