Can you believe it? After all of that huge hoo-hah about healthy kids school meals and the phenomenal campaign by Jamie Oliver to introduce fruit and vegetables to British school dinner tables, figures from the LACA (Local Authorities Catering Association) in Britain show that only four in ten pupils now eat the healthy lunches provided by their school, the lowest consumption of school meals since their provision was made mandatory way back in 1944. So it seems that after a massive advertising campaign and a whopping £235 million being spent on improving the quality of school meals the little buggers would prefer to either bag their lunch from home or buy a takeaway. Not surprising really, why would they want to conform to Jamies school dinners program during the day when they are probably going home to an evening meal of chicken nuggets and chips or take away curry? In fact resistance to the new lunch time standards became hysterical at one stage when two Rotherham mothers created a fast food delivery service for pupils at the Rawmarsh Community school, passing cholesterol laden burgers and jacket potatoes stuffed with fatty toppings through a fence to the kids that still wanted their fast food fix at lunch times. Nowadays 2 years after Jamies campaign and with a nearly 30 percent drop in school meal consumption the School Food Trust is taking it all very seriously and have revised the original guidelines to include some amendments to be introduced in September this year. While still committed to healthier menus, these new guidelines will relax some of the strictest standards put in place, including the current ban on soft drinks. So does this mean that Jamies Campaign has failed? I suppose you have to start somewhere don’t you, but it does show that take away our choices completely and many of us just want what we can’t have.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Jamies School Dinner Program a Big Fat Flop?
Can you believe it? After all of that huge hoo-hah about healthy kids school meals and the phenomenal campaign by Jamie Oliver to introduce fruit and vegetables to British school dinner tables, figures from the LACA (Local Authorities Catering Association) in Britain show that only four in ten pupils now eat the healthy lunches provided by their school, the lowest consumption of school meals since their provision was made mandatory way back in 1944. So it seems that after a massive advertising campaign and a whopping £235 million being spent on improving the quality of school meals the little buggers would prefer to either bag their lunch from home or buy a takeaway. Not surprising really, why would they want to conform to Jamies school dinners program during the day when they are probably going home to an evening meal of chicken nuggets and chips or take away curry? In fact resistance to the new lunch time standards became hysterical at one stage when two Rotherham mothers created a fast food delivery service for pupils at the Rawmarsh Community school, passing cholesterol laden burgers and jacket potatoes stuffed with fatty toppings through a fence to the kids that still wanted their fast food fix at lunch times. Nowadays 2 years after Jamies campaign and with a nearly 30 percent drop in school meal consumption the School Food Trust is taking it all very seriously and have revised the original guidelines to include some amendments to be introduced in September this year. While still committed to healthier menus, these new guidelines will relax some of the strictest standards put in place, including the current ban on soft drinks. So does this mean that Jamies Campaign has failed? I suppose you have to start somewhere don’t you, but it does show that take away our choices completely and many of us just want what we can’t have.
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