Health and Nutrition
Cost of school dinners a struggle for many families
Low-income families struggle to afford school meals and often cannot provide healthy packed lunches because they do not have a car and are restricted to shopping in local convenience stores, says a new Ofsted report.
The study's findings will anger child poverty campaigners who have criticised the Government for scrapping plans to extend the free school meals entitlement (News, 10 June).
In the report, Food in Schools, based on visits to 39 primary, secondary, and special schools, Ofsted said that low-income families who were not eligible for free school meals had to budget carefully to pay for school dinners, especially if they have more than one child. One family, cited in the report, had to arrange for their two children to take turns to eat a school meal on alternate weeks.
Low-income families who opted for packed lunches were often limited to cheap food that was unhealthy, often because of a complex set of local circumstances and not because the parents lacked commitment.
Parents also complained about a lack of advice on how to produced balanced and affordable packed lunches. Ofsted recommended that school governors, parents and local retailers work together to provide children with healthy food at a low cost.
Chief executive of the School Food Trust, Judy Hargadon, said, ‘We know some families do find school meals expensive, especially if they have more than one child at school, and our research shows that school food take-up is also particularly sensitive to price rises. It takes a lot of time and effort to make packed lunches that give children the same level of energy and nutrients as the average school meal.’
She added, ‘With one in five children overweight or obese when they start Reception, it’s clear that getting children to develop good food habits and eating a balanced diet from an earlier age is critical for their growth, development and engagement with healthier school food.’
