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"Did Back
to School mean Back to Stigma?" asks leading anti-poverty group
as new school meals book published in Scotland
23.08.04
As young Scots
settle back into school a book published today highlights how extending
free school meal entitlement and changing the way food is served
can tackle some of the stigma of child poverty. Yet latest Scottish
Executive statistics show a third of Scottish children entitled
to free meals don't take them, and in only a quarter of schools
is there an anonymised system in place to avoid stigmatising.
Welcoming Recipe
for Change, John Dickie, Head of CPAG in Scotland, says:
'The Scottish
Executive and local authorities have a choice. Will the new school
year signal a healthier future for our young people or continuing
stigmatisation and poor diet? Recipe
for Change gives examples from Glasgow to Hull of how
education authorities across the UK are taking radical steps to
both extend free school meal entitlement and improve the way meals
are delivered.'
CPAG in Scotland
believes decent quality free school meals can play a vital role
in tackling child poverty. They can ensure that children get at
least one healthy meal a day and at the same time free up highly
stretched family budgets to pay for clothes, bills and other essentials.
However an estimated 100,000 of Scotland's poorest children either
aren't entitled to free school meals or don't take them.
Scottish
Executive "must do better"
Mr Dickie
continued: 'As the new school year starts the Scottish Executive
really must do better as far as school meals are concerned. Their
own figures show the huge gap between the number of children living
in poverty and the number benefiting from free school meals. Only
by extending entitlement, anonymising take up and making food
healthy and attractive can school meals really play a part in
improving the health and well being of all Scotland's children.'
For further information
John Dickie, Head of Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Mobile
0779 534 0618, Office 0141 552 3656, Home 0131 661 6734 continued
over
Notes:
- CPAG in Scotland
promotes action for the relief, directly or indirectly, of poverty
among children and families with children. We work to ensure that
those on low incomes get their full entitlement to welfare benefits.
In our campaigning and information work we seek to improve policies
for low-income families, in order to eradicate the injustice of
poverty.
- CPAG in
Scotland is a lead member of the Scottish Free School Meals Campaign,
a broad-based coalition of organisations across Scotland, including
children's charities, churches, unions, public health groups,
anti-poverty groups, dieticians, politicians and local government
representatives. The Campaign is co-ordinated by CPAG in Scotland
along with One Plus (contact Marion Davies 0141 333 1450), Poverty
Alliance (contact Peter Kelly tel. 0141 353 0440 ) and the Scottish
Youth Parliament (contact Sean Hanlon MSYP on 0774 344 8194).
- Recipe
for Change eds. Hurley, C and Riley, A is published by
CPAG on August 23rd 2004 in Scotland and is priced £9. For
preview copies Ashley Riley on 020 7812 5216 or ariley@cpag.org.uk.
The book includes chapters on a range of initiatives taken by
education authorities across the country to enhance the role school
meals play in tackling child poverty and ill health. The introduction
of universal free school meals in Hull is described and Glasgow's
Big Breakfast initiative showcased.
Find out more about
Recipe for Change and how to order
- For details
of the latest Scottish Executive school meal statistics see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00347-00.asp
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