PSC Alliance chair’s call to action over school meals in England
In her valedictory blog she says: “Make no mistake, the defunding of school meals in particular - and public food in general - is having real and tangible consequences.
“It is having an impact on nutrition, local food economies, local employment, health inequalities, on the consequences of poverty, on pupil choice and pupil voice.
“It is affecting, too, all the prevention work that politicians most often, in our experience, laud as ‘the answer’ and yet in their decisions seem only to pay lip service to.
“And the consequences are that local authorities like Hampshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, as well as CATERed in Plymouth, are ceasing their school meals provision.”
And she encourages the industry to respond to this.
“As I step away from the PSC Alliance, I want to offer a challenge – a call to action. What are you, dear reader, going to do about this?
“How will you, as someone with an interest in public food, going to act to prevent this key service from disintegrating. And how are you going to hold decision-makers to account?
“What will you do to keep services rooted in communities, in places where local opportunities are seen as connectors to place, to people, and to society?”