The School Food Trust poll of 1,000 parents of school-age children reveals that 58 per cent of parents are more likely to pay for their children to have school meals if schools run price promotions on their menus.
Nearly half of parents believe that school meals should be free for all pupils and only 8 per cent said they would be prepared to pay £2.50 or more for a healthy two-course meal.
Key reasons parents give for providing their child with a packed lunch rather than a school meal are because they say that they know that their child will eat what is provided, and because they are cheaper.
However, the School Food Trust found that on average what parents included in their child’s packed lunch was less healthy than what is likely to be on offer at school, with more than half of them including sweets, confectionary and savoury snacks, and many lacking the same proportion of fruit and vegetables that are present in school meals.
The School Food Trust argues that take-up of healthy school meals could be increased if schools are supported to use variable pricing.
Currently schools have to charge all families the same price for meals and apply to the Department for Education for permission to use variable pricing.
However, this requirement could be removed if proposals outlined in the Education Bill are agreed on. This would make it easier for schools to offer reduced price meals for low-income families who are not eligible for free school meals.
The findings follow research by Which? magazine last week that revealed that the cost of schools meals are to rise by as much as two-thirds in some areas of the country at the start of the new school term (News, 30 August 2011).
Michael Nelson, director of research and nutrition at the School Food Trust said, ‘Price is one of the biggest considerations for families wanting to make sure their child has a healthy meal at lunchtime. If parents are on a tight budget or have more than one child at school, the costs add up whether you opt for a school lunch or a packed lunch, and especially if you give your child money to buy snacks at the shops.
‘When children eat more healthily at lunchtime, they feel full and do better in their afternoon lessons. Research shows that the average school meal is consistently more nutritious than the average packed lunch, so if we want children to reach their potential it just makes sense to help schools use pricing to encourage more families to opt for school meals.’
