Primary school kids being fed 'muck off a truck'

Primary school children are being fed the equivalent of "muck off a truck" and prison inmates are getting more funding for their lunches than primary pupils, the Soil Association claimed today.

According to the group's report, 'Food For Life', which is published today, the government has "failed" to ensure primary schools meals are healthy and nutritional. The daily amount spent on each child’s school lunch can be as low as 31p, compared with around 60p spent on a prisoner’s lunch, the report has claimed.

As a result, low quality processed food - such as breaded fish or chicken shapes - dominate school meals which are often high in fat, sugar and salt.

The association has called for "radical changes" such as new nutritional standards for school meals, doubling the amount spent on ingredients and sourcing healthier meals from organic suppliers.

Obesity in children used to be rare but now nearly 10% of six-year-olds and 15% of 15-year-olds are severely overweight. Diet-related illness is a greater problem than smoking, costing the NHS at least £2.5 billion every year, the association claimed.

In Scotland, an extra £63.5 million is being spent over three years to fund a programme of school meal reform and the report said that a similar initiative should be set up in England and Wales and estimated that this would require at least an additional £200 million a year.

Peter Melchett, the Soil Association’s policy director, said: "All too often, children at primary school are fed muck off a truck. The government acknowledges there are problems and must as a first step bring back quantified nutritional standards for school meals."

Prior to publication, the Soil Association met Education Secretary Charles Clarke whom they claimed was "generally supportive" of the group's suggestions.

The Soil Association has written to 50 major food companies that supply food to schools asking them to agree to a code of conduct stipulating, for example, that "potentially harmful food additives are not included in food destined for schools".

(gmcg)