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School Lunch Take-Up has 'turned the corner' - but more to do
Dated: 09/07/2008
School Lunch Take-Up has 'turned the corner' - but more to do
Ministers vow ‘no let up’ in healthy food revolution and creating a ‘dining culture’ in schools.
New £6m investment to raise take-up announced and £46.9m grants to revamp school kitchens confirmed.
Secretary of State Ed Balls and Children’s Minister Kevin Brennan today vowed there would be no let up in the Government’s efforts to cut childhood obesity, as the latest school food-take up figures were published today.
Mr Balls said he was determined that every school should have a proper ‘dining culture’ where eating a healthy lunch is seen as normal by young people – particularly the 230,000 children eligible for, but not claiming, free school meals.
It comes after the Government published its obesity strategy, Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, in January, which aims to reduce the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000-levels within 12 years.
The figures from the 2007-08 local authorities survey published today by the School Food Trust (SFT) and Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) show:
- Over three million children are eating school dinners daily – an increase of around 50,000 extra pupils over last year;
- 43% of primary school children have school lunch – a two percentage point rise, compared to a one percentage point fall last year;
- 37% of secondary school children have school lunch – a 0.5 percentage point fall compared to a steep five percentage point fall in 2006-07.
Ministers also announced an extra £6 million over the next three years to promote healthy food to young people and raise take up – on top of the £21 million funding settlement the School Food Trust got in March.
And they confirmed grants totalling £46.9 million to build new school kitchens in 15 local authorities, with a high proportion of schools with no cooking facilities. This was the first funding committed from the £150 million school kitchen fund first announced last autumn.
Mr Balls said:
“We’ve turned a corner in primary schools and the steep fall last year in secondary schools has been halted. This is a testament to the hard work of catering staff on the ground.
“But we know there is still a huge job ahead. The School Food Trust is making good progress and I know it will now redouble its efforts – in particular ensuring that children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who need it most, are not missing out on a free healthy meal every school day.
“We must stop the rise in child obesity and I make no apologies for banning junk food forever and introducing tough nutrition standards.
“Unhealthy eating is ingrained in society so this has to be a long-term project – as Jamie Oliver himself has acknowledged. You are not going to get young people in secondary schools out of the chippy and eating school lunches unless schools, parents and children are pulling in the right direction.
“This is not some impossible dream. Hundreds of schools are leading the way in creating high quality food in a proper dining culture, with high-quality canteens; stay-on-site policies where possible; good lunchtime organisation, including cutting queues by staggering lunch times; effective diet and nutrition education; and actively involving young people in drawing up menus.”
Catering Costs
Mr Brennan added:
“We recognise caterers’ concerns over rising food, fuel and labour costs. The key to generating more income for caterers is more children eating lunches – that’s why we put such an emphasis on raising take up.
“Rising food prices is a global issue which affects everyone. We are investing over £650 million ringfenced cash in school lunches by 2011, including £240 million over the next three years specifically to keep prices down – on top of record levels of school funding.
“The fact is that a two-course school lunch, made from healthy ingredients, represents real value for money – less than the price of a supermarket sandwich or a daily diet of junk food. Lunch costs are often subsidised and fixed for a year ahead, so parents can budget ahead, unlike groceries in shops or packed lunches.
“The SFT is doing a massive amount of work to help caterers – run their services even more efficiently, with better training and procurement. We are investing £4 million in the School FEAST network of training centres and setting up the first ever negotiating body for support staff pay and conditions – so school cooks’ hard work is fully recognised.”
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