Nurse And Mother Criticises School Meal Policy In Akureyri

Eyrún Gísladóttir, a nurse and mother in the north Iceland town of Akureyri, was very displeased to discover what preschool and grade school children in town are being fed, and has filed a complaint with town council, RÚV reports.

Eyrún, who works for a primary school and has a young daughter in preschool, told reporters that nutritional recommendations from the Directorate of Health advise that children have a varied and healthy diet. This includes limiting their intake of fat, salt and sugar.

However, despite what young mothers are taught to feed their children, she says she was surprised to learn that these schools take a completely different approach, with meals that rely heavily on processed meats and other foods that are not recommended for young children.

As such, she has filed a complaint with Akureyri town council, asking that they review school meal policies. In Iceland, individual municipalities supervise preschools and grade schools on this and other matters.

“What I want to see changed is that the town of Akureyri remove all processed meats [from schools] immediately,” she told reporters. “I would also like to see them drastically reduce red meat in preschools and grade schools, and instead provide more vegetables for everyone.”

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