All primary school children in two areas of the UK will from today (3 September) get a free lunch under a GBP40m (US$65m) two-year trial scheme backed by the Government.
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A free “healthy” lunch will be provided every day throughout the school year as part of the Government’s bid to reduce childhood obesity.
All secondary school pupils eating school lunches will also from today get a “healthy, nutritionally balanced” meal including vegetables, salad and fruit as “new nutrient standards” come into force in secondary and special schools.
The pilots in Newham and County Durham come a week after research by the School Food Trust (SFT) finds that one in five parents on low incomes are not checking if they are eligible for free school meals.
The measures are designed to get all children developing healthy eating habits, so that they are encouraged to eat school meals from a young age throughout their school life and are not tempted to eat junk food when they reach secondary school, the Department for Children, Schools and Families said.
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By GlobalDataSchools Secretary Ed Balls said: “Eating a nutritious meal at lunchtime from a young age can help improve the behaviour of children in school and at home – that’s why these pilots are so important. Healthy school meals are vital to helping children do well at school and to prevent obesity.
“We want to make sure that children are getting a healthy, balanced meal at school which is why we have introduced the new nutrient standards. Teenagers are the hardest group to reach but that doesn’t mean giving up, we must simply work harder to encourage them away from the take-away and into their school canteen. The Government is creating a legacy of healthy eating in children from a young age so by the time they reach secondary school they are more likely to want to eat a school meal.”
Health Secretary Andy Burnham said obesity is the biggest health challenge the UK faces, with 1.5m children now overweight or obese, leaving an increased risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease later in life.
“Nutritious school lunches can make eating well a healthy habit for life. The measures announced today are an important part of our work to tackle childhood obesity, alongside the national Change4Life movement and our new ambition to move from ‘relegation candidates to play-off contenders’ in the international physical activity league tables.”
The website’s ‘school lunchbox nutrition study’ claimed that parents are “obliviously” packing their children’s lunchboxes with foods “laden” with fats, saturates, salt and sugar but low in nutrients.
