Response to School Food Trust Announcement

16 March 2010

Pamela Brunton, Soil Association policy manager, says:
"We are encouraged to hear today that the School Food Trust are planning to take responsibility for the health of our youngest and most vulnerable children. This was one of the most important recommendations of our 2008 report.

“We urge the SFT to follow the recommendations of the Better Nursery Food campaign and put in place compulsory standards for the food served in all nurseries - as is now the case in schools - and make sure nursery staff have the training and support they need to provide healthy and nutritious food for children.

“Over a year ago our report acknowledged that the younger the child, the more vulnerable their health is to the effects of poor quality nutrition. The report also found processed foods high in salt, fat and sugar that are now banned in schools still on offer in nurseries. The government’s own research shows that a quarter of our opportunities to prevent obesity occur when a child is at nursery. It is vital that the government put regulation for nursery food at the top of their agenda, to ensure that every child gets the start in life that they deserve."

Campaign Progress – Critical Stage
The Better Nursery Food Now Campaign is at an exciting and critical stage and has the support of parents across the UK. Thousands of people have signed Better Nursery Food Now’s online petition demanding better nursery food for our children, with thousands more people following the campaign’s progress on Twitter. To join the campaign or sign the petition, visit www.nurseryfood.org.

Early Day Motion on Nursery Food in Parliament
The Better Nursery Food Now campaign has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in parliament, with the help of MP Joan Walley, asking for mandatory standards for the quality of food served to children in early years daycare. (An EDM is a petition that only MPs can sign to show their support for an issue and and push it up the political agenda). Our youngest children are the most vulnerable to the effects of poor diet, with almost one in four starting school already overweight or obese. This means they are more likely to suffer from serious health problems, like heart disease and cancer, later in life; yet there are no clear rules for food nurseries can serve. Parents can help by emailing your MP to ask them to sign the petition, following the quick and easy instructions on our website: www.nurseryfood.org/email-your-mp.html

TO COME … Tuesday 23 March 2010

Launch of Better Nursery Food Now Report and Survey
The Better Nursery Food Now Campaign, run by The Soil Association and funded by Organix, will be launching research on the views from Mums and a Better Nursery Food Now Report on Tuesday 23 March 2010.  This will clearly lay out our ‘asks’ for the review.  It will be available on Friday 19 March under embargo.

Ends

For further information, please contact:
Anna Guyer – annaguyer@greenhousepr.co.uk / 07976 556164
Clio Turton, Soil Association - cturton@soilassociation.org / 07795 562 556

Notes to Editors:

Existing regulation for nursery food is inadequate:

• Since September 2008 the sole legislation for all nurseries in England (private and voluntary as well as state-maintained) has been the Early Years Foundation Stage. EYFS makes it a legal requirement that ‘Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks these must be healthy, balanced and nutritious.’
• There is guidance (which is not a legal requirement) for childcare workers, suggesting they should ‘encourage children to try healthy food, involve them in the preparation of food and reinforce messages about healthier choices through, for example, discussions about children’s food choices’
• However, EYFS provides no definition of what the government means by ‘healthy and nutritious’ for children in early years day care, and finds ‘babies and young children’ responsible for ‘making healthy choices’.
• The regulation says nothing about cooking methods (i.e. frying), does not restrict provision of highly processed meat products nor – importantly- state what may not be served; for instance, food with high levels of fat, salt or sugar, and fizzy drinks. It also only applies to food served at lunchtime.

Existing Regulation Reference:
Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, Department for Children, Schools and Families. www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/eyfs/resources/downloads/statutory-framework.pdf

The Soil Association’s nursery food report (2008)
‘Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie: Exposing the truth about nursery food’, October 2008. Available from www.nurseryfood.org/the-report

About the Early Day Motion in the House of Commons:
Find the full text of the EDM, with a list of the MPs who have already signed, on the Parliament website: http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40669&SESSION=903

About Better Nursery Food Now - Stakeholder Briefing – Wednesday 31 March 2010:
There will also be a stakeholder event to brief interested people and organisations in the nursery sector about the Better Nursery Food Now campaign, and to allow them to show support for the campaign and to help guide it. We have caterers and cooks, parents, nutritionists, the NDNA, the Daycare Trust, and others attending. Please email pbrunton@soilassociation.org if you're interested in attending.

About the Soil Association:
The Soil Association is the UK's leading environmental charity campaigning for sustainable, organic farming and championing human health.  http://www.soilassociation.org

About Organix:
Organix is a pioneer of organic baby food in the UK. Organix donates a percentage of its profits from food sales to the Organix Foundation, a charity which supports parents by campaigning and challenging the food industry and Government to make high quality nutritious food widely available for all children.  http://www.organix.com  and http://www.organixfoundation.org