LACA’s Annual School Lunch event receives support from MPs
The event is LACA’s opportunity to showcase all that is great about school food. The event also helped highlight how school caterers go the extra mile every day to serve freshly prepared, great tasting, hot school lunches in schools across the country.
Brad Pearce, chair of LACA, commented: “I’m pleased to say that the day has been really well attended and we’ve had some good conversations with many MPs who listened to the call for increased funding - now we need to see that turned into positive action while we continue to lobby and campaign.”
Here is what MPs had to say about school meals and LACA’s Annual School Lunch:
Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West: “I loved hosting LACA in parliament to celebrate National School Meals Week. I’m so passionate about the benefits of school meals and it was brilliant to talk to other parliamentarians about something so important.”
Angela Rayner, MP for Ashton under Lyne and deputy leader of the Labour Party: “When I was growing up, a free school lunch was often my only proper meal of the day. It was a lifeline. Great to visit the Annual School Lunch to celebrate school caterers ensuring children get fed hot and healthy meals every day. Thank you Sharon Hodgson and LACA.”
Janet Daby, MP for Lewisham East: “I was delighted to meet Raheem [Morgan], a school chef in my local constituency at the Annual School Lunch organised by LACA. Children deserve delicious and nutritious food to help their concentration in lessons and for a healthy lifestyle.
“With soaring inflation, school catering companies have had to charge higher prices. Yet the money that the Government gives to schools to pay for free school meals remains the same. This is creating funding pressures for schools, who have to pay the shortfall for these meals.
“Many schools, especially ones with high free school meal take-up are now in an impossible position. If they meet this shortfall they then have less money to invest in teaching services that would improve education outcomes. The Government must get its head out of the sand on this!”
Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South and Shadow Minister for Schools: “Good to chat with pupils, suppliers, industry experts, caterers, school catering staff and Angela Rayner at the LACA event in parliament. LACA represents 3,300 different organisations providing three million lunches in 22,000 schools every day.”
Munira Wilson, MP for Twickenham: “Roast beef and apple crumble on the menu at Parliament’s Annual School Lunch. Great to meet pupils from Upton Cross Primary School in Newham who were also tucking in. Funding for infant lunches has risen up by just 11p since 2014. Government should expand free school meals and fund them properly.”
Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North: “Hungry children can’t learn and school lunches can sadly too often be the only proper meal a child gets a day. Great to visit the Annual School Lunch to celebrate the school caterers ensuring children get fed hot, nutritious and tasty meals. Thank you LACA.”
Christian Wakeford, MP for Bury South: “[It] was a pleasure to join Sharon Hodgson and School Chef of the Year Tom Armstrong for the Annual School Lunch. We spoke to school caterers about their experiences and how they are ensuring children get fed during the cost of living crisis despite all of the challenges.”
Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton: “Delighted to attend The Annual School Lunch at the House of Commons highlighting the importance of school meals and meeting the nation’s award-winning chefs delivering school food. Also sampled some yummy 21st century school dinners.”