Is It Just Me: Who Actually Thinks Free School Meals for Young'uns is a Good Thing?

In fact, I think it's such a good idea, I nearly fainted when I heard it had come from the Lib Dems. Frankly its the only good thing I've heard them spout since they came into power on the coat tails of slimey Dave not being popular enough to win an election outright (how right we were voters, eh?).

I've seen a few people suggest it's a ludicrous idea. Where will the funding come from? Why should all children receive it when some parent's are easily able to afford a lunch? What if the children don't like the food? 

My feeling of positivity towards it comes from experience.

Mini is, by design, a fussy eater. I have blogged about it a fair few times over the years of writing about my girlie. One week she will happily eat a certain food. Next week, she suddenly hates it and it would be a fate worse than death or the removal of her Little Mix album and Doctor Who books to eat such a disgusting thing.

Or, at least, it was.

Since she started having regular school meals, the peer pressure thing- not obvious in its effect to the child- of seeing other children who she likes demolishing a meal at lunchtime was enough to help ease her into eating more and more types of food. 

From a child who wished to eat nothing other than the odd sausage, chicken nugget (although made by me) or bowl of pasta, we now have a curry loving, chicken and bacon lasagne scoffing, mash potato lover. The only item she wont eat is mince.I can live with that (and slyly give it to her in home made meatballs and burgers).

Not only that, she eats vegetables like sweets. Yes, actual vegetables. 

Another reason I hope this isn't just Clegg's way of looking good pre-election and trying to come up with a reason to say "yes we were part of the ConDems who have made most folk destitute but we wanted to feed kids" is for that reason- the amount of people who previously managed to get by and who, down to the ConDems has now ended up living on hand outs from local food banks.

You only have to look at the latest Kelloggs cereal campaign, which begs of us to buy their cereal so they can in turn provide 2 million children with a free breakfast, to realise that children are going hungry left right and playground. I cannot begin to imagine not sending my pair in with a breakfast inside their tummies, but such is the current climate that is simply a burden a possible 2 million (or maybe more) parents face each day. 

If that is the case, surely to fund this idea (as that is all it currently is) perhaps companies like Tesco, Kelloggs and others who all have massive profits each year, could be called upon to help out. Blimey, the CEO of British Gas and some of the banks could probably feed every kid from infants to uni and then some on their combined bonuses alone.

The thing that makes me uncomfortable is that in our western world, we now have to feel that there are children going hungry. Yes, it will benefit the children of well off folk who don't need food at school not provided by their parents. However, if this is the price we have to pay for all children to have a decent hot meal inside them, assured 5 out of 7 days a week bar the holidays, than count me in to support it.

What do you think? Good idea or pie in the sky election hunting? Let me know below.