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Free meals all round at Dagenham school
11 Nov 2009

There has been much debate about the number of UK school pupils who do not receive the free school meals they are entitled to, but there were not too many questions being asked yesterday as Dagenham's Eastbrook School tucked into free grub. 

According to the Local Authority Caterers Association, the institution treated all of its children to free meals to mark the start of National School Meals Week.

Food service supplier Pasta King was on hand to dish out the nourishment to the 1,150 pupils in east London.

Valerie Dennis, Headteacher at Eastbrook, said that 200 of the 400 pupils who have school lunches at the school qualify for free meals.

"We would like to see more students eating school lunches as we know that a nutritional balanced diet plays an important role in health, intellectual development and behaviour," she added.

It has been argued by a number of parent-teacher groups that implementing contactless smart card technology in school dinner halls may encourage more people to take up their free meal option.

This discrete method of payment means those whose parents receive benefits can be served what is rightfully theirs without the stigma of being seen not to pay.