September 20, 2005
Burnham school leads the way in bucking lunchtime meal trend

A Burnham-On-Sea school is putting hot meals on its lunchtime menu provided by Somerset County Council's catering service.

Burnham-On-Sea Infants School in Winchester Road has announced that it is joining 87 schools across the county which receive hot meals from Somerset County Services (SCS).

The announcement comes just days after a BBC survey claimed school meal take-up has declined by as much as nine per cent across the UK following a Jamie Oliver TV show that prompted some parents to stop their children having lunchtime school meals.

However, SCS says it is reporting increases across Somerset. At St Andrew's School in Burnham, for example, there's been a 10 per cent increase in school meal take-up since 2004 - a figure that's being replicated in other parts of the county.

Julie Burnett, Head of SCS, said: "The recent success in re-introducing school meals into more primary schools shows that is it possible to produce a healthy, balanced meal that children will choose to eat. We are delighted that we are bucking the national trend in Somerset."

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