School meals: Children face postcode lottery, says campaigner

Jason Ashley, head of Redbridge Community School in Southampton, shared images of food served at the school

Children face a "postcode lottery" when it comes to the quality of school meals, according to a campaigner.

It comes after a head teacher in Southampton blamed the "completely unacceptable" food served in his canteen on a private catering company.

Award-winning food campaigner Saffron Stedall said: "It's heart-breaking to see the differences between schools."

The Department for Education (DfE) said schools must work with suppliers to "ensure high standards are in place".

Saffron Stedall (centre) won a Good School Food award for Youth Activist of the Year in 2023

A member of staff from a school on the Isle of Wight has raised similar issues with the BBC.

Katie Wigley, business manager at St Saviour's Primary School, said: "It's primarily an issue with funding. The money that is available for us for school meals is not sufficient for the companies to produce quality meals."

She admitted being based on the island also made it difficult to find companies to provide catering.

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However, she added both the catering company and the school cook were doing the best with what they had.

Miss Stedall, 19, from Portsmouth, has worked with the Food Foundation for five years, lobbying the government for a fairer food system.

She said the poor quality of school meals was an issue that came up "all of the time" and when teachers were saying there was a problem then it was "clear that something needs to change" due to the "postcode lottery" children faced.

She added that when she had worked alongside the DfE she saw that there were standards for the food that was served but "unfortunately they are not being met".

Miss Stedall won a Jamie Oliver Good School Food award for Youth Activist of the Year in 2023.

She said: "I think it's completely unacceptable because we see children coming into school hungry and they are relying on that school lunch as their only meal of the day, let alone their best one.

"They come to school hungry so why should they be leaving school hungry too."

TV chef Oliver has long campaigned on child nutrition and the need to improve the quality and availability of school dinners. The BBC has approached him for comment.

A DfE spokesperson said: "Our guidance around school catering is clear - that children need a healthy, balanced meal to help them concentrate and learn.

"Schools must work collaboratively with their food supplier to ensure high standards are in place.

"All food provided in schools must meet our food standards guidelines, but contracts with food suppliers are the responsibility of schools."

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