Council bans puddings from school dinners in healthy eating push

Children will only be able to get fruit and yoghurt for dessert with their school dinners.

Primary schools in Glasgow are banning sugary and unhealthy puddings such as jelly and jam roly poly in school dinners, as part of efforts to improve the diets of school children. Along with the ban on sweet treats, schools are also reducing the amount of red meat being served to kids, with primary schools and nurseries only offering red meat three times a week now. Pupils will also be served two portions of fresh vegetables every day with their school dinners. The changes have been introduced by Glasgow City Council as the council aims to ensure children have a more well-balanced meal during their school day. Glasgow Live reports that the changes were presented in a report to the Education, Skills and Early Years City Policy Committee. Speaking at a council meeting, SNP councillor Margaret Morgan said that the issues was one that meant a lot to her, pointing out that for children from poorer backgrounds school dinners can be the only nutritious meal they may have in a day. She said: "This is very close to my heart having taught many many hungry children. "Hungry children really don’t learn and for many children it is the only meal of the day." Related links: Scottish four-year-olds can change gender at school without parents’ consent Teacher beaten by parent on first day of school over mask dispute The definitive ranking of the UK’s weirdest fast food from Wigan kebabs to spam fritters She added: "When I was first elected in some schools I was horrified at the quality of the food that was on offer for children. Thankfully that seems to be addressed in this report." Fellow SNP Councillor Elaine Ballantyne said: "It is really good to see the nutritional aspect of the free school meals being addressed. "We know this may be the only nutritious meal some kids may have." The council’s head of catering and facilities management Stephen Sawers said: "This is not just about complying with legislation it is about service improvement and going on a journey in terms of educating our children in terms of food choices and behaviours."