[pf] Subsidised (free) school lunches that are healthy & attractive

· There's a question about the degree and intrusiveness of The State's
interest in the raising of children. The thread below started with talking
about fluoridating the water supply.

· /I/ regard the provision of school lunches, as necessary, as a proper use
of The State's resources. Not the only one (school dental clinics, etc.),
but a very suitable use of tax money.   D.

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At 14:51 12/3/2001 +1300, Celia Wade-Brown (after returning to England for
two years) wrote to GreenViews-NZ :-

School lunches that are healthy, attractive and subsidised (free) for
families on low incomes. It works quite well still in the UK.

And how about compulsory health warnings on soft drinks? - but I'd still
rather an occasional sugary drink - followed by cheese or chewing gum -
than saccharine - which gets promoted as a 'healthy' alternative.

Could health board policy extend this far???

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At 14:58 12/3/2001 +1300, Hilary Phillips wrote to GV-NZ:

I think the school lunches are a wonderful idea, though I think in the UK
they're for all children, not just those from low-income families. The free
milk we had at school in my day saved quite a few of us from being
completely malnourished...
Hilary


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At 22:53 12/3/2001 +1300, Celia Wade-Brown wrote to GV-NZ :-

They ARE available for all children, as Hilary said, but the non-subsidised
ones are GB£1.10 each. Teachers collect money on a daily/weekly or termly
basis so there's no knowledge (other than by staff) of who's getting a free
lunch. It seems an excellent targeted way of addressing children's
nutritional (and hence learning) needs directly. So we could calculate it
at NZ$2 (allowing for cheaper food here) per child of a
Govt.-Benefit-supplied family. Not free but worth the investment in
pro-active health.

Even my local council there (controlled by Tories) voted to say that school
lunches should be GM-free too.

It could be a bit of a boost for the local economy to run this system, I
think, rather than just the dairies on-selling potato chips and soft drinks. 

Could even have different ethnic days; e.g. a hangi on a Monday, barbecue
(including vege burgers and kebabs) on a Tuesday, salad on a Wednesday etc.
- that's rabbit culture  ;-)

Several NZ schools are doing the breakfast thing and I believe there are
quite a few canteens - though too many do pies and pizza stuff only. This
links in with Kids Organic Gardens too.

Any Greens standing for their Board of Trustees ?  I reluctantly decided
that being on Council would be more than enough on my plate!

C

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sent on to Positive Futures by David.

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