It appears that Jamie Oliver’s plan for healthy school lunches is going to be canceled. The UK Health Minister claimed that there was a drop in the number of children buying lunch since the new menu was introduced. For this, he blames an “authoritarian” approach consisting of lecturing people on what they should eat.
Thought Food has looked at the efforts to fix the school lunch, including Oliver’s efforts in West Virginia and while we may not agree with everything that he does, certainly his effort is to be applauded. Good eating habits need to be built up from childhood, a taxpayer funded program should not push junk and kids who come from challenging home situations or live in “food deserts” can benefit from this program. If a few families choose to ignore good dietary rules, should all children suffer? There is evidence to prove that healthy school food has an impact on academic achievements.
If the UK government discovered a flaw in the lunch program devised by Jamie Oliver and then canceled it, that would be understandable. But this simply seems to be an effort to fit in economic austerity measures than a thoughtful approach to planning school meals.
And Jamie Oliver has plenty of support, sometimes from unlikely quarters, like this endorsement from Anthony Bourdain. Being a parent changes everything!
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