JAMIE’S SCHOOL SINNERS
JAMIE Oliver is renewing his war on school grub after the pandemic put pizza, burgers and chips back on kids’ plates.
The celebrity chef is fuming after his charity found schools have turned their backs on healthy meals during the Covid crisis.
The 46-year-old TV cook said: “Kids don’t want more chips, cheap chicken and white bread sandwiches.
“They want decent food at school – not a return to the beige days.”
Only 40% of schools are meeting the food standards that Jamie campaigned for 15 years ago.
In a study by the chef’s Bite Back food charity, some
30% of families said their school only “sometimes” serves vegetables while 13% said their children were getting none at all.
Jamie wants Government inspectors to monitor school meals. Caterers say they are having to put prices up because of shortages linked to post-brexit supply issues. Schools have also returned to selling fizzy drinks and sweets.
Nick Capstick, of the White Horse Federation of 32 schools in southwest England, complained his supplier was providing cheap processed sandwiches and rotting bananas. He saw pupils return after lockdown overweight with “appalling” teeth due to eating sugary grub and said there was a “need for Government intervention in school food”.
“In the wake of Covid this is a call to arms. We need a reset of school dinners, and if that does not happen, we will have new problems to deal with,” said Mr Capstick. He has agreed to chair a review of school dinners with input from head teachers, and charities backed by stars including Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, caterers and suppliers.