I need to declare an interest here as I am a board member for the School Food Trust, but I am a huge fan. I think the Trust has achieved an amazing amount in the short time it has been set up. It has put in place nutritional standards that mean the substandard school meals we use to get pre 2005 are now illegal. It has helped schools realise they have a clear responsibility to provide decent school lunches. It has made the case in a scientifially robust manner that children who eat well perform better in the afternoons. The "Let's Get Cooking" programme has allowed thousands of some of the most deprived schools to run terrific cookery clubs - passing on the message that well prepared fruit and veggies can be tasty.
Yete despite these achievements it's work is not yet done. The number of school meals sold needs to rise. We know that school meals contain significantly more fruit and veg than the majority of packed lunches. Getting more children to switch from packed lunches to school meals would be an easy way to improve children's diet. School meals will only be economically viable if the majority of children choose to eat them. Economy of scale would mean that caterers could use their greater buying power to get great deals and keep costs down. Good school meals really act as a challenge to our poor food culture that allows kids to be fed crisps and sweets for lunch.
Waiting to find out what the future will now hold.NB The views expressed here are entirely personal and are not in my capacity as a board member.
