I’ve been following the flap about school meals with interest. Food is something that is dear to my heart (and stomach). I was a very fussy eater as a child but have sprouted (ho ho) into someone who loves most things edible and cooks on a regular basis.
The politicians have tied themselves up in knots on this issue. Having boldly declared that free hot school meals would be available for all infant children from this September, it transpires that not many schools will be able to fulfil this. While some might just be burying their head in the sand hoping it’ll go away before they have to deal with it, for a great number of schools it is just not feasible. Many schools don’t have onsite cooking facilities. The only hall big enough for meals is also used for various other activities, such as P.E. To fit all the children in would knock out those activities, not to mention the fact that sittings might have to start as early as 11.00. Brunch anyone…?
And yet, a communal meal – of decent quality – is such a fantastic goal. Not just for the social aspect, but because many children are growing up in households where nobody can cook any more, which makes me desperately sad. And as so often is the case, it is the poor that suffer. There’s all this yarp about foodbanks and obesity epidemics and we are constantly hectored about healthy choices but what are the options for a family living on an estate, if they don’t have a car? There will probably be a local convenience shop selling tinned food and a takeaway. No wonder the cheesy chips seem like the best option. Even if they get to the supermarket, the aisles of fresh food must seem pretty daunting, if they don’t know how to prepare it. Every adult (I’m not even addressing the gender thing here) should be able to rustle up a few simple meals. I saw a man in his 20s in Sainsburys the other day, putting about 15 tins of spaghetti hoops on the conveyor belt. Of course that’s his choice, but cooking some spaghetti with a tomato sauce is not beyond anyone’s capability.
If I had a magic wand I’d make school meals (tasty ones) compulsory for all children. Each school would have space and a kitchen to accommodate this. Not only that, but cooking lessons would also be compulsory for both sexes. Mind you, I had cookery lessons at school, which were completely useless. I came home telling my parents that I was going to make a ‘Line salad’ at school that week. My father (from whom I get my love of food), was deeply mystified, thinking it must be some obscure relative to Waldorf or Caesar. It transpired it was just an ordinary undressed salad arranged in lines…. Back to my wand, I’d also put some decent local shops within reach of every community. Sadly I don’t have this wand and I don’t know what the answer is. People like Jamie Oliver get a lot of stick for being publicity-seeking, but I do believe his initiatives made some difference. It’s just scratching the surface though.
We need the retailers to step up, stop pushing high-fat ready meals and use some of their extremely large profits to some good. We also need more than a hazy promise that the food industry will self-regulate when it comes to food labelling. Of course it won’t – it’ll push for the highest profit from the cheapest ingredients. And packaged in materials that are the worst possible for our environment. But that’s a whole other rant…..
