Schools and local authorities have just a few weeks of term left to ensure plans are in place for new school meal standards that will be mandatory when they return after the summer break in September, writes the Guardian's consumer affairs correspondent, Felicity Lawrence.
While some caterers have been working hard to improve school meals, others seem to have done little to prepare for the new rules that will ban confectionery and salty snacks and require meals to meet new nutritional standards.
We would like to hear from schools, authorities and parents about how much or how little their school meals have changed since April 2005.
We are teaming up with the Soil Association, the organic farmers' group that led the campaign for better school meals, to track progress on school meals across the UK. The association, which runs its own school food awards, will help us analyse the information you send us and we'll publish the results later in the year. We'd like your help to identify success stories and ongoing poor provision, and to continue the campaign for better school food for our children.
Please send your stories to schoolmeals@gmail.com. Remember to include the name and location of the school involved, the age group being served, why you think the service is good or bad, who provides the catering and a copy of the menu if possible.
