School head in soup over food complaint
By Angela Frewin
A headmaster has infuriated champions of nutritious school meals by writing to parents to denounce the food served at his Kent primary school by contract caterer Chartwells.
The Health Education Trust (HET), which runs the School Nutrition Action Group, has responded sharply to the attack on what it sees as a courageous scheme to promote healthy menus by Kent County Council and Chartwells. The firm won the contract for 610 local education authority schools in Kent from August (Caterer, 15 May, page 9).
Just six weeks into the new menu, John Parsons, headmaster of Christ Church Primary school in Folkestone, told parents that the quality of the meals was poor, with portions too small and the food often unpalatable and indigestible. He complained of bizarre combinations such as curried cabbage and broccoli stained pink by the beetroot that it was served alongside.
Joe Harvey, director of the HET, said that he was "staggered" and angry that the head had used his access to parents to spread "disruptive and destructive disinformation". A spokeswoman for Chartwells said that Parsons had been antagonistic to the healthy-eating initiative from day one and that she felt he was not putting the children's interests first.
The menu, described by Harvey as excellent and well-balanced, aims to wean children away from a burgers-and-chips diet by offering three main choices, including vegetarian, with fresh fruit and vegetables each day.
Chartwells added that the council was satisfied with both the quality and the quantity of food at the school.
A council spokesman said the affair was an isolated incident. Although several Kent schools had suffered "teething problems" in supply in the first weeks, he said that Parsons had been the only headmaster to write "damaging letters".
