School fundraising cake sales draw criticism in Jamie Oliver Food Foundation report
Melanie May | 24 October 2017 | News
A Jamie Oliver Food Foundation report has criticised school fundraising events for too often including unhealthy foods such as cakes and biscuits, with practices contrary to healthy eating messages and food education.
The Food Education Learning Landscape Review looks into food education in schools. The AKO Foundation commissioned the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation and partners including the British Nutrition Foundation, Food Teachers Centre and the University of Sheffield, to undertake the review into the state of food education and food culture in primary and secondary schools in England. It questioned school leaders, parents, pupils, catering organisations, NGOs, governors and others, reviewing three areas: the curriculum, the whole school approach and behaviour change.
The report states that fundraising practices currently are, and should no longer, act
in contradiction to food education, revealing that 85% of primary school teachers and 86% of secondary school teachers say their school fundraising activities include biscuits, buns, cakes or sweet items. Inconsistencies between healthy eating messages and school practices on rewards, fundraising and celebration were highlighted by a number of teachers, with some calling for an end to cake and bake sales for fundraising and rewards in order to support their pupils in making healthy food choices.
Pupils themselves said that frequent fundraising activities in primary and secondary school encouraged them to purchase and eat foods high in sugar, salt and fat. The majority of parents questioned for the survey (over 70%) thought that foods high in fat, sugar, and salt should be offered as part of fundraising activities no more than once a term.
The report states:
“The culture of high fat and sugary foods used as rewards, in fundraising and in celebrations, is creating social and physical environments that contradict children’s food education. This appears to be recognised by pupils and school staff, and there is an appetite from parents for the use of such foods in this way to be limited to once a term.”
Dr Caroline Hart from the University of Sheffield said:
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“For many primary schools, a major concern is the prolific sale of cakes, sweets, cookies and crisps as part of fundraising efforts. In many secondary schools, a key issue is the lack of healthy food offers that enable pupils to put their food education into practice. The vast majority of parents responding to our survey supported the reduction of unhealthy food offers in school.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.