The Food Programme: School Food

Sheila Dillon finds out if new secondary school meal standards coming in this September will improve children's diets or send more of them off for a takeaway. The aim of the new standards is to continue the improvement in children's diets begun by Jamie Oliver's campaign five years ago, but many caterers fear that it will not work in the secondary sector. Sheila joins delegates at an emergency summit organised to discuss the issue. Many are concerned that the net result will be more children heading to the high street in search of preferred foods, making school catering uneconomical. Others, including dinner lady Jeanette Orrey, defend the moves, claiming that the changes are the best way to improve the health of the nation. But are the nutrient-based standards overcomplicated and counterproductive?