School meals threatened
WORKERS, JUNE 2007 ISSUE
LONDON BOROUGH Waltham Forest is planning to be the first council in Britain to close its central school meals service. If this goes ahead, many local schools will stop providing children with a proper lunch, replacing them with sandwiches.
Deputy leader Keith Rayner claimed that the council was committed to "supporting the provision of healthy, affordable school meals." This doublespeak comes from the same council which is to "develop its cultural services" by severely reducing opening hours at local museum Vestry House and at the world-famous William Morris Gallery, and sacking long-standing expert curators.
Labour-run Waltham Forest has a large population of children from low-income and unemployed families, many of whom arrive at school without breakfast. The government's Every Child Matters agenda to improve children's health and reduce child obesity is a sham. Packed lunch boxes packed with crisps and chocolate are unlikely to help.
Dinner ladies, teachers and parents are campaigning for school lunches. So many turned up at a town hall meeting that the council had to open a larger room. Unison and NUT members are planning a "noisy protest" at the next council meeting, with pots and pans, spoons and lids.
Noreen Ferrari, cook supervisor at Warwick Boys School, said that "it would be alarming for this borough if the school meals service is broken up" after the recent report showing that it is the second worst area of the country for children to live in.