346: National School Meals Week - fighting to improve our childrens' food

<div>To mark <a href="https://www.lacansmw.co.uk/">National School Meals Week</a> in the UK, the Food Matters Live podcast is making a series of episodes looking at the challenges around providing nutritious food for our children in <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/the-history-of-free-school-meals-in-the-uk-and-the-changes-needed/">the school canteen</a>.<br> <br> In the last episode, <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/podcast/national-school-meals-week-the-reality-of-delivering-school-meals-food-podcasts/">we heard from the school caterer’s trade body LACA</a>, about the challenges they are facing from rising costs and supply chain issues.<br> <br> There is no denying the difficulties being faced by school meal providers, but are there some innovative solutions out there?<br> <br> In this episode we meet Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive of the charity <a href="https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org/">School Food Matters</a>. <br> <br> Look out for the next episode, where we hear from a researcher, who has studied the important role school meals can play in a child’s learning.<br> <br> <strong>Stephanie Slater, Chief Executive and Founder, School Food Matters<br> </strong><br> Stephanie Slater is Founder and Chief Executive at School Food Matters. <br> <br> She set up the charity in 2007 after successfully campaigning to improve the food at her children’s primary school.  <br> <br> In 2012, she was invited to join the <a href="http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/">School Food Plan</a>'s expert panel, tasked by the Department of Education to create an action plan to help head teachers improve school food.<br> <br> Ten years on, Stephanie has brought together leading charities in the <a href="https://www.schoolfoodmatters.org/what-we-do/campiagns/food-policy/school-food-review">School Food Review</a>, a group calling on government to reform school food funding and policy so that no child misses out on good nutrition at school.<br> <br> Stephanie is vice-chair of <a href="https://www.sustainweb.org/"