KEY POINTS:
Sausage rolls, hot dogs, pies and biscuits remain at the top of the menu at schools, a survey has found.
Increased awareness of the dangers of childhood obesity and the release of Food and Nutrition Guidelines for schools seem to have made little difference to what children are offered to eat, according to the Green Party.
The party's third annual survey of 50 schools found that 84 per cent of them still sell pies, hot dogs, sausage rolls or hot bites. There was no fruit on the menu of 48 per cent of the schools surveyed and fewer schools were offering rolls and sandwiches than in last year's survey.
Green Party Health spokesperson Sue Kedgley said: "Given the continued focus on childhood obesity, and rising rates of type 2 diabetes and dental decay it was extremely disappointing and frankly baffling to find that schools are still selling foods that undermine rather than contribute to children's health and their ability to concentrate and learn in class.
"Most parents wouldn't feed their children a constant diet of pies, sausage rolls, donuts and chips, so why do we allow our schools to sell this sort of food?"
There were improvements in some areas - a reduction in the number of schools selling chips for example.
"The survey shows that simply waiting for schools to improve their menus voluntarily isn't going to work. We need to make the Food and Nutrition Guidelines mandatory, so that all schools have a statutory obligation to only sell healthy food and drink," Ms Kedgley said.
In the majority of schools surveyed, rolls and sandwiches were more expensive than pies and other unhealthy items.
"Children from poorer families are especially vulnerable to the negative health effects of prices which favour unhealthy options," Ms Kedgley added.
Last month she helped to launch the Food and Nutrition Guidelines and the $12 million Nutrition Fund that the Greens secured in post-election negotiations.
The fund will be used to help schools implement the guidelines, and provide training for two people from every school in New Zealand.
- NZHERALD STAFF
