More than 20 years ago, when Jamie Oliver started his School Dinners campaign and TV series, he noticed something that apparently required a celebrity chef to point out: we had standards for dog food but not for what we fed children at school. He has never stopped banging that drum, and even after this week's momentous announcement on school food standards in England, he says we must remember where we started.
Children in the state sector are at school for 190 days a year. If they're eating breakfast and lunch there, the majority of what they consume each day is in the hands of their school. Since children consume less than half the recommended fruit and vegetables but twice the recommended sugar, school food is a massive opportunity to directly improve diets at scale.
Eating good food around a shared table isn't just about health. It's a core part of a child's social connection and sense of belonging. Well-fed kids are happier, have more energy and fewer days off sick, and their learning and behaviour improve too. Unsurprisingly, 80% of teachers agree that unhealthy food at lunch and breaktime can lead to disruptive behaviour, and 85% say diet affects pupils' ability to concentrate. But who needs scientific evidence? Everyone performs better with a full belly of good stuff.
Get school food right and the prize is massive - not just for children today, but for the adults they become. Feed children well and they have a better chance of healthier lives, greater productivity and less long-term pressure on the NHS and social care from diet-related disease. That's no small change when obesity and its knock-on consequences cost the UK economy about £126bn each year.
That's why it's so great to see the government announce new standards based on the latest science - the first time in a decade. For this generation of kids, they will be nourished with more fruit and vegetables, fibre-rich proteins and whole grains. Beautiful stuff.
It's a big and much-needed update, but amazing schools, caterers and chefs can rise to the challenge. Through the Good School Food awards, Oliver has shown that amazing school food is possible and affordable, and it's happening right now across the UK. Take Chef Russ in Bournemouth. Working out of a cupboard-sized kitchen, he transformed the food at his school. Not only did meal uptake increase from 28% to 98%, there's now a waiting list of parents keen to nab their kids a place.
This pattern is repeated in schools up and down the country, and we have to keep telling these stories because it goes against what many people think they know - that kids won't eat the 'good stuff'. We've heard that for decades. And we get it, because the food environment we all struggle with makes it hard to eat well. But school is different. It's a rare, protected space where that noise can be stripped away. When it is, remarkable things happen: children eat - and enjoy - delicious, nutritious food. The evidence is clear: when the food is good and the environment is supportive, over time school meal uptake increases.
What makes Oliver excited is that these standards won't just sit on a piece of paper. There will be proper monitoring to make sure they are followed. Not to nit-pick or catch schools out, but so we know what's working, where schools are doing brilliantly, and where we need to deploy care, love and support. That's where the School Food Project comes in. Not all lunch trays are created equal, which is why Oliver is partnering with Bite Back, Chefs in Schools, School Food Matters and the Food Foundation to make sure the new standards can really be for everyone.
These new school food standards will finally fix what's on children's plates, but it's only half the job. A delicious lunch nourishes a child for the afternoon, but teaching them how to cook nourishes them for life. You can serve the best meals in the world, but if a child leaves school without knowing how to feed themselves, that's where it stops.
That's why food education must be central to transforming school food. It's why Oliver is passionate about giving kids (and adults) the skills, knowledge and confidence to cook from scratch. His dream has always been simple: every child should leave school knowing 10 core skills that will save their life. His free 10 skills food education programme teaches basic, bulletproof culinary foundations - how to chop safely, balance flavours, cook a nutritious staple meal from scratch, and stretch simple, fresh ingredients into something delicious. If kids leave school knowing how to cook a fast vegetable stir-fry, a simple soup, or a loaf of bread, they'll be healthier now and have options in the future. With this cooking superpower they can feed themselves and their future families on a budget. That isn't just a life skill: it's health insurance for life.
Jamie Oliver is a chef, restaurateur and campaigner.