Million meals target for school dinners

Launching the campaign, SFT chairman Prue Leith said: "We know that eating school food is good for the health, well-being and performance of our children. "We also know that not enough of them are eating the new food. "Head teachers have told us that by taking a small number of steps they can transform the numbers eating school food. "We hope all schools will sign up and become members of our campaign and that together we can make a real difference to the lives of children and young people." Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, is also lending his support, adding: "It's important we get every child and young person eating healthily. A good diet is the key to a healthy balanced life style both in school and out of school. "We now have some of the most stringent school food regulations anywhere in the world and parents can be confident that if their child has school dinners they will be eating healthy balanced meals. "We need everybody from heads to parents to play their part and that is why I am supporting this campaign." And Sandra Russell, the new chairman of the Local Authority Caterers' Association (LACA) says she backs the campaign too. "LACA welcomes the launch of million meals and urges all its members to actively get involved and help schools to make the changes we anticipate will lead to increased take up." Prue Leith said the campaign needed the involvement of headteachers it was to succeed. "The campaign calls for schools to implement a number of key activities the SFT has identified as making a real difference to take up. Our programme for change reflects the challenges highlighted by Ofsted in its recent report on school food. "We are asking schools to sign up to the campaign by pledging to support four key principles that will help increase the numbers eating school food and deliver all the associated benefits to the pupils and the school." The principles are: The Trust is asking all head teachers to sign up to the campaign and become a million meals school. Upon registration they will have access to the SFT's expert on-line panel, entry to the school of the month feature and a range of materials to help their school meet its own take up target. Visit the SFT website by clicking www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk.