Fed-up feeling hungry when they leave the school canteen, a group of Fife schoolgirls are fighting for more nutritious meals.
The last straw for Kate Dair, 17, was a tiny sandwich which left her “starving”.
She and her friends then found many of their Beath High School peers shared their lunchtime woes.
They approached depute rector Dave Lowrie who encouraged them to make their views known.
So they wrote to rector Steve Ross and “anyone else who would listen”.
And later this month – having already addressed a Fife Council committee – they will take their complaint to the Scottish Government.
Kate, fellow S6 pupils Ines Shearer, Hannah Malone and Emily Inglis and Aimee Anwender, in S5, say school meals are too small and over-priced.
Main meals often run out within minutes, they say, and some items listed on the council’s menu are not available in their school.
Also, they say, there is a lack of awareness of a two-course meal deal.
Stressing that cafeteria staff do the best they can, they say the nutrition problem is because of national restrictions on food in schools.
But, they say, other local authorities offer cheaper meals.
Emily said: “We’ve researched it and a normal lunch should range from 500 to 700 calories.
“The main meals we get are from 50 to 250 calories.”
How many calories are in a school lunch?
Vegetable chilli served on a Thursday contains 111 calories, rising to only 359 calories when you add salad and rice.
Breaded haddock served on a Friday has 157 calories, with chips and salad taking the total to 341.
This is according to the nutritional information on Fife Council’s high schools menu.
But Aimee said: “Some people after their lunch are still hungry and end out going out to shops outside school to get a dessert or extra food to fill them up before they go back to class.
We are not asking for McDonalds… just fairly priced meals that fill us up and give us the nutrients we need to learn.”
Aimee Anwender, 16
“A lot of people in the school are on free school meals. If all they can afford is the meal and they buy that and it doesn’t fill them up, that’s it.”
The girls say meals are tasty, but they want bigger portions, more choice and better value for money.
Aimee said: “We are not asking for the world.
“We are not asking for McDonalds for our lunch, we are not asking for giant pizzas, we’re not asking for unreasonable things.
“We are just asking for fairly priced meals that fill us up and give us the energy and the nutrients we need to learn.”
The girls, who all hope to go to university, are pleased that Fife Council and the Scottish Government are listening.
Hannah said: “It feels good that we are being heard. We might not still be at school when changes are made but it could help people coming up in school.”
What do officials at Fife Council and the Scottish Government say?
Fife Council officials say they look forward to meeting the Beath High group soon to discuss their concerns about school meals in greater detail.
Tariq Ditta, head of facilities management service, said: “We are always happy to hear feedback on our school meals service and we thank Beath High School pupils for their opinions.
“All of our school meals are prepared to national nutritional standards.
“Our menus provide nutritious and good value choices that ensure a balanced and healthy diet over the school week.”
The free school meal entitlement of £2.40 does, he said, cover the cost of the two-course meal deal.
A Scottish Government spokesperson added officials there are also looking forward to “engaging with young people from Beath High School.”
“We are keen to work with the next generations on any improvements that could be made to the way in which school meals are delivered across the country, recognising the importance of nutrition in our youngest citizens,” he said.
Conversation