[Omah]

http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/22food.html

By 1951, 49 per cent of the school population ate school meals and 84 per cent drank school milk.

Despite food rationing (which lasted until 1954) children in 1950 had healthier diets than their counterparts in the 1990s, according to a study by the Medical Research Council (James Meikle The Guardian 30 November 1999). Post-war four year olds had higher calcium and iron intakes through greater consumption of bread and milk, greens and potatoes. They ate and drank less sugar than children today. The government planners responsible for rationing and nutrition had done 'a stunningly good job' said the study's Director Michael Wadsworth. 'Not only did everyone get enough to eat, they got the right things ... This study shows that food and nutrient intake at the time was better than today. The higher amounts of bread, milk and vegetables consumed in 1950 are closer to the healthy eating guidelines in the 1990s. The children's higher calcium intake could have potential benefits for their bone health in later life while their vegetable consumption may protect them against heart and respiratory disease and some forms of cancer.'

Post-war children had higher calorie and fat intakes than four year olds forty years later, 'but it is also likely that the children would have been more active and consequently would have needed more energy than children today.'

The typical daily diet of a child in 1950 consisted of eggs or cereal with bread and butter for breakfast; meat, potatoes, a vegetable and a pudding for lunch; bread, butter and jam, cake and sometimes biscuits for tea; and milk last thing at night. Strawberries and rhubarb were the most frequently consumed fruits; fresh peas, lettuce and tomatoes the most commonly eaten vegetables

.

No burgers, crisps or coke .....

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Yes that is one soloution but its not really the issue niamh, It's hoodwinking parents who pay for meals by giving the child insufficient inferior food.

They could offer chicken or fish with vegetables. That would be healthier.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Are you sure? It seems to me that school dinners were better before.

I meant in the times of rationing etc,as Arista pointed out,I actually remember really liking my school dinners back in the 90s

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by kazanne

I meant in the times of rationing etc,as Arista pointed out,I actually remember really liking my school dinners back in the 90s

I think they could offer better meals. It doesn't have to be expensive.

[Kizzy]

Found this pic of a school in islington in 2010...Notice the difference in the meal?

[Omah]

http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/22food.html

Thatcher's overwhelming desire to slash public spending became much clearer when she became Prime Minister in 1979. During her first year in power she finally killed off the provision of school milk. But she was to go on to do much greater damage.

Her right-wing government was bent on an orgy of privatisation of public services. Having disposed of school milk, the Tories went on to inflict a double blow on the school meals service itself. First, the 1980 Education Act abolished the minimum nutritional standards for school meals and removed the statutory obligation on LEAs to provide a meals service, requiring them only to provide food for children of families on supplementary benefit or family income supplement who were eligible for free meals. This disastrous decision was compounded by the introduction of Commercial Competitive Tendering, which obliged local authorities to choose the most 'competitive' (for which read 'cheap') catering on offer. As a result, private companies took over many school kitchens and, in order to maximise profit and eliminate waste, they persuaded schools to go over to free-choice cafeteria systems. The result, according to the Coronary Prevention Group, was the 'easy option of providing popular fast-food items such as burgers and chips' (Joanna Blythman The Guardian 23 July 1999).

Thatcher hadn't finished yet. The 1986 Social Security Act (which came into force in 1988) resulted in thousands of children losing their entitlement to free school meals.

Bliddy Thatcher .....

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Found this pic of a school in islington in 2010...Notice the difference in the meal?

That looks much better.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Omah

http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/22food.html



Bliddy Thatcher .....

Oh dear,when in doubt,blame the Tories!

[Omah]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Found this pic of a school in islington in 2010...Notice the difference in the meal?

This one doesn't look so good :



Perhaps they have special dietary requirements ....

[Omah]

Originally Posted by kazanne

Oh dear,when in doubt,blame the Tories!

Facts are facts .....

[arista]

Originally Posted by kazanne

She would do well to remember some kids DIE for this kind of food

Originally Posted by kazanne

,it would be a feast to them,she needs to stop moaning,stop being greedy ,it may not look much,but no one will starve,what does she (her parents)expect,if they are that bothered send her with a packed lunch,sorry does that sound mean,lol.and as Arista said,if you look up the food that was available years ago it was not so good,but they survived.

Bang On Right

[arista]

Originally Posted by kazanne

Oh dear,when in doubt,blame the Tories!

Yes Omah is good at that

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by kazanne

Oh dear,when in doubt,blame the Tories!

He is only quoting facts kezanne, you can't argue with facts...
Schools now have to account for meals as part of their budget due to the changes made then. So the less money they spend on food the more they generate a profit from the money charged for them.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by arista

[B]


Bang On Right

Can I just remind you we do not live in a third world country or the 1950's....Thankyou, please stick to the issue.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Yes that is one soloution but its not really the issue niamh, It's hoodwinking parents who pay for meals by giving the child insufficient inferior food.

I don't agree, they don't like the food that's been offered, give her a packed lunch.........Simples. It takes 5 minutes to make a nice healthy sandwich and pack some fruit in a lunch box. I think parents are just being lazy tbh.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I don't agree, they don't like the food that's been offered, give her a packed lunch.........Simples. It takes 5 minutes to make a nice healthy sandwich and pack some fruit in a lunch box. I think parents are just being lazy tbh.

Yes and some are Militant

[Omah]

http://www.educationengland.org.uk/articles/22food.html

Thatcher couldn't have destroyed the nutritional basis of school meals at a worse moment. The eighties and nineties saw a number of significant changes in British society. There were social changes, with greater mobility, more working mothers and Thatcher's own emphasis on the individual rather than the group. There were technological changes, including big increases in the use of the freezer and the microwave (leading to a reduction in home cooking), and the video and the computer (leading to a more sedentary lifestyle for many children). Commercial pressures resulted in the rise of the big supermarkets and a huge increase in television advertising. There was a rapid widening of the poverty gap, caused by Tory tax cuts and by their cynical use of unemployment as a political and economic tool. In education, the selling of school fields led to a decrease in physical activity, while the National Curriculum's effective abolition of Home Economics resulted in children leaving school with little interest in or understanding of food preparation. All these factors led to a huge change in the nation's diet, with much less fresh food being cooked at home and a much greater reliance on ready-made (and higher profit) meals.

Bliddy Tories - nothing changes - they're only interested in the pursuit of money at the expense of others - bliddy granny-bashing tax-evading millionaires .....

[arista]

Originally Posted by kizzy

Wow, I'm just going to stop trying as you can't even make a reasoned argument arista...
Its not good enough vanessa no, and to bleed a tenner off working parents for this crap should be criminal.
Someone ring jamie!

Jamie agrees with these meals


Times are Real Hard

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by arista

Jamie agrees with these meals


Times are Real Hard

Are you filling in for micheal arista?...
As omah has correctly stated food for children at school is now no more than a money making scam.
Yes the soloution is packed lunch i dont dispute that for a moment and any parent who found they were paying Ł2 a day for that junk would agree.

However it exposes to dark side of schools in my opinion, the way they use school meals as a way to exploit parents and childrens health by providing this substandard meal.

[arista]

"filling in"


No I have been here a long time
I am not a newbie.

[MTVN]

Her Dad seems a nice chap

[Vicky.]

Those meals look absolutely disgusting.

We were lucky enough to be able to pick what we wanted at school from quite a lrage selection (all different prices mind) and the dinners in general were great. i dont think this kid is just trying to cause trouble...she wouldnt be able to cause trouble simply by posting her school meals if there wasnt something wrong with them tbh

[arista]

She is a Trouble Maker

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Those meals look absolutely disgusting.

We were lucky enough to be able to pick what we wanted at school from quite a lrage selection (all different prices mind) and the dinners in general were great. i dont think this kid is just trying to cause trouble...she wouldnt be able to cause trouble simply by posting her school meals if there wasnt something wrong with them tbh

I agree! There's hardly any food in them!

[arista]

Less is better.

This Meal is a Good meal for a 9 year old.