Helen Jones

Labour Party | Warrington North

SCHOOL MEALS

Some you may have read that I recently instigated a debate on school meals in the House of Commons.  I was helped in my research for the debate by students at William Beamont High School who kept food diaries for me and by St. Paul of the Cross Primary in Burtonwood where the children told me what they liked to eat and the kitchen staff were very helpful in talking to me about what they do.

I asked for the debate because the diets of many of our youngsters are likely to cause them problems in later life.  They eat a lot of highly processed foods,  high in fat and salt,  together with lots of fizzy drinks loaded with sugar.   Many of the protein portions of meals actually contain very high amounts of breadcrumbs,  rusk,  raising agents and water.  Most youngsters don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables although,  perhaps surprisingly to some people,  the primary aged children I spoke to said they enjoyed eating things like baked potatoes,  pasta and fruit. 

Why does this matter?  It matters because the diet of many of our children puts them at risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes in later life.  They also face an increased risk of stroke because of the high salt content of a lot of food,  together with the lack of fruit and vegetables.

In other words,  we have a health timebomb which will cause a lot of suffering and a huge cost to the country in the future.  I believe that government should start with the part of children’s diet which it can influence and that is their school meals.  So I called,  in the debate,  for better nutritional standards for meals,  a greater use of fresh food and a national minimum standard for free school meals.  At the moment,  the value of a free school meal ticket or its equivalent varies from one local authority to another and,  in most secondary school canteens,  it is not sufficient to pay for a healthy meal.  Put simply I believe our young people should be offered a wider,  healthier choice at affordable prices.

Of course,  there is a cost to all this but I believe that if we do not meet the cost now,  we will pay a lot more later.  So the real question is whether we are prepared to invest in the health of our young people.

I would like you to let me know what you think should be done about school meals.  You can contact me:  by writing either to Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington, WA2 7JQ or the House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA; by telephoning 01925 232 480; by faxing 01925 232 239; or by e-mail to jonesh@parliament.uk