Nursery World - A Unique Child: Nutrition

It is more important than ever to make children see where healthy food comes from, says Mary Llewellin

Unless you’ve silenced all media, you’ll know that the Conservatives’ election manifesto promises to save £650m by ditching free school lunches for infants and offering a much cheaper breakfast instead. Child health experts are disappointed, and celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Yottam Ottolenghi have taken to the airwaves to express their outrage. They see this as a short-sighted money-grab at the expense of children’s health and believe that taxpayers will ultimately face a far higher bill as obesity and Type 2 diabetes continue to take their toll.

You could argue – and the Conservatives plainly do – that giving free meals to all children, including those whose parents are able to pay, is a waste of money, but this is a short-sighted view that completely misses the point. When school meals are universally free, the uptake is far higher, making school kitchens more viable and removing the stigma for those receiving subsidised meals.

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