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In the last 50 years we have moved from “mother”
being totally responsible for 90% of the meals and snacks
in the family to today’s situation where, although she
still has considerable influence in the family eating patterns,
she is no longer in sole control; each individual member of
the family can exercise their own preference on his/her food
consumption.
School meals have always been an emotive topic. Many people
feel they ‘endured’ this culinary experience of
the school day and recount various humorous stories but it
is has all been ringing a little hollow in recent years as
children for too long have selected a diet high in fat, sugar
and empty calories.
School catering has clearly not been considered a “cool”
subject over the years even amongst nutrition professionals.
The mere mention of ‘school meals’ used to result
in a look of distain from those who should know better and
there appeared to be a distinct disinterest in the subject.
This seemed rather surprising as many of these professionals
were already treating the obesity, heart disease, diabetes
resulting from long term poor food choice
Basically this whole area has suffered years of neglect with
few people taking responsibility. It’s almost as if
the problem would go away by itself. Those who have put pressure
on the Government have in large been ignored. But this long
term problem is entrenched in history. School meals came about
in 1906 with the passing of the Education (provision of meals)
Act, allowing local education authorities (LEAs) to provide
free meals for poor children.
After the First World War over a million children were eating
school meals and by 1947, the full cost was met by the Government.
Everything was looking good for the health of the nation till
the price of the meal gradually increased. In 1978 it was
estimated that the cost of producing school meals (traditionally
“meat and 2 veg plus sweet”) had reached £380
million. This was deemed too expensive and there was a swift
reduction to £190 million – almost halved overnight!
School milk had already been taken away in 1970 and with
this additional cutting of monies, the door opened to the
cash-cafeteria system and convenience food. It was downhill
from then on…1978 to 2006 ….28 years of poor quality
food provision in schools with limited choice, high plate
wastage and loss of money. Children usually opted everyday
for chips with everything!
In fact as the 1980 Education Act gave the LEAS power to
stop providing school meals, a packed lunch was the only viable
option for most children. Other alternatives proved to be
the local chip shop or the ice-cream van outside the school
gate! One ‘friend in the kitchen’ visiting a school
in South Manchester observed nearly 50 children queuing outside
the chip shop for their lunch. The number easily doubles at
4 o’clock in the afternoon.
But at last! … some action regarding school meals.
The Government has been promising since 1997 to do “something”
but it took Jamie Oliver to finally bring it to the Nations
attention. People were asked to sign a petition demanding
more money for school meals and a ban on junk food in school
canteens. This was presented to the Prime Minister indicating
the level of discontent, 271,677 signatures. Now the minimum
nutritional standards have been reintroduced after being thrown
out 6 years ago, much to the anger of nutritionists and many
others.
School meals is now receiving £220 million (2005-2008)
in transitional grants to improve their nutritional quality.
Is this enough? Not really it equates to an additional £2000
of funding to every secondary school with 1000 pupils over
three years. What can chefs provide for that amount of money?
In France the average amount spent on the school meal is
between 60-70p. In Italy the schools have to provide organic,
quality food on the menu and spend 70-90p per child. Children
in Spain often take the school meal list home at the start
of the week with suggestions for the families evening meal
so the diet is nutritionally balanced.
A survey by the Soil Association in March 2006 revealed that
75% of councils in the UK spent less than 50p on school meals.
(Greenwich, Redcar and Cleveland, Birmingham and Rotherham
spending only 37p) Hopefully this will now increase to 50p-60p.
But the general concern remains that the extra money is not
‘reaching the plate’
Hopefully, happier and healthier children able to concentrate
on their school work, maintaining a normal body weight with
an interest in the food they eat. Children may have the confidence
to try new foods and they may even enjoy the eating experience.
For the lunchtime meal it’s farewell
to Turkey Twizzlers (how did they get on the menu in the first
place?), fizzy drinks, crisps, chocolate, sweets and deep-fried
food. Hello to good quality
chicken, meat and fish; minimum of two portions a day of fruit
and vegetables and chips only served twice a week. Ideally
the meat and fish should be bought locally and preferably
come from an organic source.
The vending machines say good bye
to sweets, crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks including the
low calorie drinks and instead provide seeds, nuts, fruit
juice, yoghurt and water.
This all sounds great however it is not easy. The focus has
been on implementing the new recommendations within the school
and the possibility of a black market developing for sweets,
confectionary and crisps in the playground. Even if good food
is provided will the children eat it? The teachers want the
parents to be on board and improve the quality of food in
the tuck boxes they provide from their own kitchen.
One example of community success is in Essex where 25 schools
work with a local farm and the school meal uptake has increased
by 38%
It is some measure of success that Jeanette Orrey, as a school
dinner lady, has been seconded part-time to the Soil Association
(responsible for determining the organic status of our food).
The Soil Association has School Food Awards (in partnership
with Organix) which donate £5000 for kitchen equipment
if the whole school reflects the food for life programme;
£2500 for inspirational education about food; £2500
for delicious food and food understanding and this year a
new award for a School Food Hero.
www.soilassociation.org
Cooks in Schools is a charity established in 2004 by Rose
Gray (of River Café fame) to encourage healthier cooking
in schools and to give grants to schools wishing to make the
changes. Gray acknowledges the crisis in the kitchen and wants
to raise the profile of the school cook and develop training/kitchen
support.
www.cooksinschools.org
The Caroline Walker Trust, established
in 1988, has been asking for changes in school meals for many
years, well before Jamie’s publicity. They have produced
an excellent report entitled ‘Eating Well at School’
focusing on nutritional standards for food provision in schools.
www.cwt.org.uk
Jamie’s ‘Feed Me Better’
campaign has an interesting factoid. “There are around
110,000 school dinner ladies in the UK. On average they earn
only £82 per week”. That’s not a lot for
feeding all those kids. Jamie puts forward a five step manifesto:
1) The Meal the Deal
2) Ban the Junk!
3) Big love to Dinner Ladies
4) Teach Kids about Food
5) Double the money
According to Tony Blair….”Jamie’s programme
has brought into focus what everyone in their heart of hearts
knows if you feed children decent food you are more likely
to get responsible children who are healthier and fitter”
Read all about it at www.feedmebetter.com
The Food Commission has a programme for secondary school children
via the web called ‘Chew on This’ which informs
teenagers about processed food and the marketing techniques
used to promote them. It has a great list of websites on food
related topics for young people. The regular newsletter from
the Food Commission is highly informative on all aspects of
food and nutrition.
www.foodcomm.org.uk
The Women’s Institute has a long
standing commitment to improving the nation’s diet and
in 2003 expressed their concern for childhood obesity and
the provision of cooking and nutrition education fro children
in schools. They want members to sign a petition to support
political action.
www.womens-institute.org.uk
The Children’s Food Bill which
is due to be debated on June 16 2006, is coordinated by the
Sustain organisation and you can sign up and join in.
This Bill aims to:
Protect children from the marketing of unhealthy food
and drinks products
Ban the sale of unhealthy food and drinks from school
vending machines
Introduce mandatory nutrient and quality standards for
all school meals
Ensure compulsory food education and related practical
skills in the national curriculum.
Place a duty on the government to promote healthy foods
to children, such as fruit and vegetables. |
This initiative is asking for a new law not more voluntary
agreements which have had limited effect on the food advertisers.
www.sustainweb.org.uk
‘Food in Schools’ is a
programme linking the Department of Health and the Department
for Education and Skills, aiming to help schools implement
a whole school approach to food education and eating. They
are developing a whole range of nutrition-related activities
and ensuring the children have access to healthy food. They
state, from a range of reports, that:
In a typical week, 1 in 5 children
eat no fruit at all
8% of children have nothing to eat before school
(and this increases as the child gets older)
58% of children would like to be taught to cook at school
When we are thirsty, mental performance deteriorates
by 10%
37% of children said they would select healthy foods
at school if there was a better choice available |
www.foodinschools.org.uk
We hope to extend this section further as the school meals
debate heats up!
Email Friends
in the Kitchen with your views and opinions about school
meals and memories you may have of food at school and we will
include your comments on the site.
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