The letter called on the Government to rethink, review and reform how the school food system works in England to combat the growing childhood obesity levels.
The letter states: “Thank you for the work you are doing to support schools through the immense pressures we are currently facing around staffing and catch-up. As we look with hope towards the end of the pandemic, we want to work with the Government to ensure that our schools are as resilient to future shocks as possible.
“We know that a major driver of poor Covid-19 outcomes in the UK has been our spiralling obesity rates. The latest National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) data shows that almost a quarter of Year 6 pupils in England are now classed as obese, with prevalence in most deprived areas more than double that in least deprived places.”
Oliver agrees with the School Food Review Working Group, that this Government should prioritise addressing:
- School food procurement, contract management and operations that are failing to deliver consistently nutritious, sustainable and enjoyable food to our children.
- The absence of an effective accountability mechanism to support quality provision, and ensure that all children receive nutritionally balanced food at school.
- Uptake: the administrative and stigmatic barriers to children accessing school food.
- The convoluted funding system that does not guarantee delivery of good nutrition onto children’s plates.
- Entitlement: the eligibility criteria that exclude millions of children who would benefit from free school meals.
Zahawi replied via Twitter, saying: “Thanks for raising this important issue. Warm and healthy food is so important, and that’s why schools and caterers have to follow the School Food Standards. My team will be in touch again for a meeting so I hope we can make that happen.”
To read the full letter, visit here.