Well for the first few years of school at least... and in Scotland... from 2010... August. But it is a start. The announcement made by the Scottish Administration comes not long after the Free School Meal Pilot scheme was announced - a pilot scheme that will be integrated into a few selected English schools.Free meals don't come without cautionary notes from Jeanette Orrey, Food for Life Partnership (FFLP) School Meals Policy Advisor, who told the Guardian last week, "I'm all for free school meals, but my plea to the Government is to first make sure schools have adequate dining facilities and overworked school catering staff have the hours and capacity within the kitchen to cope free school meals to all."
If schools incorporate comprehensive food education into the syllabus - learning about all aspects of food production, from seedling all the way to the digestive tract and how important it is to create a sustainable food system - then we may have a chance of turning those miserable obesity statistics around. The ban on advertising fast food during children's television comes into full effect come the New Year, adding another weapon in our kids armour for making wiser food choices.
