PARENTS are up in arms after a local council tried to get their kids eating healthier meals – only for their youngsters to refuse to eat any of it.
Middlesbrough Council flooded schools with meat-free options such as Quorn korma and stir fry noodles – and they cut portion sizes, too.
The plan was to cut out sugary items and boost fruit and veg intake to combat some of the highest child obesity rates in the country.
But mums and dads claim their nippers are coming home starving as a result – and they now want food like chicken nuggets put back on the menu.
Mum-of-two Becky Eason slammed the food at her daughter’s school as not “child friendly” after her eight-year-old started demanding a pack lunch.
The 36-year-old told TeesideLive: “It’s not really a choice to give them either Quorn chicken curry or a vegetable lasagne in one day.”
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Under the rules, the menus will change every four weeks with the seasons.
Kids can chow down on two hot options each day or pick from a pasta or salad bar – jacket potatoes with a filling are also available.
And if none of those tickle their taste buds, kids can pick up a sandwich, sub-roll or wrap.
Mum-of-four Kelly Doolan complains the portion sizes “aren’t big enough”.
She added: “It’s the kids that are suffering they need to bring back the foods kids love like nuggets, pizza, and chips.”
But one head teacher lashed back at the moaning parents.
Heather Adams from Pallister Park Primary School said the meals were healthy, tasty, and nutritious.
And she said catering staff were working hard and doing a great job.
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Around one in ten kids in Middlesbrough are obese when they start school – some of the highest levels of child obesity in the country.
Middlesbrough Council has been contacted for comment.
