Letter accompanying Hungry for Success response

16 September 2002

Hazel Dewart
Email submission

Dear Hazel

Hungry for Success

I attach a copy of the completed questionnaire on the "Hungry for Success" report. There is nothing very contentious in it in my opinion. The report is full of very good suggestions and it is about time that the school meals service was looked at nationally.

SSBA offer our support for the continued improvement in the school meals service in Scotland. There are significant resource implications if all of the recommendations are to be implemented, particularly if dining rooms are to be modernised and swipe card technology introduced.

The main challenge however is to persuade children to choose healthy options when there is a chip shop across the road from the school and I wonder if the report is realistic about that situation which exists in most towns.

The other issue is that school meals services are under commercial pressure since the introduction of CCT. It will be important to realise that we will need to subsidise the service if genuinely attractive school meals are to compete with commercial competitors.

SSBA wishes you well in your consultation and will be happy to help in any way.

Yours sincerely

Ann Hill
Chief Executive
SSBA