News

Health of schoolchildren put ‘at risk’

The health of schoolchildren is being put at risk because of the poor nutritional content of some school meals, says the recently launched School Meals Campaign.

The campaign blames government penny-pinching over the schools meals budget, which has fallen by on third in real terms over the past decade. In 1981 the annual allocation was £179 per child. By 1989 this had been cut to £119. It is also concerned at the falling take-up in school meals — both free and paid for — throughout the 1980s.

Campaign co-ordinator Caroline Mulvihill pointed to confusion in government policy on this issue. ‘The green paper The Health of the Nation sets targets for healthy eating and for the health of children, yet fails to connect the two, she told healthmatters.

It was the government’s own 1980 Education Act which abolished national nutrition standards and price controls for school meals, and allowed schools to abandon meal provision except for children entitled to them by law.

The campaign’s charter calls on the government to reintroduce nutritional guidelines and to provide adequate resources to ensure that school meals are available to all children.

School Meals campaign, 102 Gloucester Place, London W1H 3DA. 071 935 2099