School Dinners

[Will]

I saw on Midlands Today, that a lot of children are rejecting the new and far healthier meals now being offered throughout the midlands. Preferring to buy junk food out of school, or bring in pack lunches of far less healthier food. Some schools and drastically in the red as a result, and may have to put up prices as a result.

A lot of this is a direct result of Jamie's school dinners. His trial schools if I remember had the same kind of problems, but the schools persevered, and got the kids on the healthy food.

I'm wondering if anyone here's has first hand experience of the situation, and what they think is going wrong?

[Shizara]

Haven't got first hand experience but do you think it might be a case of "shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?" Kids have been weaned on and fed a steady diet of junk and to a lesser or greater degree are going to be addicted to it. Therefore, short of any initial novelty value, they are resistant to the healthy alternative? On that basis I think we "reap what we sow". Force feeding the healthier alternative likely won't work, perhaps they need weaning on to it.

Of course, I might be "barking up a gum tree" completely.

[Steve W]

I personally think the buck stops at the parents. If a child is used to eating decent dinners at home, then when it comes to school dinners, they will actually look forward to a nice healthy meal. Well, that's my opinion anyhow.

[optrex]

Interesting view Steve. Our kids can chose between shcool meals and packed lunches and often vary which option they have. With packed lunches we can control what they have in their diet, with dinners, they choose on the day. If chips was on the menu every day I'm sure they would have that for "ease" and speed so thay could get out and "play".

Our eldest, having just moved up to high school, had pasta bolognaise for the first 3 weeks, until we found out she was too scared to ask for anything else!

Peer pressure can also have a big impact on their choice during the school day.

[Steve W]

Very true, peer pressure can effect the choices our kids make. Our little boy choses to take a packed lunch every day. I make him sandwiches (usually ham or beef), and he also takes a yoghurt/fromage frais, a biscuit and a little box of raisens At the moment I don't think he'd choose chips if he had school dinners because he really isn't a big fan of chips or fries. He doesn't even eat them if we go to McDonalds.

[optrex]

Thats funny cos my lad prefers carrots to mcD's fries too - lol

[Steve W]

Lets be honest, their fries aren't the best. Better than Burger King, but not great all the same.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Steve W

I personally think the buck stops at the parents. If a child is used to eating decent dinners at home, then when it comes to school dinners, they will actually look forward to a nice healthy meal. Well, that's my opinion anyhow.

I don't know why the government/local education authorities bother. Following Jamie Oliver's campaign, schools started providing healthier food; a few months later, we see mums taking orders off their kids for greaseburgers and fish & chips for their little darlings' lunch. Wasn't it originally a public outcry that forced schools to provide healthy food in the first place? A case of damned if you do, damned if you don't....