Report ITALIAN SCHOOL MEALS 2020? Health i 14
School food and health advisor Lindsay Graham examines the European Health 2020 policy and takes a look at the school food system in Italy
’m no researcher or academic, but I did spend a few hours recently looking into public health policy. With the new Health and Wellbeing Board structures in England and abysmal health stats UK wide on childhood obesity and hunger, I began to wonder what our European ‘powers that be’ were doing about all of this. I discovered a presentation given in Bolzano, Italy, by the World Health Organisation. It was headlined ‘Health 2020 - the new European policy for Health and Wellbeing’ and its aim is threefold:
• To signifi cantly improve the health and wellbeing of populations
• To reduce health inequalities • To ensure people centred health systems
Now, before you get too bored, take a moment to read the three aims above again. Are these not what you aspire to every day within school meals? This is worth a mention
June 2013
in any policy or plea for funding you might be writing to garner support for your service. My reading continued to Italy and included a chapter in ‘The School Food Revolution’ by Kevin Morgan and Roberta Sonnino. They describe the Italian school food system as being based on ‘people’s rights to education and consumers’ right to health’. A bit more research took me to an interview with two public school pupils in Rome, Giovanni, 7, and Michele, 9. Written by Canadian writer Andrea Curtis, the interview started with a description of their lunch service:
G&M: We call it pranzo a mensa and we eat all four courses that are typical for lunch in Italy. For the fi rst course it’s usually pasta or soup; for the second dish we have meat, fi sh, cheese or eggs. There’s a side dish of vegetables or salad and a dessert of fruit or cake. Very rarely we get hot sandwiches with cheese and ham.
AC: Do you like it? What’s your favourite part? What’s the worst part?
G&M: Sometimes we like it, but not very often. The second course is the best. We like the sandwiches most of all! The worst part is the soup.
AC: How much time do you have and who supervises you?
G&M: We have 30 minutes to eat and the teachers watch us. We get to play for half an hour afterward.
AC: Are menus sent home so parents know what their kids are eating?
G&M: No, but the menu is posted in the school.
AC: Is the food cooked at school or off-campus?
“They describe
the Italian school food system as being based on ‘people’s rights to
education and
consumers’ right to health’”
G&M (with parental assistance): It’s cooked at school, but some schools don’t have the facilities and have it cooked off- campus by special companies. The lunch is subsidised by the government and the price depends on family income. The highest rate is 80 euros (£68) a month.
AC: Is there some local and/or organic requirement for the food?
G&M (with parental assistance): Yes, organic food is part of the menu, but due to fi nancial troubles the government has recently decided to cut part of the organic food.
We are not alone in budget cuts to the school meals service here in the UK. I will be watching how things evolve as we head towards ‘Health 2020’.
Please tweet any comments or thoughts on this issue to @EDUcateringmag or @LindsayGrahamUK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70