Improving Food Quality of One Meal Improves Student Scores 3-8 Percent

by Heidi Stevenson

29 March 2010

What children eat directly affects how they do in school. A two-year study of chef Jamie Oliver's program to bring quality food to the school lunch program produced significant benefits to students, including significant improvements in their test results. The lunch program was initiated by Oliver after he had exposed the atrocious rubbish passed off as food in schools.

Results

Eleven-year-old students' test results were analyzed by researchers from Oxford and Essex Universities. In English, 3-6% more students achieved the required standard, and 3-8% more reached the standard in science. Nationally, the number of students passing has been static for six years.

School work was not the only area where students improved. A full 15% decrease was seen in students taking authorized time off from school. Most of these absences are related to sickness, so a clear improvement in health was seen. Children with asthma required their inhalers less often.

The Food Program

Jamie Oliver took control of the school lunch program in the 80 schools of Greenwich, an area of London, England. He started working with the Greenwich Borough Council in 2005. A little over a year later, in 2006, soda pop, sweets, chocolate, and chips (called crisps in England) were banned from school lunches. Other foods, like salt, fried foods, and meat products deemed manufactured, such as sausages and hamburgers, were restricted.

The students were given two portions of fresh fruit or vegetables with each meal. A typical meal might include chicken and mushroom casserole, fruit crumble, and custard, or roast beef, roast potatoes, green beans, gravy, fresh fruit platter, and custard.

If Jamie Oliver had paid attention to some of the alternative folk in the world of nutrition, he might have learned that saturated fat isn't a problem, and that adequate fat in diets is important. Fortunately, he did get rid of most of the trans fats and saw to it that good nutrition was made available. While he assured that children were given food that's far superior to what they were getting, the fact is that it's still far from optimal. Imagine what would have happened if the children had received a truly good diet for their one improved meal a day? Imagine if all their food had been fresh, with at least three servings of fresh fruit or veggies? Those children might be racing towards college!

Jamie Oliver and the people working with him were at an enormous disadvantage. Budgets were extremely lean. Employees were stretched to and beyond their limits. By eliminating some of the popular junk foods, a significant portion of the lunch budget was lost, since children paid for much of the junk.

There's a long way to go, but Jamie Oliver has shown the way forward. If you want children to do well, then you must feed them well and wisely. Children are obviously healthier and smarter when they've eaten a reasonable diet—not optimal, but at least improved—for one meal a day. Imagine what might happen if all their food were optimal? Try to imagine what would happen if we valued our children enough to assure that they receive only the best food—and that junk food be kept away.

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