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REDBRIDGE: Schools losing battle of the bulge
PARENTS offered school meals in Redbridge are turning them down, as obesity levels among the borough's children reach record levels.
A report discussed by councillors last Wednesday revealed that the council has been spending as little as £1.06 on every free primary school meal, one of the lowest rates in the country, and the proportion of eligible children eating them has fallen from 82 per cent three years ago to 73 per cent today.
According to figures from Redbridge Primary Care Trust, 21 per cent of the borough's ten to 11-year-olds are now overweight and calls have been made by Government advisors for councils to limit the number of fast food takeaways near schools and for schools to lock their gates at lunchtime to stop children feeding at nearby chip shops.
School Food Trust chief executive Judy Hargadon said: "At the moment, school canteens have to compete with a myriad of takeaways, chippies, and sweet shops for pupils' dinner money. The problem is that this is damaging their long-term health, and is also threatening the viability of school lunch services."
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More than three million school meals were served last year in the borough's primary schools alone, over a third of them free meals, and Redbridge Council insists it is working hard to improve the quality of food eaten by children.
Chef training, health fairs, drama productions, DVDs and healthy eating competitions have all played a part and even lunchbox monitoring where children's packed lunches are inspected and notes are inserted ticking off parents for unhealthy contents.
Dinners in 50 of the borough's primary schools are provided by council contractors Eden Catering Services, whose contract is up for renewal next year.
Councillors who wrote the report for the council's children's services scrutiny committee said: "We found that over the past 18 months some improvements have been made to the food provided within the Eden contract.
"We heard that some of the changes had required considerable negotiations with school cooks and/or Eden managers."
Any attempt to lock the gates at lunchtime is likely to meet with furious opposition from parents if the experience of a school in Rotherham, which tried two years ago, is anything to go by.
When TV chef Jamie Oliver came in to revamp the school menu, irate parents took to feeding their children with chips through the school fence.
A Redbridge Council spokeswoman said it had no power to limit the number of takeaways near schools.
"We have to ensure that every application for a licence has to be dealt with on its own merits" she added.
9:27am Saturday 5th April 2008
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CommentPosted by: me Khalid, walthamstow on 12:39pm Fri 4 Apr 08
all the chidran and kid geting the fat eat to much chicken kfc and the macadoneld and no doing the excise just sit with the compute game and tv watch rubish and eat the rubish to. need going jaging in the park and stop by the chep food from the by 1 get 1 frees from the tesco and the sanesberys. i looking this tv proganme fater man in wolrd and this amarica man 60 stones and no leveded the bed meny yeras and take the pepal ambulence come take out to hospitel with the cren and must haved the specal lory take he. aniother 20 years meybe this kid uk be very big eaten the chicken rubish to much. very dangros for the kid this thing
all the chidran and kid geting the fat eat to much chicken kfc and the macadoneld and no doing the excise just sit with the compute game and tv watch rubish and eat the rubish to. need going jaging in the park and stop by the chep food from the by 1 get 1 frees from the tesco and the sanesberys. i looking this tv proganme fater man in wolrd and this amarica man 60 stones and no leveded the bed meny yeras and take the pepal ambulence come take out to hospitel with the cren and must haved the specal lory take he. aniother 20 years meybe this kid uk be very big eaten the chicken rubish to much. very dangros for the kid this thing
Posted by: Gizzle, East on 11:12pm Fri 4 Apr 08
lol at the above comment
Posted by: Boney Moroney, Mosambique on 12:32pm Tue 8 Apr 08
This guy Khalid is either a comedy genius or totally mental.
Please call the Guardian so they can interview you. That would probably double your circulation.
This guy Khalid is either a comedy genius or totally mental.
Please call the Guardian so they can interview you. That would probably double your circulation.
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