School Dinners Can "Cut Out Fussy Eating"

The humble school dinner has seen a recent surge in popularity that could challenge the dominance of packed lunches in the UK's cafeterias

. But healthy school dinners at a young age also have a benefit over packed lunches they can eliminate "fussy eating".

Gone are the days when students at schools were eating big plates of processed junk food (such as deep fried meat products and chips), with a shameful average of 37p being spent on each pupil (according to Jamie Oliver's 2005 Channel 4 documentary Jamie's School Dinners).

But the most encouraging news for parents is that fussy eaters are willing to try new foods with school dinners, a new survey by the School Food Trust has suggested with four in five parents say their children have tried new foods at school that they have not tried at home.

More impressively, half of the parents have said that their children have asked for something they have eaten at school to be cooked at home which obviously leads to healthy varied diets. This is the greatest argument for cooked school dinners, as "fussy eating" can be eliminated at an early age.

The poll, which questioned 1,033 parents, found that 628 said their children took school dinners. Of these parents, 516 (82%) said their youngsters had tried a food at school that they had not had at home.

Of all the parents surveyed, 559 (54%) said their sons or daughters had asked them to cook something they had eaten at school. More than four in 10 (41.4%) primary age children were now eating school dinners, up from 39.3% last year, according to official statistics published by the Trust in July.

Jamie Oliver's Jamie's 5 Step Manifesto' has been a major contributor for cooking up the support for school dinners and also for them being scoffed during lunchtimes! The simple manifesto was;

1. The meal's the deal - school dinners should give kids a third of their nutritional requirements.

2. Ban the junk - Ofsted now include school dinners in their inspections.

3. Big love to dinner ladies - give them basic training. Make them proud of their jobs.

4. Teach kids about food - get cookery back on the curriculum.

5. Double the money

Is it time we did something that nobody wants to do? Yes, we may be forced to thank Jamie Oliver! School dinners are flourishing and fussy eating is thankfully on the decline.

School Dinners Can "Cut Out Fussy Eating"

By: Andrew Parker

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