School Dinners Reading

School dinners By Hattie Ellis The Government excluded junk food from school diners in England at the start of the autumn 2006 school term. We look back at the school dinner campaign and ahead to future changes planned for school meals. School food in focus The battle for better meals in schools was brought to the public eye when ___________ 1 ___________ diets in his 2005 television series, Jamie’s School Dinners. The nation gasped as the cameras filmed classrooms of children who ___________ 2 ___________ recognise a leek, while the dinner ladies were monotonously opening packets of processed food, rather than cooking nutritious food from fresh ingredients. Jamie’s campaign, along with pressure from parents and other pressure groups, led to former Education Secretary Ruth Kelly’s pledge to put £280m towards school dinners. The new rules In autumn 2006, school dinners in England officially excluded ___________ 3 ___________ and ‘low-quality’ meat. School children are now served at least two portions of fruit and vegetables with every meal and deep-fried food is ___________ 4 ___________. From September 2007, there will be additional rules in place about what can be sold from school tuck shops and school vending machines. Schools will not be allowed ___________ 5 ___________ or sweetened drinks. They must also sell a variety of fruit and vegetable products, such as fresh juices, and must ___________ 6 ___________water. From 2008, primary schools will need to stipulate the vitamin content of school meals; secondary schools will need to do so from 2009. Also from 2008, pupils at secondary schools in England will be offered cookery lessons, although the lessons will not be compulsory. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Governments are also ___________ 7 ___________ junk food from school dinners. New plans were put forward to ban junk food in schools by the Scottish Executive in September 2006. Since 'healthier' meals were introduced, some councils, notably Denbighshire and Glasgow, have reported a decline in the number of pupils eating school diners. Using high-quality, fresh ingredients can also push up the prices of school meals. The state of the nation's plate Britain has an eating disorder - and it starts young. The number of obese or overweight children aged 2-15 ___________ 8 ___________ and health experts warn of a time bomb waiting to explode. Poor diet currently accounts for around a third of deaths from cancer and heart disease, the major killers in the UK. Yet, in recent years, bad eating habits have been a routine part of the school day. Spending on the food for school dinners can be as ___________ 9 ___________, with money saved by dishing up cheap, processed foods. The Government's increase in funding has raised this amount to 50p per child in primary schools and ___________ 10 ___________.

1. Fill in the gaps with the right sentence. a. to sell confectionery, savoury snacks (unless they're free from added salt, sugar or fat) b. were addicted to chips and unable to c. has spiralled to around 30 per cent d. restricted to two portions per week e. developing legislation to ban f. low as 37p per child g. Jamie Oliver revealed the shocking state of children's h. 60p in secondary schools i. provide access to free, fresh j. crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and ‘low-quality’ meat

KEY 1. g 2. b 3. j 4. d 5. a 6. i 7. e 8. c 9. f 10. h