Independent Voices - Do we still need school meals

[WyrdMother]

Link Here

"This week The New Local Government Network, an independent think-tank, suggested that cuts in central government grants to local authorities could, among other things, lead to the scrapping of school meals."

About 50% of the children at our school have school dinners (no idea how many of those are a free entitlement), our school canteen has won awards, my DD has limited tates in packed lunches but will eat everything the school canteen provides so I want School Meals to continue but I'm not sure I can say we need them.

What does everyone else think?

Yes we do.

Meh. Thinktanks come up with all sorts of stuff which then gets reported in the press.

It's not got a snowball in hell's chance of happening in reality.

Yes, I think we do.

Free school meals for all lasted 5 years (1944-49), the requirement to provide every child with a hot meal was removed in 1980, apparently they only have to provide school meals to those entitled to free ones so I don't think it's safe to assume it won't happen.

I've been thinking about it on the way to and from work (in a school canteen as it happens) and did a bit more googling. A report by The Children's Food trust shows that 81.8% (primary schools) and 70.6% (secondary) of those entitled to free school meals have them. For paid school meals the uptake is much lower 36.3% at Primary and 33.6% for secondary. To those on free school meals this looks pretty needed to me.

A school is a workplace, the occupants are there for six+ hours a day, most of them are not allowed off the premises and that alone means there should be some provision of food. Whether it's subsidised or not is debatable.