While the 37p school dinner is the statistic of the moment, it is not earth shattering news that there is a clear link between good diet and a healthy body and mind, and that the standard of school dinners often falls below what most adults would accept.
The evidence is overwhelming: children who do not learn healthy eating habits and have a poor diet are at greater risk of suffering from developmental, social and psychological problems throughout childhood, and are more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes when adults. Last summer the Commons Health Select Committee reported that, if current trends continue, about half of all English children will be classified as overweight or obese by 2020. This poses a challenge to school dinner ladies, but also to government, parents and children themselves.
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