School meal reports give food for thought

Citation

(2004), "School meal reports give food for thought", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 34 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2004.01734fab.001

School meal reports give food for thought

Most schools are meeting nutritional standards with the meals they serve but young people still choose unhealthy food, according to two reports published recently.

The report “School meals in secondary schools in England” shows that 83 per cent of schools met all the nutritional standards every lunchtime and 91 per cent provided vegetables and/or fruit on most days.

But high fat options continue to feature regularly on menus. Most pupils choose these meals, and just 6 per cent choose a vegetable or salad option.

The second piece of research, called “Getting to grips with grub”, shows that young people have learnt and understood healthy eating and hygiene messages but aren’t putting them into practice.