Only one in three chooses healthy school meal

The Scottish Government's flagship policy to introduce healthy school meals appears to be foundering, after new figures show that the uptake by pupils has slumped to an all-time low.30-06-2009

Official statistics for secondary schools show that the proportion of pupils who eat school meals has dropped from more than 50% in 2003 to just 39% this year - the lowest figure for a decade. The decline is particularly worrying because it comes as a direct result of the introduction of healthier menus in schools from 2002 onwards to try to tackle Scotland's chronic obesity problems. There was better news in primary schools, however, with 48% eating school dinners in 2009. Last night, a Scottish Government spokesman said Adam Ingram, the minister for children and early years, was writing to all council leaders urging them to support the implementation of healthier menus. Yesterday, John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said providing free school meals for all was the best way to improve health.
Source and to read the full story: (The Herald 24/06/09)
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2516134.0.Only_one_in_three_chooses_healthy_school_meal.php

 

Nigel Denby's comment: It's no real surprise that up take of healthy school meals is better in younger children and of course adds fuel to the Grub4life argument that we need food standrads intorduced for nursery aged children. Surely you don't have to be Enstein to work out that the younger children start eating well- the more likely they will be to continue this habit throughout their adult lives. While we do need the school meal standards for primary and secondary schools- aren't we missing the boat if we forget about the little ones?