School ban triggers tuck-in trade
Banning junk food in schools in an effort to encourage healthy eating among pupils has backfired, as teachers have discovered a flourishing trade in sweets, crisps and pop.
The ringleaders behind the ‘bike-shed’ trading are budding retailers in the form of pupils, who are cashing in on their classmates craving for all things sugary, salty and fizzy, by smuggling the goods in their schoolbags.
Fellow pupils say that boys are buying wholesale goods to sell on at cheaper rates than the old tuck shop prices, tempting willing schoolchildren into buying the snacks.
* A worldwide catering firm has blamed its drop in profits on the current campaign for better food in schools in the UK. Catering company, Compass, whose brands include Harry Ramsden’s and Burger King in the UK, reported a fall in profits from £203 million to £184m in the six months to March last year.
As a result, Compass is now following the trend for healthier menus and is developing a range of Steamplicity products which allows fresh foods to be prepared off-site and served on site without the need of a traditional oven.
