Schoolgirls fight to have Fairtrade food for their school dinners

By Anna Edwards

anna.edwards@essnmedia.co.uk

More ethical dinners are set to be on the menu for one Shirley school - as its pupils fight for more Fairtrade products in their meals.

Youngsters from Coloma Convent Girls' School have arranged a meeting with the company which provides the food for their lunchtime meals and breaktime snacks.

And they hope it will lead to more of what they eat being Fairtrade products - even if it means the cost of school dinners going up.

They decided to take action after learning of the appalling working conditions some children are forced to endure in developing countries.

As part of their GCSE citizenship coursework, Year 9 pupils had to come up with a campaign that would help improve society.

But instead of keeping their ideas in their schoolbooks, one group of 11 girls have taken it upon themselves to change the eating habits of their fellow students.

They are confident they can persuade Eden Food Services to change the products they provide to Coloma.

Student Laura Bropy, 13, said: "We think there is a real demand for it at our school, so we think they will be able to give us ethical products, and still make a profit.

"So many people are being treated unfairly and we don't want to contribute to it.

"We think lots of the students will pay a bit more if it means they are improving working conditions.

"I think a lot of us were quite shocked at how terrible life could be - while we're out playing and getting an education, children are being forced to work in awful conditions for practically nothing."

Fellow student Sophie Jones, 13, was shocked when she learned of the conditions some kids work in.

"So many children are forced to work from such a young age, with no rest and the work is so tiring," she said.

"We decided we wanted to help make their lives better.

"We can start changing buying habits from school, and encourage the students to get their parents to buy more Fairtrade."

Fairtrade strives to get better prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. The girls' teacher, Ken Towel, said: "It's really had an impact on them.

"I've been really impressed with how maturely they've responded to it and they're really trying to make a difference."