We are calling on Denbighshire County Council to review the recent changes to primary school lunches and, in particular, the decision to limit sandwich fillings to just cheese, tuna mayonnaise and egg mayonnaise.

We fully support the aim of providing children with healthy and nutritious school meals. However, healthy food only benefits a child if they are willing and able to eat it.

For children who dislike cheese, egg or tuna, the new sandwich selection effectively leaves them without a sandwich option at all. Many children are selective eaters, and removing familiar foods without providing sufficient alternatives risks children eating very little at lunchtime, increasing food waste and discouraging families from using Universal Primary Free School Meals.

We understand that Denbighshire County Council must comply with the new Welsh Government Healthy Eating in Schools Regulations and that these regulations restrict certain foods, including processed meats.

We are not asking Denbighshire County Council to disregard nutritional regulations.

Instead, we are asking the Council to:

provide a wider variety of healthy sandwich fillings that comply with the new regulations;
investigate whether familiar options, including meat-based fillings where permitted, could be offered on a rotational basis;
ensure children who do not eat cheese, tuna or egg still have an appealing cold lunch option;
meaningfully consult pupils and parents when developing and reviewing school menus;
monitor food waste and the number of children actually eating the meals provided following these changes; and
reconsider menu changes where they result in children regularly leaving significant portions of their lunches uneaten.

Universal Primary Free School Meals were introduced with the important ambition of helping tackle child poverty and ensuring that no child goes hungry at school.

We believe choice must form part of that commitment.

We therefore ask Denbighshire County Council Catering Services to listen to families, consult the children who eat these meals every day, and provide a greater variety of nutritious, regulation-compliant options that children will actually eat.