WHERE is Marcus Rashford when you need him?
I’m not talking about a goal against Liverpool but the footballer’s successful free school meals campaign, as feeding kids properly in Jersey is needed now more than ever while the cost-of-living crisis bites.
A recent report makes the case for the Island’s version of the scheme to be accelerated beyond current pledges. The Jersey Child Measurement Programme has shed a light on the difference between the haves and have nots: those who have access to healthy meals and those who do not. It shows the difference between town and country, between fee-paying and non-fee-paying primary-school pupils and the impact these differences can have at the outset of a child’s life.
It boils down to this: if you go to a non-fee-paying primary school you are far more likely to be obese or overweight, and the likelihood of you being overweight or obese only grows as you go through school, rising from 27% in Reception to 38% by Year 6. This compares to 19% and 24% respectively in fee-paying primary schools. While the rate rises here too, it is by half as much and from a lower starting point – meaning the disadvantage widens the older a pupil gets. You are also twice as likely to be obese or overweight if you live in urban areas of the Island. If that is not enough to spur people to action, I don’t know what will.
The report looked at children’s height and weight at the beginning and end of their time at primary school. Responding to it this week, former children’s commissioner Deborah McMillan said increases in childhood obesity were ‘definitely linked to deprivation’ and to poverty, which go hand in hand. As she said, there are several high barriers that children from lower-income families have to scale; they have less access to green space, sports activities and exercise, and their parents may not have the luxury of selecting the healthier option at the supermarket. She also called for the free school lunches pilot to be expanded now.
Primary schools do not provide free hot meals for those who need them. In a place where there is as much wealth as Jersey, let that sink in.
There is some good news, however. Children’s and Education Minister Inna Gardiner’s recent announcement made it clear that the initiative – which is a collaboration between the government and local charity Caring Cooks – was being expanded to a further 12 primary schools. Students from families on income support are eligible for free meals as part of the programme’s great work providing a nutritionally balanced main meal and a dessert for £2.50.
At the time of the announcement last month, Deputy Gardiner said the new government planned to deliver the scheme in all primary schools by 2024, and ‘to check whether it’s possible to do it earlier’. It needs to be delivered earlier. There should also be a plan to expand it to all schools, not just primary schools. The problem does not go away once a child goes to secondary school. The longer it is left, the wider the gap gets.
The recently elected minister has a track record in the States of lodging proposals with the aim of removing the barriers children – especially those in town – face as they grow up, including a lack of access to outdoor space and exercise, which inevitably contribute to being overweight.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
The previous government, which appeared to drag its heels more than a sulking child when it came to expanding the scheme, said earlier this year it was ‘unable to commit’ to offering free school meals to all students with parents on income support by next month. This followed a letter from Victoria College pupils on the subject last November, who had to wait until February for a ministerial response, which came with no commitment to the initiative.
Islanders have faced the biggest cost-of-living rise for three decades this year, with the annual rate of inflation jumping to 7.9% and predictions of further rises to come. Inflation has a nasty habit of hitting the poorest the hardest. It begs the question: how bad will the next Jersey Child Measurement Programme look?
The Island can afford to feed the children who need it. The fact that pupils continue to go without hot and nutritious meals is a scandal. Let’s treat it that way.
