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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

Jamie Oliver links Asthma to school dinners - on Parky this Saturday

68 replies

FIMAC1 · 18/03/2005 20:04

Did anyone watch this weeks School Dinners? Was everyone else as staggered as me and Jamie O by the look of him, when the school Nurse said that they did not need to give out mid-day inhalers since the introduction of his healthy dinners?

C&P from JO website:

We're nearly at 100,000 signatures on the FMB Petition - WOW! We've just raised the bar again - this time to 150,000. Thank you everyone for taking the time to sign. Not long til we take them all to number 10.

Be sure to watch this saturday's edition of Parkinson on saturday night. I'm a guest and I talk about some of the highs and lows of the School Dinners project, and the Feed Me Better campaign.

OP posts:

JanH · 19/03/2005 14:45

Oh bum - "I'm a guest" is a quote too! Am confused myself now!

snafu · 19/03/2005 14:46

FIMAC1 has just cut-and-pasted a quote:

from JO's website. She's not a guest on the programme!

Newbarnsleygirl · 19/03/2005 14:46

Hehehe

I got quite excited thinking there was a real celeb on here!

Lol!

snafu · 19/03/2005 14:48

just to clear up any remaining confusion!

Pinotmum · 19/03/2005 14:49

S'pose that means a wave it out then?

tatt · 21/03/2005 06:54

if you don't feed junk food to your children regularly and they like it then its a treat for them. Eating out is a treat - and McDonalds food, though junk, is at least mostly suitable for those who have problems with nuts. So its children allergic to nuts can go for a meal with friends. Wonder if I could interest Mr Oliver in food labelling?

tatt · 21/03/2005 06:55

Must learn to preview. That was supposed to read so its one place...

RTKangaMummy · 21/03/2005 08:17

GMTV NOW NOW NOW NOW

GMTV

bathmummy · 21/03/2005 08:29

I have learned a lot from JOs series. I am not a stupid person (well, not really stupid) but have often viewed the odd trip to Burger King or McD as a treat now and again, DD loves the happy meal toy and nice not having to cook and not having to fork out a lot of cash for a family friendly environment - quick service etc.
Now I realise how naive I have been. What on earth am I teaching my children if they think every day ordinary food is fresh veg, steamed fish, grilled chicken etc. and junk food is a treat?
I have now got my priorities back in place and will never ever ever ever let my children eat another processed chicken product/fish or any meat product from now on. They deserve better than that.
I cannot believe how hard JO is finding it to improve school dinners. It is so obvious, such common sense and has so much scientific and medical backup. It is shameful. I really hope he makes a nationwide difference very soon. Otherwise my children will have packed lunches when they go and they will have an annoyingly outspoken mum on the PTA

hotmama · 21/03/2005 08:30

Oh no missed him! What did he say - is he a closet mumsnetter?

bobbybob · 21/03/2005 08:36

Another vote for McDonalds, yes it's crap, but they will tell you exactly what is in everything, unlike just about every decent cafe I've taken ds to (and he's ended up not being able to eat perfectly good food because they don't know if it contains eggs or peanuts).

alux · 21/03/2005 15:06

A very unscientific observation today but a telling one imho. I had a group of students today come to my class room during lunchtime to finish up a project. The 5 who are doing best in the class were all on pack lunches. And to a person all had lush pack lunches. One lad had pasta and chicken, 2 pieces of fruit, a juice and a choc bar. Now I don't think it is just because they have a decent lunch time meal but it must be because the parents care enough to make sure they eat healthily, it is also indicative that they care about a lot more that goes on in their lives.

Freckle · 21/03/2005 15:24

I think it's a bit of a sweeping statement to imply that parents whose children have school lunches don't care about what goes on in their lives or care that they eat healthily. Sometimes it's a question of logistics. My children do a lot of after school activities and we just cannot factor in the time to cook an evening meal and for them to eat it and do their activities. Furthermore, my children often refuse to eat food that I cook for them, no matter how delicious (it's a control thing) and, when I have done packed lunches, I've often found that they've scoffed the day before all the things I've bought for lunch.

So I care very much about my children's lives and I care very much about their diet (buying as much organic, locally-produced food as I can), but they have school lunches, so please don't imply that this means I don't care.

Ameriscot2005 · 21/03/2005 15:38

My kids all have school lunches, and I'm happy with that choice. Packed lunches aren't the be-all-and-end-all - a lot of packed lunches are not that healthy with their daily packet of crisps and biscuit. Then there is the storage condition at school to be concerned with. My own memories of packed lunches are of cheese sandwiches every day - I lasted a term, and begged to be allowed school lunches for variety if nothing else.

My kids get a healthy meal at home every day, and I believe that their bodies can cope with a lower standard at school. I would, of course, welcome French-style school lunches and would be prepared to pay for these .

Incidentally, to balance the anecdote about clever children coming from caring packed-lunch families. At DD's parent teacher meeting last week, I was informed that not only was DD the cleverest child in the class, she was also the kindest , and DS just received his Common Entrance predicted grades - straight As. All that on school dinners, eh?

SueW · 21/03/2005 16:12

My daughter has school lunch every day - we have no choice as packed lunches are not an option (school's rule). I also eat school lunch everyday. But I won't bore everyone again about or daily meat and veg deliviries into school, etc and how most stuff is prepared from scratch on the premises in a very JO way, I suppose but has been since before JO had even written a cookbook!

alux · 21/03/2005 19:34

Jeez, looked like I unwittingly touched a nerve! I started with the phrase: 'unscientific observation'.

I don't know any of you people so for heaven's sake, don't think I am implying anything! As a matter of fact, I wish that everyone would be happy to eat school lunches, myself included as it would save me making a pack lunch for myself. And at my school, staff get their lunches for free so that there can be a constant present in the dinner halls! If I don't want to eat the canteen food, I don't want the kids to eat it either!

I know the quality of our school lunches - I have seen worse but not seen any better - and 2/3 way thru the school year, the quality keeps sliding downhill.

Ameriscot2005 · 21/03/2005 19:40

Seriously, you don't think you implied anything?

alux · 21/03/2005 19:54

seriously, I do. To my amazement, 5 boys whose class work I am targeting to use on the school's website turned up early to continue on their project. (All the boys in the class were given the option to come to the lunchtime project and I am dangling a reward to encourage as many as possible to show up.) When I gave out the early lunch slips, one of them asked that if they had a pack lunch, could they come early. I was shocked that all 5 turned up with packed lunches. (I only gave out the slip 10 mins before the lunchtime - going to their science lesson to do so.) Of course we can't all make fab pack lunches for our kids which is why it is a national disgrace that we feed children - and ourselves such rubbish!

Freckle · 21/03/2005 20:07

Yes, but it's a huge leap to the assumption that because these 5 boys all had packed lunches that their parents care more about what goes on in their lives, and, by implication thereby, that those of us whose children have school lunches care less.

alux · 21/03/2005 20:21

you know what. I am wasting my time. I have already indicated that a. it was very unscientific b. I was amazed that 5 of 5 had great lunches and in reference to C. that their parents care does NOT imply that other parents DON'T. You're focusing on the wrong part of the sentence - or maybe I am crap at English. To reword - paying attention to what your child eats even at school is only one aspect of caring for the whole child.

if this post doesn't make you happy, tough.

happymerryberries · 21/03/2005 20:25

I agree with the trust of what Alux says. Children do well when their parents care. Parents can show that care in a variety of different ways, one of which is having the energy to pack them a lunch (and in the interest of balance I don't do this for mine). For what it is worth most of the high flyer kids I teach had packed lunches. Other parents obvuiosly take great care over their children's clothes (anothe things I'm not so hot at!), others take them to gym club, work on their reading etc etc

tatt · 22/03/2005 07:08

ameriscot my child has a cheese sandwich virtually every day. Don't worry - I'm not offended since its her choice to eat that and she usually has fruit and carrot sticks with it. I keep offering other options (including school meals) but she prefers it and I can see she gets variety at other meals.

alux you did sound rather judgemental you know. In a school with meals the teachers don't want to eat a lush packed lunch for your child may show you care but if your child wants to stay with their friends you can make up for it at the other meals. The food in our school isn't that bad and is healthier than some packed lunches I've seen.

I do believe what children eat has a major influence on how they learn though. Not so convinced about the impact on allergies but I'd like to think its right.

Freckle · 22/03/2005 07:14

I don't disagree with that statement at all, i.e. that children whose parents care do well or better than others. What I objected to was the statement that parents who provide their children with packed lunches care more (than presumably parents whose children have school lunches).

happymerryberries · 22/03/2005 07:21

I read it as one way of showing that you care for your children. Alux made that quite clear in her last post of 8.21. I don't know what more you want her to say?

WideWebWitch · 22/03/2005 07:26

You know what, I am pissed off this morning. My son has taken to leaving some of the food in his lunch because kids who sit with him at lunchtime take the piss out of his healthy food (we're not talking effing mung beans, we're talking about FRESH Fruit, yoghurts, nuts), while shoving fruit winders - see here for more on how crap thery are , crisps and other CRAP in his face and making him feel underprivileged for not having this. I have just told him what I think of it. It makes me furious.

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