Ailing families are being encouraged by the government to feed their children with discounted supermarket bar menus that include ultra-processed junk food during the summer holidays, experts said.
The government’s ‘Aid for Families’ campaign last week urged cost-of-living families to take advantage of new or existing supermarket meal deals, including a ‘kids eat for £ 1’ offer in Asda. and “kids eat free” with a paying adult customer in Morrisons.
David Buttress, the government’s “cost of living” czar and co-founder of food delivery company Just Eat, said the first phase of the campaign was about school holidays. “It’s a good way to support people during the summer holidays when school meals aren’t available,” he said.
However, analysis by Professor Greta Defeyter, whose research informed the government’s holiday food program, suggests menus fall below school food standards.
Defeyter said, “Most of these foods are ultra-processed, which has been linked to obesity and cancer. The symbolic allusion to vegetables is the serving of peas and a meal accompanied by a salad.”
Children in the cafes of the Asda superstore can choose hot meals such as chicken nuggets, fish fingers and all day breakfasts. But only two of the five hot food options include vegetables or salad. Morrisons Café offers children chicken nuggets, fish sticks and sausages. But only one in five has a vegetable side.
Primary schools should only provide fried starchy food once a week but, according to the analysis, Asda’s menu lists the chips on three occasions.
Schools should also provide at least one serving of fruit and vegetables a day, but Asda’s hot food menu doesn’t list fruit options, and while Morrisons provides a single fruit, peas are served with just one meal. Schools should only serve processed meat products once a week, but these ultra-processed foods are available on supermarket menus every day.
Professor Defeyter added that these menus do not cater to children’s dietary needs. “The government shouldn’t promote menus consisting mainly of ultra-processed foods. Families should have quality, nutritious food all year round, “he said.
“If the charities that provide the government’s Christmas activities and food program are expected to provide children with meals that comply with school food standards, why can’t large supermarkets do the same?”
Asda said it has launched the program to help the thousands of children who go hungry when schools close for the summer. “The menu includes hot and cold meals, fruit and vegetables to provide different options for the children,” a spokesperson said.
Morrisons said all of her children’s menu items are served with a fruit and a drink. “We support local communities by donating nutritious food to schools and groups during the summer holidays,” they said.
Barbara Crowther of the food charity Sustain said the children’s menus were often overloaded with foods full of saturated fat, salt and sugar. He said: “Excessive consumption of these types of meals during the summer could accumulate serious health problems for children in the long term.”
Over 40% of children between the ages of 10 and 11 are obese and overweight in England, while children in disadvantaged areas are twice as likely to be obese than those in affluent areas.
Under pressure from charities and activists concerned about the growing number of parents using food banks outside of school, the government launched a national holiday activity and food program last year. However, the programs, proposed by municipalities, last only 16 days of the 6-week summer vacation and only children eligible for free school meals are eligible to participate, leaving over 800,000 children in poverty, with no specific government funding available.
Crowther added: “Once again, we see the government looking to supermarkets and large corporations to cover up their failure to ensure that all children have access to healthy food during the summer holidays.”
A government spokesman said: ‘Ensuring healthy meals for children is a priority, which is why our £ 200 million a year holiday activities and feeding program provide healthy meals for children from low-income families. Last summer, over 600,000 children had access to the program, of which over 495,000 were eligible for free school meals ”.
