School caterers need an extra £500m to improve the nutritional content of school meals, the conference was told. Lizzie Vann, managing director of organic children's food company Organix, added that most of the money would have to come from central Government.
Vann said that we pay less attention to the nutritional needs of children than we do to those of farm animals.
"You don't find farm animals with obesity, heart disease and asthma, because they have an economic value to us," she said. "Children don't have an economic value, so we give them junk. If good food is too expensive, what's the price of cheap food? Cancer, strokes and diabetes cost the Government £3b a year, which it wasn't paying 30 years ago. Our taxes have gone up to pay for this."
Central and local government must be lobbied harder, she urged delegates. Parents and food manufacturers also needed to be involved in looking at ways of getting more money into the school meal system, she added.
The £500m figure for school meals represents double the current budget for ingredients per child, from an average of 35p per meal to 70p.
She said the sum was relatively cheap and worked out at an extra £1,000 to cover each pupil's 14 years in education.
The present average budget of 35p means that caterers can meet the standards based on the five food groups, but not nutritional standards such as those set out by public health campaigners the Caroline Walker Trust.
Vann said that less than 40p per child only buys processed meat, fish, sausages and pastries that are full of additives and pesticides.
The Soil Association's Food for Life Campaign is preparing a policy document for the Government on the experiences of seven schools around the UK which are changing their menus. The schools aim to use 75% unprocessed ingredients, organic root vegetables and dairy produce, and meet the Caroline Walker Trust nutritional guidelines. The document will be published in October.
The Government wants public organisations to buy more organic food. To reduce the high level of imported organic food, it has set a target of 70% to be sourced from UK farmers by 2010.
Conference in brief
Schools may lose control of meals funding
The delegation of school meal funding to individual schools could be scrapped after a Department for Education and Skills (DfES) research paper is published later this year.
Stephen Bishop, joint head of the school funding unit at the DfES, said there were indications in the report that many people thought giving individual schools control of their own catering budgets was a "bad thing".
The report found that people were concerned about how local authorities divided up the cash, and whether schools were actually spending the money on meals services. The impact of delegation on school dining rooms, quality of service and prices would also be highlighted as key issues.
One caterer which took part in the research complained that Government guidance on delegated funding was "so vague people didn't know what they should be doing".
Buller takes over as LACAchairman
LACA has elected a new chairman. Former vice-chairman Vivianne Buller has taken over from Sue Kilbey.
Commenting on her new role, Buller said: "With food labelling, quality, procurement and nutritional standards all on the agenda for the coming year, one of my main priorities will be to ensure that LACA continues to be heard and properly represented as the voice of the education catering sector."
Fitness theme for School Meals Week
LACA's National School Meals Week will take place 13-17 October. The week has a sports and fitness theme and carries the message: "Eat well, play well, live well."
LACA is using a group of cartoon characters called Fit Club Five to promote the week.