School meals on the Isle of Wight
Soil Association report condemns 'muck off a truck'
 A
2003 report by the Soil Association described primary school lunches as 'muck off the truck' and said that whereas the government spends about 60p a head
on prison food, an average of 35p per head is spent on food for primary school pupils across England and Wales. The report argued that the government is
failing to ensure that children are given food that meets its own nutritional standards. The report's authors argued that due to financial considerations
less money is spent on fresh ingredients and school meals are overly dependent on low quality processed ingredients such as chicken shapes. The report partly
links the quality of school dinners to the growth of obesity amongst children and teenagers.
In recent weeks there has been renewed concern about the
quality of school dinners due to Jamie Oliver's Feed
me Better campaign.
Provision on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight Council works with Pabulum, the catering
company which supplies the midday meals to all Island state schools. The two
Island special schools have an in-house catering service. Pabulum have issued
a statement in which they argue that Island school dinners:
- Exceed the government’s minimum nutritional standards for school
meals
- Cost more than double the amount to produce than the average cited in
the report
- are made from local produce wherever possible
According to Pabulum:
- Almost two thirds of the meals provided on the Island are cooked on
site
- Fruit and two vegetables are on the menu every day
- Vegetarian options are available every day
- Fried food is offered a maximum of three times a week
- All schools do their own baking (including bread, cakes and pizzas)
- Food provided is low fat, low salt and high fibre
- Food is oven baked where possible (instead of fried)
- Parents and other visitors are welcome to have lunch with the children
to sample the food offered
- There is a roast dinner on the menu once a week
- Just under half of all Island schoolchildren have a cooked meal at lunchtime
For further information, please contact Jo
Ewell, Monitoring Officer, on 01983 822050, or Di Kennett, Pabulum, on
01983 550230.
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