There is an online petition as part of the 'Feed Me Better' camapaign, they are wanting around 20,000 signatures and at the moment are on about 4500.

Could you please sign this petition here (http://www.feedmebetter.com/getinvolved/signexplain.php) .

ive signed it, lets hope a few more do too.
my daughter has pizza every day, i know its her thats choosing it but surely theres no need to have it on the menu everyday anyway.

and what are the dinner ladies like that allowed my son to choose pizza coleslaw and gravy??? then refused to let him have some red sauce on his chips another day :suspect: hes 8 BTW and my daughters 14

Litha

But but but ... I don't have school dinner anymore !!!

:P

I have added my name -

over 5100 on the list now

I think that parents have to take some of the blame though. most of the kids said they had had the same meal at home the night before - chips, chips and more chips.......

Originally posted by LoopyLou
I think that parents have to take some of the blame though. most of the kids said they had had the same meal at home the night before - chips, chips and more chips.......

That is so true.

I take my hat off to Jamie he's doing a fantastic job at trying to re-educate the children's tastebuds but unfortunately their parents need educating too.

I was shocked to hear how those kids in last night's program started going mental just 30 mins after having processed food reintroduced to their diet... I bet that was a wake up call for the parents!

How do you draw the line between "highly-" and "lightly-" processed foods? Most foods you buy have been processed to some degree, and for most working families I would imagine cooking each meal from scratch is virtually impossible.

I think that the main culprit for the kids sudden hyperactivity was probably the fizzy pop that the parents let them have. Massive amounts of sugar and artifical flavourings and colourings. The food probably wouldn't have had a chance to digest properly in 30 mins.

I was chuffed that he seemed to make some progress, I thought it was a bit of a losing battle.

The bit that shocked me was how expensive it was to cook with fresh ingredients (although it shouldnt have shocked me if i bothered to look at my shopping bill). When he was cooking at that school in london last week all of his meals came in way over budget.

basshedz

I was shocked at last nights programme - couldn't believe that only one child in the class when shown rhubarb knew what it was - one kid said they were onions!

I've always thought that Sheffield LEA provided good nutritious meals as per the following links:

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/education/information-for-parentscarers/school-meals

My 8 year old son has come home from school today and told me that for his lunch he had one turkey drummer and some beans followed by ginger sponge and custard with water to drink. I pay £7.35 a week for his dinners. I'm at a loss as to what to do now - with the cold weather I thought it would be best for him to have hot dinners rather than sandwiches.

Exactly, Cake. I felt the same way until I did some time in the school as a Dinner Lady, having seen the dinner's and how and when they are prepared I am fast coming to the conclusion that a packed lunch at school and a cooked dinner at home is the best way to go.

Something really has to be done about the food that is being given to our kid's, I hope Jamie manages to get the Government/LEA's (as well as kid's and parent's) to sit up, take notice and improve thing's for the better.:thumbsup:

Cake, basshedz2, feargal & Mo, hope you all signed the petition, - just checked and there's nearly 6000 people now all agree with us that something needs to be done.

I certainly did sign it and will be encouraging others to do the same.

Originally posted by feargal
Most foods you buy have been processed to some degree, and for most working families I would imagine cooking each meal from scratch is virtually impossible.

I can sympathise with that but it's not really impossible you know. Admittedly, it requires forward planning but you know once you get into the swing of batch cooking/freezing, things seem to fall into place.

I cook lots of bolognaise mixture/stews/shepherd pie/curry types of dishes and take whatever I want to eat later that day out of the freezer that morning.

Veg can be prepared in advance and left in water just ready to light when you come home.

Don't get me wrong there are the occassions when things didn't go to plan or we get in late and then we do have the odd ready meal but in the main it's good home made food for us.

I've signed it too and hope it makes a big impact on the way school's feed our children in future.

I've signed, I'm nice like that :D

In the beginning, God created the earth and rested. Then God created Man and rested. Then God created Woman. Since then, neither God nor Man has rested



ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha :D :D :D

What a fantastic campaign! As a food enthusiast I'm so glad someone's doing something about the reheated filth being served to children. Jamie Oliver should be proud!

I was in school meals for 23 years.At the beginning the meals were great the children loved them. Over the years the bosses frequently changed the menues. We had to do as we were told. We used to complain but they took no notice. The dinner ladies today do a great job,having to cope with less staff. We tried very hard to encourage the children to try things,sorry to say quite alot of them just wanted sausage,burgers,chips. Over the years I have met children(now parents themselves) and they have said to me I remember the lovely dinners we used to have,steamed puddings,school custard and smiling dinner ladies. A great deal of children dont no what fresh veg is. We were told the school dinner should not be the main meal of the day for children but just to sustain them through the day. My mother worked hard brought a family up and still cooked a proper decent meal for us when we came home from school and later on from work. Regards old_granny

I think this is fantastic - what a great way to help the children have a better diet :D

I will let everyone I know about the petition :)

I think Jamie Oliver is great for making more people aware :)

personally I would let them all watch "supersize me" they will soon stop eating junk food ;)

I've signed it too! :)

If I hadn't of read this thread, I wouldn't of known about this petition and I wouldn't of had the chance to help so thanks for sharing it with us! :clap:

My signature is number 42675 and I hope when I go back and check the number of signatures will be a lot more!

Bloody eck! I just refreshed the page and another 47 people had signed it! :clap:

I think it's going to be a good one :D

I too have signed it. I work at a primary school as a lunchtime supervisor (dinnerlady to you!!) and was pretty disgusted at what they serve. It's all processed food such as burgers, hot dogs, turkey drumers and smiley faces, not to meantion the chips, chips and more chips. The portions are miniscule with some kids having strange combinations too because there is not enough left of what they like.

I send both mine with packed lunches as I then know what they are getting is good an dthey will eat it.

School lunches are extremely poor value for money and have little or no nutritional value.

Just had a look and its on 46223 now! I signed it a few mins ago and my name is off the page already! Fantastic.

In my day (makes me sound old!) we didn't have any choice. School dinners consisted of things like liver, potatoes and cabbage. We ate it. If we complained we had dinner ladies who would tell us off and make us clear our plates. Dinner ladies were scary but it worked! I grew up on healthy food and still love cabbage and liver to this day.

Why has all this happened? Since when did kids have the right to moan, be rude, and eat crap? Not only do they need to eat more healthy food, they need to learn some discipline also. And it really annoys me when they say they don't like it and haven't even tried it!

Grrrrrrr, it makes me angry. Watched Jamie O last week, and was really shocked about the vomiting faeces bit!! I had no idea how bad it was getting. Parents need to be re-educated also. My mum worked and she managed to cook good proper healthy food which didn't cost the earth. On the really rare occasion we had e.g. burgers, chips and beans it was treated as a treat, not the norm and in hindsight it was probably because my mum had had a bad day and couldn't be bothered to cook something!! The funny thing was, I didn't even think it was a treat. I didn't like chips because I was used to eating jacket potatoes! Didn't like burgers as was used to eating proper meat!

I dont know what it is like in Sheffield but in Leicester a number of schools are opting for private catering because they have had enough. Do you get some schools that prepare container meals for the smaller schools.You no the pay is not very good as well considering what they have to do.The only consolation is the fact the ladies get paid during the school holidays.That is why the mums take the jobs.I truly hope that the councils etc take notice of Jamie.He is trying so hard.The people who come up with these so called ideas want to get an apron on and have a go.Good job they dont know my proper name.Good luck to the petition from old_granny

Well the government have announced that they are going to raise the amount spent on school dinners !!!

Well done Jamie - hope he gets a knighthood for this one....

Quote from Annova


Ananova:

Jamie backs school meal changes

Celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver has backed Government moves to improve school dinners - but vowed to remain "the voice of the dinner lady".

Oliver has led a high-profile campaign to improve food standards in schools and has delivered a 271,000-signature petition backing his cause to Downing Street.

The Government announced a minimum spend of 50p for primary school meals and 60p for secondary school pupils.

The chef said outside No 10: "The response from the public and parents and kids and teachers has been phenomenal.

"I think I am going to stay very much removed from the Government, or any government, and I'm going to try and remain the voice of the dinner lady and the parent - but it is certainly very positive."

Headteachers' leaders also welcomed the Government's promise of new money to improve school meals.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "I'm glad that the Government has at last recognised that schools won't be able to provide decent, healthy meals unless there is greater investment by Government and local authorities.

"All heads are committed to improving the quality of school meals because of the obvious benefits for children but they cannot find the cash from within their existing budgets when there are so many other pressures which need to be addressed."

He said the extra money - "well spent" - should make a real difference.

"I don't really care very much whose bandwagon the Government is jumping on as long as they jump."
[B]

This is great news - a step in the right direction for sure.

Jamie gets a lot of flack from the media (and some people on this forum) but he really cares and instead of sitting back and thinking he actually puts his hand in his pocket and does something about it.

Well done Jamie!! :clap:

Originally posted by Cake
Jamie gets a lot of flack from the media (and some people on this forum) but he really cares and instead of sitting back and thinking he actually puts his hand in his pocket and does something about it.


and all the free publicity does him no harm either

Originally posted by Cake
This is great news - a step in the right direction for sure.

Jamie gets a lot of flack from the media (and some people on this forum) but he really cares and instead of sitting back and thinking he actually puts his hand in his pocket and does something about it.

Well done Jamie!! :clap:

The Press have caused Jamie Oliver much anguish and pain in the past by running stories which are completely unfounded and potentially damaging to his relationship with Jules. Indeed Jamie has had the courage and perseverance to do something about the state of food fed to children in this country. I, for one hope he does get a Knighthood for his efforts instead of them repeatedly being given to sports personalities!

Well done jamie! what an achievement.
when i was at primary school i ate school dinners twice - they were absolutely DISGUSTING and i had packed lunch all the time instead. and that was a few years ago . we got a portion of veg but it was horrid mixed veg n the tiniest portion - i couldnt physically eat it. i think its bad that schools could feed that rubbish to kids , after all at that time you are doing most of your growing and developing , and you aint gonna grow up big and strong from eating processed assmeat smothered in salt and fat. ive never been a fan of jamie oliver but my hat goes off to the man , he must feel so proud , cause theres a whole generation of kids that are going to eat properly now thanks to him .

Originally posted by nick2
and all the free publicity does him no harm either


Thanks nick2, I wondered who Cake was referring to!

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "I don't really care very much whose bandwagon the Government is jumping on as long as they jump."
[B]

And I dont care about Jamie's free publicity. He deserves it.
He has made a difference:thumbsup:

Originally posted by nick2
and all the free publicity does him no harm either

With all due respect Nick (and I truly mean that), I think it's a bit cynical to conclude that he's championing this for personal gain.

Originally posted by JonJParr
With all due respect Nick (and I truly mean that), I think it's a bit cynical to conclude that he's championing this for personal gain.

I'm not saying he has done it for publicity, just that he is getting a LOT of publicity out of it, at a time when sales of his books (and other celeb-chefs) are falling.

Originally posted by nick2
I'm not saying he has done it for publicity, just that he is getting a LOT of publicity out of it, at a time when sales of his books (and other celeb-chefs) are falling.

Surely we should point the finger more at shows like "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" and "Celebrity Big Brother" that masquerade themselves as raising money for Charity and not a high profile chef who is championing the cause of healthy eating in schools! If it weren't "high profile" we would be complaining that nobody was taking any notice. Which is worse?

Originally posted by JonJParr
Surely we should point the finger more at shows like "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!" and "Celebrity Big Brother"

I think the kitchen thing where he got the unemployed people and tried to make them into chefs was just about as bad as "I'm a celebrity", I didn't for a moment think that he was trying to help those kids, more that he was trying to promote himself (as a nice caring guy realy) and the resturant (as somewhere trendy to eat).

Thats just how it looked to me.

Originally posted by nick2
I think the kitchen thing where he got the unemployed people and tried to make them into chefs was just about as bad as "I'm a celebrity", I didn't for a moment think that he was trying to help those kids, more that he was trying to promote himself (as a nice caring guy realy) and the resturant (as somewhere trendy to eat).

Thats just how it looked to me.

Again I think you're being a little cynical Nick....

I personally dont like the jumped up floppy dischevelled unkempt messy pile of a chef or his bish bosh attitude. I am sure he is nothing more than a frontman on a show whos real architecture was organised by other people. LMAO at him acting the big man when he gave Bill Clinton the knockback at his restuarant. But that said, anything that affords our kids a healthier future is a good thing so on that note I must commend him. As for him recieving a knighthood then why not, specially when you see some of the ridiculous reasons others have recieved that particular award for.

It also goes to show..no matter how successful you are, sometimes you just cant find a comb.
Bish Bash Bosh :rant:

Originally posted by JonJParr
Again I think you're being a little cynical Nick....

Probably, I'm very cynical by nature, especially where "celebrities" get involved in things.

It seems to me that there is alot of concern about school dinners and their nutrients when in fact, and I do stand to be corrected on this, the most school dinners a child can have during any school year is 180. This takes into account holidays and weekends. I suggest that Jamie does house calls on every family where there is concern and instructs them on correct nutrition. They produce the most dinners for children during the year after all.

Originally posted by BoppinBruce
It seems to me that there is alot of concern about school dinners and their nutrients when in fact, and I do stand to be corrected on this, the most school dinners a child can have during any school year is 180. This takes into account holidays and weekends. I suggest that Jamie does house calls on every family where there is concern and instructs them on correct nutrition. They produce the most dinners for children during the year after all.

Quite right and this was brought out in the programmes, where even the dinner ladies he took on camp didn't eat vegetables themselves. Some were even unable to cook, they being merely expected to open packets of frozen muck and deep fry it. Yuk.

Thats not to say that something doesn't need doing. It's just a shame that it has taken a celebrity to raise the governments awareness of the issue. Still, I don't suppose many of the MP's children go to 'bog standard' state schools do they? ;)

Originally posted by BoppinBruce
I suggest that Jamie does house calls on every family where there is concern and instructs them on correct nutrition. They produce the most dinners for children during the year after all.

Exactly, a nice salad for luch then chips and frozen pizza when they get home. When the schools change what they serve but the children don't get much healthier who will be to blame next ?

Originally posted by nick2
I'm not saying he has done it for publicity, just that he is getting a LOT of publicity out of it, at a time when sales of his books (and other celeb-chefs) are falling.

If the clout of being a celebrity does the job then so what?

He's brought a real issue to everyone's notice, taken part in the project personally and if it helps the sale of his books - then at least take comfort in knowing that some parents will have bought a copy and will be feeding 'real food' to their families.
Two birds with one stone springs to mind.

I think what came out of the programme was that Jamie really does care what crap our kids get fed when they go to school and genuinely wanted to do something about it.
He has kids of his own, and yes, leads a priveledged life as a celebrity but at least he is one with a conscience.
I think that it is disgraceful that only now, the Government has taken notice as it has realised that to ignore this issue that really concerns parents would not be a vote winner.
Things should have radically changed years ago.I mean, how can anyone be expected to cook a meal for just 37p
You can hardly get a packet of crisps for that.

Well done to Jamie Oliver

Can someone please confirm how much a parent/council pays for a school dinner in Sheffield? £1.50?

37p (or whatever) is what ends up on food ingredients. The rest is on staff and overheads and corporate profits.

Jamie did not ask the senior executive from the private meal-providing company what his salary/income was!!

I wouldn't get too carried away. This is a one off payment over 3 years, there is no promise of long term funding.

Councils like mine in Derbyshire will probably receive £0.00 as they already spend 58p per meal, which although still a pitiful amount is 8p over what the government says the cash injection will bring the rest of Councils upto spending.

Originally posted by cgksheff
37p (or whatever) is what ends up on food ingredients. The rest is on staff and overheads and corporate profits.



Not sure about that, or if the 37p includes all costs and the rest being profit.

Originally posted by Mo
I wouldn't get too carried away. This is a one off payment over 3 years, there is no promise of long term funding.


Just in time for the election!

Is this Jamie doing this for personal reasons- Yep
Is he doing it because he cares for the kids - Also Yes
Is this the governments way of getting more voters - Again YES

I think what Jamie has done, love him or loathe him, is fantastic and I would give him a big pat on the back for what he is trying to do with kids dinners.

The government on the other hand- have shown themselves again- to be the horses arse that they really are drolling on about how they actually were thinking of the idea themselves way before JO stepped on the bandwagon - ********!

They dont care about anyone but themselves.. and I think its quite clear that JO has shown them up for what they really are- a pile o' steaming kids dinners!

Give him and Nora some kind of awards - they bloody deserve it if they can pull it off!

Now lets see some parents follow suit and give kids a proper decent meal when they come home from school as well- I doubt this would happen in the real world though.

Originally posted by cgksheff
Can someone please confirm how much a parent/council pays for a school dinner in Sheffield? £1.50?

37p (or whatever) is what ends up on food ingredients. The rest is on staff and overheads and corporate profits.

Jamie did not ask the senior executive from the private meal-providing company what his salary/income was!!
I do beleive it is now around 1.70

So...the govt are to provide £230million to improve school meals but little has been said about the £60million to set up a new quango to be known as the 'School Food Trust'. Quite a few well paid cushy numbers for Tony's cronies there, - and Jamie Oliver is reported to have already accepted his slice of this expensive cake.

Ruth Kelly reckons the first thing she did on her appointment three months ago was to raise the matter of school dinners, - yet he first public expression of concern seems to have been a few days ago, - unless I read the wrong newspapers.

And let's not forget the words of Tony Blair...."We have been working on this for quite a long time. I would pay tribute to him [Oliver]. What his programme has done is brought into focus what everyone in their hearts knows - which is if you feed children decent food, you are more likely to get responsible children who are healthier and fitter."

It's certainly true that 1997 to 2005 is quite a long time to be neglecting our children's health, but no excuses are offered and no long term commitment to the increase in funding.

The Tories will be upping the ante with their own proposals today or tomorrow, - forgetting entirley that it was they who abolished nutritious school meals in the first place. :rolleyes:

Greasy haired TV chef Jamie Oliver is to have talks with Conservative leader Michael Howard to try to win cross-party support for his campaign to improve school meals. Where next, the Vatican. It seems the lisping lopper wont stop feeding his ego until he has kissed the popes ring. I hope the mock cockney with a penchant for scooters gets caught shoplifting from Sainsburys, or chokes on a turkey twizzler....PUKKA :rant:
Edit: The only petition I wanna sign is one to keep him off television.

Anyone see the article in today's Sheffield Telegraph. The firm that supplies the school dinners for most of Sheffield schools have revelaed in an internal memo that they have managed to get the price down to 24p per dinner. "Cheap as chips" as they say. Scumbag of a company say I.