First person

'Overnight change doesn't work'

Dinner lady Jeanette Orrey was one of the catalysts for the campaign led by Jamie Oliver over school food. She had transformed meals at her school, St Peter's primary in Nottinghamshire, in 2000, replacing processed food with freshly cooked meals.

"Ruth Kelly's ban on junk food is a good start but it's going to be difficult. We've lost two generations who don't know how to cook. Children need to be given time to eat and socialise. Some parents will resist. Adopting the Caroline Walker Trust guidelines will be a start towards good quality food that will improve not just children's health but their behaviour and concentration. People have to realise it's not just the food on the plate that matters, it's the whole approach in school to food. We have to re-educate people that real food doesn't come out of plastic containers.

"Overnight change doesn't work. You introduce something, you ask the kids, 'Do you like it?' You have got to have a conversation. You have to get the kids into your way of thinking, but also engage with them, explain to them why you are doing it. It's no good saying to a child, 'There's your dinner' and that's it."

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