Anne Colquhoun

Feeding minds and bodies: the Edwardian context of school meals

School meals were developed because of charitable, and subsequently official, concern about the effects of poverty on children’s capacity to benefit from education. Superficially, one might regard Edwardian interventions – in the early part of the twentieth century – as a historical footnote to today’s issues. In fact, this period of UK history was notable for attempts to find solutions to problems that are still relevant. Despite appearances to the contrary, child poverty has not been eliminated in the UK of today and the recent reintroduction of nutritional standards for school meals in the UK is an important reminder that feeding bodies remains crucial to feeding minds. In this article we map social concern expressed in contemporary studies of Dundee, York and London, the impact of army recruitment problems, and the initiation of a school meals policy in Scotland and England. We conclude with an assessment of the issues and solutions as they relate to the UK in the early twenty‐first century.

Food and residential care in old age

In Scotland and Finland, a relatively small proportion of older people are in some form of residential care, but their numbers are not insubstantial given generally increased longevity. Moreover, those currently in residential care tend to be among the most vulnerable survivors of their generation. Residential care for older people has always been something of a paradox. The state has extensively recognised the vulnerability of those who can no longer care for themselves, or be cared for by their partner and family. However, provision is seldom adequate for the scale of demand and even commercial provision is characterised by low staffing ratios and unmet training needs. This paper outlines the development of Leonardo funded training materials for use across the European Union.

Healthier Futures: Primary Care Nurses Food Knowledge and Patient Advice

In Finland there are valid questions being asked about the sustainability of the current provision in state healthcare systems. Structurally, lower birth rates and greater longevity mean that popul ...