Reed Calls For More Action On Children’s Food

Andy Reed MP, for Loughborough, helped launch the Children’s Food Bill in Parliament today with the award-winning food writer Sophie Grigson. Reed is helping sponsor the Private Members’ Bill tabled by Wakefield MP Mary Creagh.

The launch took place during National School Meals Week and calls on the Government to ban advertising of junk food to children and improve food education. The Bill is also supported by 150 national organisations and thousands of concerned parents.

Reed said:

“I am pleased to be able to help sponsor the Children’s Food Bill in Parliament and support its aims to stop the marketing of fatty, sugary and salty foods to children, and to equip all schoolchildren with cooking skills.

“The Government’s proposals to improve school food and remove unhealthy foods from school vending machines are good news for children’s health, but even more needs to be done to address increasing rates of childhood obesity.

“This is an issue I feel very strongly about and I want to see childhood obesity end in Loughborough and across the country.”

Sophie Grigson, who joined more than twenty other top chefs and food writers this week including Gary Rhodes, Nigel Slater, Raymond Blanc and Antony Worrall Thompson to write an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to support the Bill and protect children from junk food marketing, said:

“To change children’s attitudes to food, we need to improve their food environments both in and out of school. As well as presenting good appetising food on their plates, we must protect children from advertisements which promote unhealthy food and drinks, and make sure they learn the skills that enable them to prepare delicious healthy food from fresh ingredients”.