You may have followed my campaign for more money for school meals in the Echo. Although school meals in Cardiff are far better than the awful food which was being served in 'Jamie's School Dinners' I believe that they could be even better if the Council would commit to spending more money on the ingredients which go into the meal. Before I launched my campaign last year Cardiff County Council were spending only 37 pence per meal on ingredients.
When they put the price up by 10 pence last year I decided that they should be using this to fund better ingredients but the Lib Dem Administration refused to give a commitment that a single penny of this would go into the meal itself. I have posted on my blog, minutes of Council meetings where I have raised questions on school dinners and on other issue relating to food in school.
For example I have been concerned that profits from vending machines in schools have increased dramatically. I am not convinced of the nutritional value of food available in the machines. in addition I believe that the Council should be investigating ways of giving parents of younger primary school children in particular a say over what their children are eating in school.
At the moment even reception aged children are able to choose for themselves which type of food they will have for their dinner. As much as parents try to promote healthy eating at home, if you give a 5 year old the choice between a cake or an apple for dessert I know which most would choose!
I have been calling on the Council to investigate ways of giving parents more choice, for example through using a weekly pre-ordering service. Not only would this give parents piece of mind as they would be able to exercise control over what their children were eating each day but it would also assist the School Catering Service who would have advance notice of how much of each meal option was going to be required.
I will continue to campaign for healthier food in school and for more parental input. Please contact me if you have any thoughts on this.
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