Gavin
March 28th, 2008, 07:01 AM
Schools and councils are being urged to make it harder for children to swap their school meal for a takeaway.
It wants schools to close their gates at lunchtime and councils to stop new fast food outlets opening nearby.
But the Local Government Association said it could not force schools to shut their gates and that food retailers could challenge licence refusals.
School Food Trust chief executive Judy Hargaddon said: "At the moment school canteens have to compete with a myriad of take-aways, chippies, and sweet shops for pupils' dinner money.
"We all know that some children will go for chips five times a week if they are allowed to.
Closing the school gates at lunchtime could simply mean that youngsters will flock to junk food outlets at the end of the school day."
It wants schools to close their gates at lunchtime and councils to stop new fast food outlets opening nearby.
But the Local Government Association said it could not force schools to shut their gates and that food retailers could challenge licence refusals.
School Food Trust chief executive Judy Hargaddon said: "At the moment school canteens have to compete with a myriad of take-aways, chippies, and sweet shops for pupils' dinner money.
"We all know that some children will go for chips five times a week if they are allowed to.
Closing the school gates at lunchtime could simply mean that youngsters will flock to junk food outlets at the end of the school day."