Campaigners at the Children’s Food Campaign have welcomed Government initiatives to improve the quality and take-up of school meals, but called for more investment on school facilities so that all pupils have the opportunity to enjoy hot midday meal freshly prepared on site.
Campaign Coordinator Christine Haigh said: “The new rules on school food are good news. Jamie Oliver showed us what happens if you do not have rules on the quality of school food. If these new rules were removed, we’d soon be back to Turkey Twizzlers again.”
She also welcomed the Government’s pilots of free school meals for all: “All the evidence shows that providing free school meals for all has wide ranging benefits, from improving children’s eating habits and behaviour to reducing health inequalities and reducing childhood obesity. It’s great to see the Government are seriously considering this policy, and that children in these two areas are already benefiting, as well as places like Islington – but we’d like to see every child across the country benefit in the same way.”
The Children’s Food Campaign has long been highlighting the benefits of healthy school meals, and embraces the initiative to trial free school meals for all primary school pupils in two areas of England and the introduction of standards in secondary schools to ensure that older children are provided with the same standard of healthy food as primary school children have been receiving for the last year.
