UK School bans packed lunches after review suggests they are unhealthy

[The Straight Story]

Free school meals offered instead following controversial advice picked up in bid to boost healthy eating

Urswick School students. Photograph: The Urswick School

A Hackney school has reacted to the government’s school food review by banning packed lunches and introducing free meals.

The Urswick School in Paragon Road, off Mare Street, is the latest to have taken the advice of two founders of the Leon restaurant chain who want to promote healthy eating by increasing the take-up of school dinners.

The review, supported by Education Secretary Michael Gove, appealed to headteachers to reduce the price of school meals after finding that the food parents were providing was not as healthy as the food on offer in school canteens.

The Urswick School’s headteacher Richard Brown will go a step further by making the meals free for students from years seven to 11 from the start of the new school year, and this will be paid for by income generated through lettings of school properties on evenings and weekends.

Mr Brown said: “We know that many working families are struggling during difficult times at present, but may not qualify for free school meals. We want to ensure that our students learn effectively and feel that the best way to do this is to provide them with a healthy lunch.”

http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2013/07/19/urswick-school-bans-packed-lunches/

[LWolf]

1. It doesn't say what the schools serve

that make them better than homemade lunches.

[Cairycat]

2. I've been a lunch lady for

eleven years ... I know what I serve and see what kids not getting school lunch bring. The lunches brought from home are very rarely healthier than what is on the hot lunch menu.

Lunchables, "fruit" roll-ups and "fruit" snacks, sickeningly sweet yogurt in tubes or cups, candy, "juice" drinks, oversized servings of potato chips and other salty snacks, packaged cookies - I see a lot of these in kids' lunches. I do see cut-up fruit, baby carrots, but not nearly as many and not always eaten.

Our district's lunches usually have two vegetables, one fruit (each child must take at least one of those), and a main dish, which usually has bread or other carb source. Here is more detailed information on the current requirements: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/he/newfbmplunch.asp

I don't know how school lunches in the UK are, or how the home-packed lunches were. At least they are offering free meals. Kids do better in school if they're not hungry.

Edited to add: in my district we serve dessert 2-3 times a month. The kids complained at first, but now they're used to it and don't really remark on it, the same as when we went to almost exclusively whole grains for bread, pasta, and rice.