Five year old wins battle over vegan meals at school

Monday 15th October 2018 04:57 EDT
 

A five year old girl has won a fight against her primary school to have vegan meals, becoming one of the first schoolchildren in Bury to receive vegan school meals. 35 year old Laura Chepner was under the impression that her daughter Lois' dietary needs would be attended under the government's universal free school meals system, introduced in 2014. However, she was soon informed by the Hazlehurst Primary School in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester, that as the child's choice of vegan dietary requirement was more a “lifestyle” choice than a religion or allergy-based necessity, it was not obliged to provide vegan food.

Rather than sending her daughter with a packed vegan lunch, she chose to reach out to the local councillor. A teacher, Chepner did her research and found that veganism as a belief is supported by the Human Rights Act 2010. Former owner of Lolo's Vegan Restaurant in Ramsbottom, she said she was disappointed on her daughter's first day that the school didn't provide vegan school dinners. “I told the council it had spoiled my daughter's first day at school and how excluded we felt for being compassionate. I'm a teacher myself and I started my training at the same as the Every Child Matters programme was launched. I remember going into teaching thinking every child matters, yet fast-forward to this year and I was being told my child didn't matter.”

Laura said the school's headteacher, chef, and Bury Council responded almost straight away and immediately set upon to create a vegan-friendly menu for Lois with her help. After adding a vegan option to the school menu, now the young one joins the hot dinner queue with her classmates at lunchtime. A spokesman for Bury Council said, “We have been offering a vegan choice to pupils whose parents request it. So far it has been limited, but all of our schools will shortly have their own kitchens to produce meals on the premises.”


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