Did Jamie Oliver’s School Lunch Program Make Kids Eat Junk Food?

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What happens when you force kids to eat healthy food at school? They find a way to down junk food anyway. That’s what the U.K.’s health minister is accusing celebrity chef Jamie Oliver of causing with his attempt to rid cafeterias of unhealthy lunches. (via Wellness)

Oliver is best known in the U.S. for his show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, in which he attempted to get a West Virginia town to eat more healthfully. He had previously started a program in the U.K. called School Dinners, with a similar goal. Unfortunately, the result may not have worked out as planned. Wellness sums it up:

Oliver’s program to improve nutritional value of school lunches ultimately deterred children from eating school food, Lansley said, and subsequent school efforts to regulate brown bag lunches only prompted parents to give their kids money to make their own food choices, which often meant picking up chips and other junk food at shops outside of school.

Jamie Oliver’s school lunch spat with UK health secretary – Wellness