Should Australian schools check students' lunchboxes?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: On March 3, 2021, 7 News televised a report on parent objections to schools attempting to regulate the contents of students' lunchboxes.What they said...
'Inspect[ing] school lunchboxes on their nutritional content... is highly unethical and not endorsed by government education departments'
Kelly Fullerton, nutritionist and teacher
'You don't want to be looking after one child who is on a sugar high from their lunchbox'
A Western Australian teacher commenting on the need to monitor student lunches
The issue at a glance
On March 3, 2021, The Herald Sun published an article by Susie O'Brien in which she detailed social media complaints from parents objecting to teachers monitoring what goes into school lunchboxes.
O'Brien has drawn attention in the past to what some parents consider unjustified interference by schools in an area they regard as a family responsibility.
In May 2020, concern about the quality of student nutrition prompted three Tasmanian schools to trial free school lunches
, while in September 2020, a plan was announced to trial free school lunches in some Canberra public schools. The question of how best to ensure that Australian schoolchildren receive a nutritious lunch is an ongoing and widely debated one.