http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... althy.html


Simple ban packed lunches. Unless you are willing to get a doctor to sign a certificate recommending special dietary needs then school dinners should be mandatory.

lolwat?

There's no call for two cooked meals a day, and half the stuff they served when I was at school was unhealthy and of dubious origins. I'm sure there have been some improvements, but forcing people to buy meals they don't want is to my mind absolutely unequivocally wrong.



Most people take a packed lunch because it's far more affordable, and mine used to be perfectly healthy. I never had crisps, chocolate, biscuits or fizzy drinks in part because they're too expensive and in part because my parents did not want me to grow into a fat, spotty, sick child with rotten teeth.

There's really not much a school can do if parents are intent on slowly murdering their children. With that kind of parent if they don't do it at school, they'll probably do it at home. Attempting to legislate against ignorance and stupidity will do no good.

Perhaps the answer is health warnings on unhealthy food. Cheese straws and those god-awful "lunchables" could have a spotty lard-arse on, fizzy pop and chocolate biscuits a close up of a mouth full of rotten teeth. Pies could carry a picture of a fat bloke having open heart surgery. All would carry the message "that's you, that is."

At school all I can remember of the meals was a selection of; spam fritters, fish fingers, sausages, beans, mash, chips and possibly some veg that I don't recall. Oh and some nasty warm milkshake type [LIFTED] to drink, or water.

When I had a packed lunch I would have a sandwich, fruit, yoghurt and squash and occasionally a packet of crisps.

Well today school dinners may be healthier but which one of those was healthier?

[LIFTED] off with the nannying. I will feed my child what I damn well please. If I choose to send them to school with a lemonade, that's my [LIFTED] choice.

School dinners ay my first/middle school were really good. It was only when I got to secondary school that they turned into deep fried junk.

+1
Obviously I'd be keeping an eye on what I feed them, but it's my business, not the schools'.

At primary school, I had school dinners. Don't recall much other than I ate everything except green beans and tuna, neither of which I have ever liked. It wasn't superhealthy but it wasn't unhealthy either. We didn't have fried food often - fish fingers and chips was a fortnightly affair. I did have a packed lunch for a short period. Sandwich, crisps, squash drink. Very occasionally a surprise chocolate bar (penguin, club etc).

As above, it was secondary school were pizza/chips/pie was the lunch of choice if I actually ever ate lunch. Sometimes i subsisted on the junk from the tuck shop (which was closed two years after I joined the school).

Sixth form, we were allowed to go to the shops. Obviosuly the local chippy made huge business. Sometimes braggs and we had pixlzza breads/pasties but at no time during my teenage years do I revall having healthy punches.

Problem is, making school dinners mandatory also makes them [Lifted] dinners too. Take away the competition and the companies doing dinners feel no need to put any effort in. I bet if you took samples of school dinners from schools where there is a choice between that and packed lunches compared to ones with no choice (just dinners), the quality from schools with choice will be far better....

I had school dinners through out except at sixth form. They were fine.


Yes but what about the idiots who feed their kids junk and cost you taxes long term to cope with the health impacts of the lunch box generation.

What about them?
If you're going to take that attitude to things you'd have to micro manage everything from a cost point of view.
Want a game of football? That'll be 10p tax each to cover costs of broken legs that other people won't suffer by not playing. etc
You get my point.

I think that school dinners should be of a higher standard and no dessert. That way kids might eat them. jamie Oliver showed what could be done. If it costs a little bit more then slap a fat tax on unhealthy products. Subsidise school dinners as well. The government should consider it an investment in the health of the nation like they consider education an investment in the future workforce.

Which is why they're scrapping tuition fees and bringing back grants. Long term investment in the nation is a top priority for politicians because they care about our children. Aren't we lucky.