The Soil Association spent the summer sending teams of undercover ‘secret diner’ families to review children’s food offerings at our favourite theme parks, museums, art galleries and zoos.
As we all already knew, it’s mostly bad news. The SA says:
“We’ve uncovered a lack of healthy choices for children. 75% of children’s lunchboxes didn’t include any veg or salad options. 50% of attractions packed their lunchboxes with muffins, cakes and sweet treats without a piece of fresh fruit or veg in sight. These findings come weeks after the Government announced new plans to tackle childhood obesity.”
They add:
“But it’s not all bad as The Eden Project and Chester Zoo topped the league table in first and second place. Both attractions offered healthier meal choices. All meals at the Eden Project are freshly prepared and include locally sourced meat and vegetables. Chester Zoo serve locally sourced milk and farm assured meat.”
The SA says that if you’re visting a family attraction this half term, ask whether they serve British or higher welfare meat, and tweet the answer using #OutToLunchUK