Government of Jersey pledges £1.6m for healthier school meals

The government said it wanted to provide "as many children as possible" with healthy meals

The Government of Jersey has proposed spending £1.6m on healthier school meals for primary school children.

The funding has been lodged as part of the government plan, following a pilot launched by the government in 2019.

If approved by the States Assembly, the pilot will expand from five primary schools to all government-run primary schools.

The Government of Jersey said funding would also cover the cost of "creating facilities to store and serve meals".

Minister for Children and Education Inna Gardiner said funding would provide "several thousand meals a day" as opposed to the current "few hundred".

She said: "This is more than double the number produced by the General Hospital every day, for delivery across the island.

"This is a huge logistical challenge, and I recognise that there is a substantial amount of work needed to make this happen, however, it is absolutely worth doing to ensure that as many children as possible can benefit from healthy meals."

Chief Minister Kristina Moore said the funding showed its "commitment to supporting children and families".

She said: "The access that children have to healthy food has an impact on their development and their school performance: it is also a key predictor of their health throughout their life.

"This intervention is timely. We know that the cost of living is rising, and that there are many families for whom providing healthier options is becoming harder."

Deputy Moore added the support would "provide more options for families" financially.

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