Survey puts spotlight on school meals

Council bosses say there has only been a “relatively small increase” in those having school meals across the city, while significant numbers of pupils who are entitled to free school meals do not take up the offer.

Members of York Council’s learning and culture overview and scrutiny committee have set up a task group to look into the take-up of school meals generally and free school meals specifically. It hopes feedback from pupils and their families will also help members to consider if cashless payment systems would be welcomed.

Mark Ellis, the council’s head of school services, said: “School meals have come a long way in the past few years since Jamie Oliver brought them to the public attention.

“Research shows that good nutrition is vital to supporting good learning and we want to find out why more pupils in York aren’t taking school meals, whether or not they’re entitled to free school meals.”

Anyone who would like to give feedback can email [email protected] by the end of the week.