Since the project started, the number of children eating school meals has increased.Paul Sander-Jackson was so inspired by what he saw that he decided to give it a go in Somerset. Somerset Links worked with three local state schools to test the practicality of introducing organic and locally produced food, and to see what the obstacles would be. At St Aldhelm's primary school in Doulting, the head teacher, Roger Whitewick, put on a week of linked activities to raise awareness about food issues. In addition, he arranged visits to farms and a mill where flour is produced. Several farmers came into school to talk about food production, and a local butcher demonstrated – to the children's delight – how to make sausages."Somerset is a food-producing region and we wanted to give the children a sense of what is happening in their own community," says Roger Whitewick. At lunchtime, children were offered dishes made of local, seasonal ingredients such as a cheesy vegetable bake with broccoli.
The reaction was enthusiastic, but Paul Sander-Jackson was surprised at how cautious the parents and the children were "It takes time to deliver any results," he says. "There was largely a positive response, but the take-up of meals was average."Somerset Links has set up a county working party that is looking at how local farmers can supply the food for school meals. To do this, however, Mr Sander-Jackson thinks it is crucial to examine how food is produced, processed and distributed in Somerset. It is not simply a case of substituting one supplier for another, he says. There are major logistical problems to be overcome.Local producers are not currently organised to supply large canteens. And much of the infrastructure for a localised food service – whereby people eat what is grown locally – has already been removed with the closure of school kitchens.
In Somerset, 57 per cent of schools don't provide hot meals.Then there is the cost Locally supplied food is more expensive than processed food But people aren't prepared to pay for it. Schools are trying to keep costs down while maintaining a reasonable quality, but the average cost of a school meal is £1.20 Of that, only about 40p is spent on ingredients. By contrast, the French and Italians are prepared to spend far more money on more sophisticated and higher quality food. Clive Peckham, co-ordinator of East Anglia Food Link, puts it down to political will. In France and Italy, there is political will because the people care much more about what they put into their mouths.
