Last chance to book for London seminar - promising to "get to the heart of" school meals issues

6th September 2010, 12:48pm

A seminar concerning the future of school food and related matters takes place at Sixty One Whitehall, in London tomorrow.

The Westminster Food & Nutrition Forum and Westminster Education Forum Keynote Seminar, The future of school food –finance, fairness and procurement, will feature industry speakers that include Judy Hargardon, chief executive, School Food Trust (SFT) and Jane Bristow, managing director, Corporate Services and Education, Sodexo.

The seminar, which follows the announcement of cuts to the planned extension of free school meals in primary schools, offers a "timely opportunity" to discuss the next steps for improving healthy eating in schools, and will examine the success of 'whole school' approaches to improving school food culture.

The organisers are hoping the event will allow for discussion on how to build upon recent increases in the take-up of school meals, which coincide with the cuts to local authority spending and the budget of the SFT.

It will also look at the criticism the "Jamie Oliver approach" to public health has received recently and the government's plans to exempt new academies from nutritional standards.

The seminar will bring together the stakeholders from education and catering with the policy makers to discuss the priorities for food in schools and will include case studies and examples of best practice in improving pupil and parent engagement with healthy eating objectives.

Planned topics include: the latest estimates of progress towards improving the lunchtime experience; nutritional standards and take-up in schools; the reintroduction of cooking to the school classroom; the role of effective procurement in providing affordable, healthy and sustainably-sourced food for all schools and future funding in a difficult economic climate.

The seminar will feature a keynote address from speakers including Hargardon and Bristow, as well as: Professor Kevin Morgan, Professor of Governance and Development, School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University and Roy Ballam, Education Programme Manager, British Nutrition Foundation.

The seminar will also see Diana Johnson MP, Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills who have each agreed to chair part of the seminar.

For more information and booking details visit: www.westminsterforumprojects.co.uk/forums/book_event.php?eid=117&mo=FWS

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