The government is failing to ensure that children at primary schools are given healthy food that meets its own nutritional standards, according to a report from the Soil Association.
The “Food for Life” report reveals that the daily amount spent on each child's school lunch can be as low as 31 pence compared to approximately 60p on a prisoner's lunch. As a result, low quality processed food dominates school meals, which are often high in fat, sugar and salt.
The Soil Association has called on the government to follow the Scottish example and give schools in England and Wales £200 million to spend on organic produce and food from local farmers.
Peter Melchett, the Soil Association's policy director, said: “All too often, children at primary schools are fed muck off a truck. The government acknowledges there are problems and must, as a first step, bring back quantified nutritional standards for school meals.”
Under the association's “Food for Life” experiment, a small number of schools have already begun serving meals with ingredients that are 30 per cent organic, 50 per cent locally sourced and 75 per cent unprocessed.
A spokesperson for the department of education and skills said: “The government is committed to promoting healthy eating and encouraging schools to provide healthy meals. However, it is the schools and local education authorities to decide how much they spend on ensuring they can do this.”