Today (as I write this it is 20 February) Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, announced that free school meals will be made available for all 270,00 primary school children in our capital for one year from September 2023. Various luminaries, including the Bishop of London, chef Tom Kerridge and Stephanie Slater the founder of School Food Matters, have applauded the initiative, with Barbara Crowther from the Children’s Food Campaign summarising the reason for the scheme: “We know a healthy meal is fuel for both brain and body, so that our children can concentrate, play and learn”.
Sally Nugent, on BBC TV Breakfast congratulated the move, which will save families an estimated £440 per child per year. However, she moved the conversation onto the Ultra Low Emission Zone and its charges, suggesting, in effect, that the Mayor was giving away with one hand and taking with the other! Sadiq Khan showed his political credentials by having all the figures at his fingertips – premature deaths from air pollution; child asthma rates and facts showing that the poorest families in London don’t have cars anyway.
Two things occurred to me instantly and a few more upon consideration. The first thought was that children all around the world need at least one decent meal a day; parents in many countries are going without food themselves to feed their children. Who is helping them? (One charity is Marys Meals, which feeds over 200,000 children every school day in Haiti, one of the eighteen countries it serves around the world.)
Secondly, I wondered whether free school meals would improve attendance, which might actually be detrimental. If a child vomits, it should stay away from school for 48 hours but the parent may be tempted to send the child back to school prematurely, to save food at home.
Next with my butterfly mind staying on food, I recalled a conversation about nurses asking for more pay. Someone suggested that instead of the big pay rise they were demanding, they might be given free meals while on duty, free parking and help with housing.
What a world we live in: news from around the world accessible to us minute by minute on our TVs, radios and mobile phones. Does this risk damaging our mental health, increasing anxiety and depression? With so many demands on our time, our wallets and our talents, let us turn to God.
Holy Spirit, when thoughts of news events whirl in our heads, calm us and help us to focus.
Jesus, our Redeemer, we thank you that, in your life on this earth, you needed to withdraw from the hurly burly to reconnect with our Abba. Help us to follow your example.
Almighty God, as we sit in your presence, remind us that we are human and we need to recognise our limits and leave the rest in your loving care. Amen
Elaine Kinchin
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