Big Way Of Life

We have some good news and some bad news regarding school pupils and what they're eating. The good news is that more children are choosing greens for their lunch. Very good news indeed. However, the bad news is that most of those greens are been consigned to the bin. Not good news.

A survey by the School Food Trust of 6,700 children at 136 primary schools in 2009 found 57% took vegetables, but 41% of these foods were not consumed. 40.7% of vegetables were wasted and 32.6% of salad was left uneaten. A similar proportion of fruit (32.7%) was left uneaten. Just 23% of children took fruit, but this was an improvement on 16% opting for it in the trust's 2005 survey.

Carbohydrate and vegetable dishes, such as vegetarian lasagne, also had a high wastage rate of 34.6% and this after a low take-up rate of 5.4%. In total, 24% of pupils' food and drink was not consumed, the study found, compared with 23% in 2005.

"This suggests that more needs to be done to encourage pupils to finish eating the vegetables, salad and fruit which have been taken," the report said. However, the study did find that children were choosing fewer starchy foods cooked in fat.

Less than half the schools (48%) were meeting the required standard for iron content, only 54% made the grade for zinc content and just 19% were meeting the standard for sodium content. Just 12% of schools provided a portion of fruit per pupil every day and about a third provided less than half a portion, the research found. The survey found over half the pupils (51.3%) were drinking water with their lunch in 2009, up from 30% in 2005. But 26% of this water was wasted.

The research was conducted between February and April last year by trained field workers who recorded the food and drink items taken and eaten by 10 randomly selected pupils. When pupils had finished their lunch, the field workers weighed and recorded any leftovers. The research was carried out six months after schools in England were required by law to meet new food and nutrient standards, to ensure children ate more healthily.

The School Food Trust's chief executive, Judy Hargadon, said the trust was delighted by the progress being made. "Caterers across the country deserve an enormous pat on the back for the huge shift in what's being offered to children, and for all they've done to encourage pupils to give healthier options a try. The figures certainly show that there's still a lot of work to do, both in fully meeting the standards across the board and in encouraging children to eat what's on their plate."

Schools Minister Diana Johnson said: "We want to make sure children are eating a healthy, nutritious lunch at school because we know this helps their concentration and behaviour in the classroom. Making sure children get a portion of fruit and vegetables each day and the right amounts of fat, salt and sugar, is a vital step towards reversing childhood obesity and protecting their health. School cooks, lunchtime supervisors and caterers should be congratulated for the efforts and keep up the good work."