A Canteen Calamity: Why The English School Food Review Needs To Happen Now
11 May 2026
Bite Back activist Timandra speaks up on school food in England, and why we need more from the School Food Standards
Hey, Timandra here. If I could describe my experience of school food in one word I’d probably pick…. Grease. The kind that leaves your hands clammy and you feeling just as dissatisfied as when you sat down to eat.
If you couldn’t already tell, my memories of school food haven’t been the fondest. And it’s not just the food itself, it’s lunch time in general.
A queue that lasts a lifetime.
A stuffy crowd of hungry peers all just trying to get their food and move along.
And when you finally get to the front of the queue, you’re served an oversaturated flapjack that’s more syrup than oats. Then, just as you sit down to eat your food, that doesn’t look particularly appetising, the bell rings and you have to eat on the way to your next lesson.
Does that sound familiar?
Not exactly a five star dining experience if you ask me. But it’s what most of us have had to deal with for the entirety of our school lives. And we’ve laughed it off. It’s been a long running joke in school that the food is bad and that there’s nothing we can do about it.
Until now.
The English School Food standards were last updated in 2015
...that’s 11 years ago. I was just starting school at that time and now I'm leaving it. In all that time, nothing’s changed.
Catering companies have gotten away with selling us sub standard school lunches and treating our health like a business to make sure they can keep their profits up.
The Government is reviewing the rules that make school food healthy, and this gives us the perfect opportunity to let them know what we want: food that’s accessible, healthy and tasty for all.
The health of our generation shouldn’t be optional, it should be guaranteed. We can’t let it go unchecked any longer.
The voices of young people have been ignored for too long and now we are finally being listened to. But we can’t make change alone.
Take 10 minutes and have your say in our survey to help us make lunchtimes better for everyone!