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England is preparing new school food standards that will take effect in September 2027. The rules will ban deep-fried food, limit sugary desserts and require schools to serve more vegetables, grains and pulses.
Schools and charities are already testing ways to make healthier food more appealing to children. Some organise tasting sessions with unfamiliar foods such as kale, kohlrabi, tomatoes and blood oranges. Others involve pupils in cooking, bread-making, gardening and composting. The aim is to make new ingredients feel less intimidating and give children more choice over how meals are put together.
The initiative does not come from a single government programme. Schools and charities have developed different approaches independently. Chefs in Schools launched “Try Something New Day” this year, based on an idea developed by chef Amber Francis at Christ’s College in London. TastEd, founded in 2019 by food writer Bee Wilson, also provides schools with food-tasting education resources.
Progress is therefore still uneven and often depends on individual schools or local initiatives. The new government standards will apply more broadly to schools covered by England’s school-food rules from September 2027. The government also plans to extend free school meals to around 500,000 more children from families receiving Universal Credit.
