Don’t shoot the messenger! Prue Leith and Judy Hargadon should have shouted over the din at last week’s Local Authority Caterers Association conference.
The chairman and chief executive of the School Food Trust (SFT), the body set up by the Government to put the new school food standards into practice, were given a bashing in the question and answer (Q&A) spot that closed the morning session on the first day.
Things got rather heated when delegates realised Leith’s earlier briefing essentially meant that although they will have more flexibility to spend the £240m of funding due from 2008 they won’t be getting any additional handouts from Government to ease pressure on the struggling school meals service.
With LACA’s latest figures suggesting secondary school meal uptake has dive bombed to an all-time low of 35% and that 65% of local authority catering departments are in deficient, this was not what any delegate wanted to hear.
Although a storming of the stage was avoided, things got uglier than a hairy troll in a bally dress as the Q&A progressed and delegates became increasingly incensed at replies they felt were dodging the central problem of inadequate funding for the school meals service.
News that there were no plans to legislate packed lunches triggered near apoplexy amongst the conference attendees struggling to get school kids to eat healthy grub rather than junk and Leith and Hargadon had to endure some uncharitable laughter and jeering as they dutifully carried on.
Even a desperate attempt to diffuse things and lighten the mood by Leith with an anecdote about biscuit cookery lessons was only partially successful with an audience unhappy about the way the cookey was crumbling for them.
Leith closed, thankfully no doubt, by saying she appreciated just how tough things were and pledged the SFT would support them every inch of the way with their difficult task.
However, on this showing you have to wonder who will support the SFT and whether some hired muscle might be a useful addition to beef up future Food Standards talks.
Certainly the new Secretary for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls will need to show some if he fancies a cushy PR opportunity anytime soon in a school canteen.