Lunch or dinner?

Earlier this week I heard Jamie Oliver speaking about school meals on the radio 4 Today programme, as their guest editor. It took me right back to my school days when we took our dinner money in on Monday mornings, the dinner register was ticked so we’d be sure to get our meal each day. Over the years I’ve eaten a great many school lunches, often as a reward for playground duty, sometimes as a parent, occasionally as a guest. They are a vital part of the school day, when children can have a well balanced meal and Jamie Oliver has done a great job by campaigning to make them healthier. They still have to paid for though, with free meals available to some children if their household income is below £7.5k .But what about the single parent who brings home £8k ? They have to pay the full cost of the meals. It’s not uncommon for parents to get into debt, owing the school a chunk of money at the end of each month so that they can’t afford to buy food for themselves. It strikes me that any family receiving Universal credit should be entitled to free meals. I know from experience that a hungry child can’t concentrate, learns less and performs less well in exams. Give them breakfast as well as lunch, because arriving at school with 2 custard creams in their pocket is no way to start the day. In these difficult times, feeding children needs to go hand in hand with teaching them.