FREE MEALS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 389, 22 March 1937, Page 3

FREE MEALS

In English Schools. The British oX .pqmtnons last month rejected a Labour motion which asked that/’evchild attending an elementary or secondary school should be provided with one I free meal a day, in uddUion to milk, j at th.e -ex-pensp. of the taxpayer. | Mr Shakespeare,’. Parliamentary | Secretary to th’e a ot fediifation,• hold the House that the provision of T i free milk and free mcala W.puM r.pst £40,000,000 a year, and such expendi-

ture was 1 quite unnecessary. A meffk cab survey made In 1935 showed thkt. 89 per cent, of the children in the .0 schools were of normal health and./ physique, and it was scarcely wortty while forcing free meals on all benefit the remaining 11 per cent. He gave impressive details of measures taken to promote the heaiftPof school children, and said that 2&t> 0 *“ local authorities were now providing**’ ’* fnee meals for close on half a million ' children. The “milk in schools” schpme benefited 2.500,000 ceil’d lie sajd. and* there was little ’tHat thechildren who did not participate prevented from, doing so because, of J -‘ poverty. The ( for non-

participation- were .the ind'ifferpnce of' ’’ parents or the children’s distaste for i milk,. A surprising number of children would not drink milk, The pos- ' 7 sibility of introducing a delicate flavour into the,milk to pleas? fickle" palates was under consideration. I School canteens, cheap meals could be supplied to children were J also being encouraged and were ■growing in numl?er s Children were I being instructed in of ’ nutrition, physical trainnig in schools werp improved, ’ » and medical ayrypys,, of...the nutritional condition <of (Children were' njade every six months, in spite of afih this the Government was not comJpjacent and it. was always on the Udert to stimulate local authorities to ; L:i-eater efforts, ttiej welfare of children.