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Anne Bull, the chair of LACA, the professional association for school food, has responded to the news that a funding gap may shut 8,000 such canteens.

She said: “For many children, a school lunch is the only hot, nutritious meal that they will eat in a day and it is essential that school meals are available to all children.

"We are very concerned that after so much investment and hard work there is a trend towards kitchen closures rather than increased uptake of school meals.

"Not having a kitchen or dining facilities clearly specified within the school premises regulations would make it impossible for local authority-run schools to comply with the school food standards.

"LACA believes that a healthy school lunch plays a vital role in a  child’s daily diet and education. As well as the benefits in tackling the increasing problems of childhood obesity and malnutrition, nutritious school food can help children to make the most of their education which for many is the route out of poverty.”
 

In the Sunday Times article Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, the restaurateurs charged by Education Secretary Michael Gove with drawing up a school food plan, warn the government that a third of primary-school children face being denied the option of hot food at lunchtimes.

They say that as many as 4,000 primary schools with fewer than 150 pupils, and up to 4,000 larger schools where the take-up of school dinners is too low to make the service viable, are estimated to be at risk according to the article.

The pair add that the decision to make schools, rather than local councils, responsible for managing the costs of the service is threatening as many as 8,000 kitchens.

To read the original article click on the link below:

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Education/article1271351.ece