Waging war on junk food

HEAD teacher David Price is adamant.

The crackdown on chips, salt and burgers has heralded a return to "traditional" food after years of junk meals and underfunding.

Mr Price, head at Huncoat Primary School, said the issue had been long been neglected - at the expense of children's futures in East Lancashire.

Yesterday about half his pupils tucked into their first school meal of the new school year, many of them for the first time.

It was the first day schools had to follow strict Government guidelines on school meals which, among others, ban table salt and restrict deep-fried food.

Yet Mr Price said the move towards healthier meals had been growing during the last three years and the move by the Government to lay down strict guidelines cast in stone their efforts.

He said: "Without question this is a good idea, it is definitely a step in the right direction. We have been going towards this for a long time.

"The standards of meals in our schools has improved over the last couple of years.

"Before that, in line with a lot of schools, there was too much pre-packaged food.

"We have made good progress from that point but there is more to do.

"Our strategy has been to give children more choice and healthy options to get away from pre-packaged, prepared food to more freshly-prepared food.

"About 20 years ago, and before that, school dinners were very traditional meat and two veg' type meals, it was prepared food, as recommended by Jamie Oliver.

"Then there was more prepared, pre-packaged food across the board.

"Now we want to go back to the old days of more traditional eating."

He said: "I think historically it probably has been underfunded and what is happening now is a recognition that not enough attention has been given to it."

Healthy food would hopefully influence children to improve what they have for their evening meal, he said.

"We think by setting a good standard in school by having healthy lunches, they will come to appreciate quality food which will hopefully influence their families.

"If they start liking certain things they don't eat at home then they could influence their parents."

Crisps and snacks have already been banned at the school, he said, along with table salt, a key recommendation made by the Government.

However, the new regime didn't get off to an ideal start yesterday.

As demand soared for food from suppliers, the school served up chips instead of potatoes along with breaded fish, salad and peas.

And Lancashire County Council had no one available to publicise the merits of the healthy eating scheme.

As the junior years of the primary school filed in at noon, Pat Guilfoyle, the school's cook, said: "The guidelines are for the better.

"Over the last few years we have been serving more salads and fresh fruit.

"Bringing these rules in is taking school meals back to the basics of how food should be cooked.

"I think we are ahead of things, we are doing really well. It is just a case of going back to the old ways."

Fish was particularly popular, she said and regular servings include potatoes, fish, pasta, rice, vegetables and fresh fruit.

Yet burgers were off the menu she said, although pizza is allowed.

Yesterday the Government said it would give cash to councils to pay for the healthy ingredients until 2011 and offer cooking courses to secondary school children from 2008.

Education secretary Alan Johnson said: "Our food reforms and extra money will ensure healthy school meals are the norm in every school, every day."

Coun Maureen Bateson, executive member for children's services at Blackburn with Darwen Council said: "Our schools have done a lot of work already on healthy eating through our healthy schools programme.

"The changes to date have been very well received by children and parents who appreciate we need to act to benefit our children in the long run."

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