The levels
of health in our children’s school dinners have been at the forefront of
concerns for education reform this month, with education secretary, Michael
Gove’s, proposal of an inquiry into school dinners in the United Kingdom. Gove announced his plans to carry out the inquiry to assess the
true state of school dinners in the United Kingdom amidst claims that
school dinners were falling well below government food standards for health.
The
announcement of this report, however, has not been entirely well received, many
believing that a government investigation is pointless and costly, and will not
actually provoke any action to be taken. One very vocal opposition to the
report is celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, quoted in the Daily Mail recently
condemning the proposal, stating “now is not the time for more costly reports.
Now is the time for action.” For Oliver, the importance of our children’s health
being maintained through healthy eating is no new thing, shown through his
televised series ‘Jamie’s School Dinner’ on Channel 4 in 2005, sparking a
nationwide campaign, ‘Feed Me Better,’ to address the childhood obesity problem in the United Kingdom, and stress the need to action to be taken on
food health standards in schools.
Figures found
by recent investigations by the nutrition standards agency speak for themselves
on how far we still need to go to improving the standards of our children’s
diet. It is claimed that only 12% of primary schools in the United Kingdom
provide each pupil with fruit and vegetables daily, with only 58% of primary
schools meeting the nutrition standards for vegetable and salad provisions, and
only 12% meeting the minimum requirement for fruit. With the United Kingdom
having the highest rate of obesity in Europe, and 1/3 of our children being
overweight by the age of 9, it is clear that this is a problem that needs
addressing immediately.
Although we
cannot say whether or not Gove’s report will be able to help in addressing the
problem, we agree with Jamie Oliver that immediate action is paramount- and
here’s where KiddiChef come in to help! You may not be able to control the
government’s food standard policy in your child’s primary school, but by
investing in KiddiChef’s daily meal plan, you can invest greatly in your
child’s health at home. KiddiChef is aimed at children between the ages of 6
months to 10 years, and provides children with nourishing, natural and
nutritious meals, that not only benefit them with their tasty, healthy
ingredients, but also their busy parents, as these daily deliveries take the
stress out of cooking! The KiddiChef meal plans are diverse, keeping meal time
fun and interesting, and are devised by nutrition experts to ensure that your
child is getting the best possible nutritious diet, and indeed the best
possible start to life. These daily healthy meals from KiddiChef will not only
prevent this childhood obesity problem in the United Kingdom spreading into an
epidemic, but are also a fun way to educate your child on nutrition: a skill that
they can take with them through life. So while the government take their time
deliberating the best way to go about assessing food standards in your child’s
primary school, take matters into your own hands by joining the KiddiChef craze
and ensure that your little one’s health is given the best possible start in
life.
