Healthy food for schools - New standards

A number of government departments have combined to cook up a menu of mandatory nutrition standards for meals provided in state schools. 

The standards highlight healthy, balanced choices for meals and, crucially, snacks. Even more crucially, schools have been told that food and drink not rated as healthy — which means those with high salt, sugar and fat content — will not be funded.

While programmes of this kind can often lead to complaints about the nanny state, it’s important to remember that the Government’s school meals programme is a benefit for 250,000 children, with priority being given to youngsters in disadvantaged communities where it’s sadly the case that cheap, fast, and unhealthy food can be the only apparent option for many parents.