Happy with health

The Government must act now to improve nursery food and combat the rise in pre-school obesity, according to a survey of 1,000 parents.

In England and Wales, there are over 600,000 children at nursery for up to ten hours a day. In many cases, nurseries are responsible for the majority of a child’s daily food during the working week. Almost one in four children (22.8%) starts school already overweight or obese, which means they are more likely to suffer serious health problems like heart disease and cancer later in life. Despite this, there are no clear nutritional standards in place for the food served in nurseries.

According to the Better Nursery Food Now survey of parents with children at nursery, commissioned by The Soil Association and Organi in February 2010, nine out of ten (89 per cent) parents want to see legally enforceable rules for the nutritional standards of food in nurseries.

• Eight out of ten parents (82 per cent) want foods like chips, sweets and chocolate, which are banned or restricted in primary and secondary schools, also banned in nurseries.
• Almost all parents (95 per cent) want to ban additives that are linked to behavioural problems or other health issues in nursery food.
• Almost all parents (94 per cent) want to see compulsory nutrition and cookery training for nursery staff preparing and serving food.
• Nine out of ten parents (88 per cent) want government funding available to help nurseries improve food provision.
• More than two thirds of parents (69 per cent) want to see a government department made responsible for monitoring the quality of food provided.

The survey found that only a third (34 per cent) of parents said they were happy with the food at their nursery. Around one in six (16 per cent) complained that the standard of food at their child’s nursery was poor, with children being given junk food, too many convenience foods and not enough fruit and vegetables.

Pamela Brunton, Soil Association policy manager says,

The younger the child, the more vulnerable their health is to the effects of poor quality nutrition. It is vital that the government put regulation for nursery food at the top of their agenda, to ensure that every child gets the start in life that they deserve.

Anna Rosier, Managing Director at Organix says,

It’s crucial we give pre-school children a healthy start in life, which is why it’s so shocking that there are no clear nutritional standards for nursery food, no compulsory training for staff serving food, no agency to monitor the quality of food, and no government department promoting good practice. We believe the current scenario is unacceptable and we want changes made urgently

We worked with the Soil Association to do the research on food served in schools which ultimately lead to the School Dinners Campaign, and it is not acceptable that nurseries are left behind – and that the health of our new generation is left to chance. That’s why we need better nursery food rules, now.

With MP Joan Walley, the Better Nursery Food Now campaign has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in parliament asking for mandatory standards for the quality of food served to children in early years daycare. (An EDM is a petition that only MPs can sign to show their support for an issue and push it up the political agenda). Our youngest children are the most vulnerable to the effects of poor diet, with almost one in four starting school already overweight or obese. This means they are more likely to suffer from serious health problems, like heart disease and cancer, later in life; yet there are no clear rules for food nurseries can serve.

Parents can help by emailing your MP to ask them to sign the petition, following the quick and easy instructions on our website: www.nurseryfood.org/email-your-mp.html

Packed lunches vs school dinners

Research has shown that parents fill lunch boxes with sweets, crisps and sugary drinks instead of vegetables, fruit and milk.

In response to the research, we spoke to the Food for Life Partnership who commented:

The Food for Life Partnership believes that school meals are a vital education service – the one lever Government has to influence the eating habits of the next generation. This report shows the importance of increasing up-take of school meals demonstrated by the poor nutritional value of packed lunches in UK schools. Through the Food for Life Partnership 145,000 children get to eat healthy and climate-friendly school meals every day and the up-take of school meals in Food for Life Partnership award-winning schools has increased by 16% in 2008 and 2009.

Joanna Lewis, Head of Policy for the Food for Life Partnership, says:

“This research shows that packed lunches are no solution to our epidemic of diet related diseases and childhood obesity. Healthy and climate-friendly school meals should be a core part of the school day for all children, not just the 37% who currently eat them, and in Food for Life Partnership schools this is becoming a reality thanks to a revolution in food quality and education.”

Winners!

A firm favourite of ours, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, presented Silver and Gold awards to schools that are simply outstanding when it comes to making changes to their food culture.

We’re big supports of this campaign – we wrote about it last month (click here to take a peek!). It’s a massive task for schools to make the move to set up organic school gardens, cooking clubs or make other vital changes to the way their grow and consume food – so when changes are made awards are rightly given out. We’re ever so pleased that there are already 1,500 Food for Life Partnership schools making changes across the country

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said:

What makes this project so inspiring is the way that young people in more than a thousand schools are now learning about real food in a hands-on way, growing and cooking it themselves and even rearing their own chickens! I would urge the Government to do more to encourage all schools to follow their lead.

All Silver and Gold Food for Life Partnership schools only serve free range or organic chicken and Hugh spent the morning with progressive Food for Life caterers discussing how to make the aims of Hugh’s ‘Chicken Out!’ campaign happen in school meal catering and give thousands more young people the chance to eat high welfare chicken for lunch.

He said: “I’m delighted that the Food for Life Partnership is taking my ‘Chicken Out!’ campaign for higher welfare chicken into the world of school meals with such success, proving that young people really do care about where their food comes from.”

Emma Noble, Director of the Food for Life Partnership says: “I’m so proud to be celebrating these innovative schools, who have created a healthy, sustainable and enjoyable food culture within their schools and communities to the benefit of everybody involved.

“These schools show what real 21st century education is all about, which is using real life experiences to teach the curriculum and providing the next generation with solutions to what threatens their future, namely climate change and the obesity crisis. By empowering young people to make informed food choices and giving them the skills to grow and cook food for themselves and their families, Food for Life Partnership schools lead the way for a more sustainable future.” 

A little bit more about the awards:

“Silver” schools now serve school meals on plates, not flight trays, and have a range of locally sourced and organic items on the menu. All chicken, bacon and sausages served are Freedom Food certified or free range and no fish from unsustainable sources is served. The Silver schools have cooking clubs, and pupils get to cook with and eat the produce grown in the school growing area. Parents and the wider community get involved in food education via food-themed events.

“Gold” schools are hubs of good food culture in their community, actively involving parents and community groups in cooking and growing activities. Their school meals are at least 75% freshly prepared, 50% local and 30% organic, and more than 70% of pupils are choosing to eat school meals. Every pupil in a Food for Life Partnership Gold school learns to cook, has the opportunity to grow food, and groups of pupils are actively involved in the life of a local farm.

Eco kids composting

The Food for Life Partnership works with more than 1,300 schools across England to ensure the next generation will be better equipped for the future than their parents by getting them growing and cooking in school.

Through the extensive Food for Life Partnership award scheme, schools get the guidance to transform their food culture and engage pupils, parents and the local community along the way. From Bronze, through Silver to Gold, schools set up organic gardens, cooking clubs and pupils visit farms and eat healthy, climate-friendly school dinners.

Late last month, the Food for Life Partnership launched the Food Growing Manual, which is a comprehensive growing resource, produced by one of the Partners, Garden Organic, for all schools enrolling on the Food for Life Partnership. The Food Growing Manual will enable schools to successfully develop their own gardens and produce edible crops for children, parents, teachers and communities to enjoy.

Food for Life Partnership manager at Garden Organic, Colette Bond, says:

“Teaching children to grow food puts them in touch with the land, familiarises them with the seasons and encourages healthier eating. On a wider level it also engages them with the food supply and helps them understand that food isn’t instant or ‘fast’ but that it takes time, energy and nurture to produce something edible.”

“Using the expert content of the manual, as well as the suggested activities and planting advice, we hope to develop a successful school garden, which will help the children to learn about growing their own food and eating seasonally. We also hope to use the garden to teach the curriculum and to reach out and involve everyone from staff and pupils right through to parents and the community.

The Food for Life Partnership aims to reconnect young people with growing, cooking, eating and appreciating climate-friendly, healthy and real food. Many schools in the Partnership are now using produce they have grown in their canteens, helping to make fresh, seasonal, organic produce a regular appearance on school dinner menus.

From now on, all schools signed up to the Food for Life Partnership will receive their own Food Growing Manual resource pack for free. To find out more or to enrol visit www.foodforlife.org.uk