It has been 20 years since Jamie Oliver’s school dinners. The government has just announced they’re focusing on them again.
Wasn’t the problem fixed back then?
Before Jamie’s highly successful campaign to improve school food which played out on TV, young people were able to buy chocolate bars, fizzy drinks, and endless chips for their school lunch, thanks to the nutritional standards being relaxed in the 80s. In 2015, the government introduced the School Food Standards. This included a limit to fried and processed food, and restrictions on sugary drinks and desserts. The trouble is, this hasn’t been monitored and standards have slipped!
Can we blame the catering companies? Our general food environment makes it very difficult for young people (or any of us) to make the right choices. How many of us when confronted with a slice of pizza or a chilli con carne with only 30 minutes to eat it and catch up with friends will choose to sit down and eat a hot meal? They also have to be lucky enough to find a seat in a canteen designed for holding a quarter of the number of students.
Catering companies have a very tight budget for school lunches and being private companies, also expect to make a profit. If they’re making a large pot of chilli con carne but most of it is thrown away, they’re going to want to play safe and offer more pizza.
If young people want to choose unhealthy food, surely, it’s their choice?
At the moment a third of children leave primary school with overweight or obesity.
Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions among 5 to 9 year-olds.
Diabetes UK estimates that 12.1 million adults in the UK are living with diabetes or prediabetes, and a quarter of deaths in the UK each year are caused by cardiovascular disease.
50% of the UK diet is made up of ultra processed food while this is as much as 80% for young people. Evidence shows eating ultra-processed foods has a negative impact on our health and our brain function. Away from school, young people are bombarded by junk food advertising, there are a disproportionate number of fast-food shops near schools, and they have apps on their phones which send offers at 3:15pm for junk food. It’s difficult to resist – and eating this type of food is now normal where it may once have been a treat!
We learn many of our eating habits as a child which we take with us through life. At school, lessons teach healthy eating, then students head for the canteen to find a sea of beige.
As a parent ambassador for the Children’s Food Campaign, I have campaigned locally and nationally for better school food. I was lucky enough to speak to MPs at a government round table about updating the school food standards with other organisations campaigning for better school food. Along with the updated School Food Standards, I’d also like to see more training given to catering and school staff so they can better support students to make healthy food choices.
The government is currently requesting public feedback on their review of the School Food Standards. To respond to the survey, please visit the government’s website here.