From Your Health Journal…..”A great article from the Bicester Advertiser of England with a title that really caught my attention, and may attract yours as well – 1m Pupils Eating ‘Bad Quality’ Food. Over one million students in England may be eating unhealthy school lunches due to their schools being exempt from tough food standards. Now, please don’t think they are not tough in England, as I posted some stories last week about many positive changes the government there is doing to create healthy citizens, so this article actually surprised me. The Local Government Association (LGA) has issued a fresh call to the Government to introduce a single standard that applies to all schools to make sure every youngster has access to a healthy lunch. The article went on to say that history shows us that voluntary guidelines alone do not work to drive up standards. We now need government to do its part by introducing an acceptable food standard that will allow councils to hold all schools to account for the nutritional quality of food they serve their pupils. Please visit the Bicester Advertiser (link provided below) to view the complete article.”

From the article…..

More than a million children could be eating unhealthy lunches because their schools are exempt from tough food standards, council leaders have warned.

Academies and free schools which opt out of national regulations are failing in their moral duty to ensure pupils receive healthy dinners, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).

It said it is concerned that more than a million youngsters attending these schools could be eating poor quality dinners that do not meet national school food standards.

The LGA has issued a fresh call to the Government to introduce a single standard that applies to all schools to make sure every youngster has access to a healthy lunch.

The move comes just months before councils are due to take on more responsibility for public health, including tackling childhood obesity and overseeing the national child measurement service which takes the height and weight of children in reception and the final year of primary school.

David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “We know parents want school lunches that are healthy and nutritious, whatever type of school their child attends.

To read the full article…..Click here