Tim Worstall

This School Dinners Thing

There’s one thing that’s been bothering me about this school dinners thing going on in the UK. I understand the point about chips and turkey twizzlers, scrotum burgers and the rest but here’s one comment concerning Jamie Oliver:

"Jamie does not suggest that high-calorie foods should be banned. He is
just trying to make sure that children get at least one nutritious meal
a day."

OK, now how many meals a day do children eat? Not having any myself I don’t know but I assume it’s three? Schools provide one of those. So, at maximum, schools are responsible for one third of children’s nutrition?
So forgive me if I sound a little confused here, but why do we seem to be insisting that it is the duty of the State to provide that one nutritious meal a day? Have we actually given up hope that parents will feed their own children? If so, don’t we have a rather larger problem as a society than whether we are spending 37p or 50p on the ingredients for a school lunch?
If it really is that bad, that parents are feeding children on the same rubbish at home, why is there not a campaign for State cafeterias at which all children eat all their meals? By law?
Or kitchen inspectors, if they find frozen pizza, your child is banned from eating at home? Or a licence system, parents having to prove that they can make a nourishing salad n’tofu before they are allowed to feed the little blighters themselves?

As I say, I do get the point about making school lunches better, but I don’t get the one about blaming all child nutrutional problems on it. What are the parents doing?

In

4 responses

  1. Bill Avatar
    Bill

    A very pertinent question. People seem to think that the ‘state should provide’ everything. That’s why we have a government obseesed with controlling most aspects of our lives. Of course, the school meals outrages did not start in May 1997, unfortunately. But Jamie’s programme did cover the ‘dissident’ parents who themselves tried to subvert what he is trying to do by passing ‘junk food’ items to their kinds through the school railings – some of these parents themselves were probably brought up on ‘junk’, too, so know no better. There is another excellent programme on C4 here at present called ‘You are what you eat’ and the examples of the folly of some parents in that programme are unbelievably shocking and whilst extreme still highlight some widespread problems.
    If people want to ruin therir own lives and those of their children it is not, ultimately, my problem and I don’t see why my taxes should go to picking up the pieces for peoples’ folly, with massive NHS bills and many ‘special needs’ school pupils being a side-effect.

    Reply
  2. Owen Barder Avatar
    Owen Barder

    I’d rather pay for decent school meals than pay the health service costs of obesity and diabetes.
    I also suspect that poor nutrition contributes to poor educational results. In which case, a few bob for a decent lunch may be a price well worth paying.

    Reply
  3. David Wildgoose Avatar
    David Wildgoose

    Paying for decent school meals will result in improved behaviour, attention spans and educational results. Loks like a win, win, win to me.
    It’s all very well for middle class parents to say “it should be the parent’s responsibilty”, but if the parents are suffering the same problems caused by inadequate diet then there is nothing to break the cycle.
    Food is a drug. My son is gluten intolerant and I know what effects a single biscuit can have. It shouldn’t come as any surprise what ameliorating effects decent food can have.
    On a strict cost benefit analysis, schools shouldn’t only be providing a decent dinner, they should provide some fruit, etc. at the start of the day to ensure the kids have also had at least something for breakfast as well. The whole of society would benefit directly.

    Reply
  4. nana Avatar
    nana

    if children will accept healthier options at school it means that they understand what bad effects junk food has on their health hence they’d prob opt for “good” foods at home too!

    Reply

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