You can't be foster parents because you’re Vegetarian


Family who wanted to give a boy a home are ruled out by their Diet You can't be foster parents because you’re Vegetarian But if you'd been gay, single or jobless...no problem! By Neil Sears Daily Mail 25 March 2006 Source: Daily Mail Picture Happy Home: Dolly and Jake Saunders WHEN Paul and Dolly Saunders heard a call for new foster parents, they decided to open their hearts and their home. The couple felt their cottage with a half-acre garden, a rope swing and a tree house was the ideal refuge for a child. So they were astonished when their offer was rejected - because they are vegetarians. Their local authorities had said all applicants were welcome, including same-sex couples, singles and the unemployed. Mrs Saunders, a trained chef with a state-of-the-art kitchen, said: 'I was shocked because we're not sandal-wearing vegans who don't even eat honey because bees might have died. 'I'm well aware of good nutrition - but the council said a child might feel uncomfortable living with vegetarians.' The couple, both 43, thought fostering would be the ideal opportunity to provide company for their ten-year-old son Jake. 'There has been a lot of advertising about the desperate need for foster carers in West Sussex -particularly for children aged 11 and over,' Mrs Saunders said. 'We live in the country, and have a suitable spare bedroom for a boy who could live with us instead of in a children's home.' They filled in a one-page application form and mentioned that they did not eat meat - thinking it would make no difference. 'I said we would be happy for a foster child to eat meat at school, friends' houses or restaurants, but do not want to cook meat at home,' she explained. West Sussex county council social worker Maria Parslow then wrote to the family last month, saying: 'You have confirmed you would not allow any foster child to eat meat in your home. 'In the circumstances your application will not be taken forward.' Mrs Saunders has catered for vegetarians including singers Sting, Bob Dylan and Paul Weller, actors Steve Martin and Richard Gere, and athlete Carl Lewis. Last night, she and her husband spoke of their disappointment at their £750,000 three-bedroom home in the village of Kirdford, near Billingshurst, West Sussex. Mrs Saunders, now a part-time florist, said: 'It would seem that to become a foster carer it is acceptable to be single, gay, lesbian or living on benefits, but not to be a happily married heterosexual couple who choose to be vegetarians.' The Saunders were not motivated to foster by the money -around £150 a week, she said. 'Yet the council are quite happy to have people on benefits fostering for the money, despite the fact that the children are not in a particularly good environment and eat burgers and chips every night.' If Jake's friends come to play, they eat vegetarian sausages and mash and 'don't even know the difference', she added. Paul Saunders, who provides lighting for the music business, said: 'I don't think the council should base their decision on diet - and anyway, ours is perfectly healthy. Jake is built like a rugby player.' A spokesman for the council said: 'We have many foster carers who are vegetarians who will serve meat and fish. 'Mr. and 'Mrs Saunders stated that they would be unable to offer this degree of flexibility.' Yesterday a council spokesman said its guidelines were being revised and the Saunders' application could be reconsidered. Two years ago the Labour-run Greenwich council in London was accused of 'barmy' political correctness when it insisted that two children were adopted by lesbians because their mother was in a same-sex relationship. Couples have also been told their home is 'too remote' for an adopted child, or that they are 'too middle class'.
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