Drawing on insights from over 2,000 parents and co-created with The Children's Food Campaign's ambassadors this manifesto highlights five key areas for action that parents believe will 'make a real difference' to children's health. They are calling on the Government to:
- Make free, healthy & sustainable school food a priority for all children from nursery to sixth form/college
- Protect children from the flood of unhealthy food advertisement and marketing
- Ensure honest and trustworthy information is provided on food and drink packaging
- Make nutritious food affordable and accessible to all families
- Put a stop to the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children
Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign manager at Sustain, commented: “It should be easy for children to eat healthily but the reality is it’s not. Parents are battling daily against a barrage of unhealthy marketing campaigns, pricing barriers and confusing messaging.
“With many parents worrying about what their children are eating and say it’s getting more difficult to ensure their children are accessing healthy food, we call on policy makers and all political parties to put aside arguments of nanny statism and listen to what support parents really need so that together, we can put children’s health at the heart of their future.”
Food and Farming alliance Sustain will host a webinar on Thursday 25th April 2024 titled ‘Our children, our future: A parents’ manifesto for healthy children’s food’.