Monday 2 February 2009

It’s Official - Good Food Fuels Brain Power!

I was delighted to read in yesterday’s paper that, after what has been a depressingly long uphill struggle, Jamie Oliver’s healthier school meals have at last been officially proven to improve the health and academic performance of children, thanks to some research by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at Essex University. Hopefully that should satisfy all those government Doubting Thomases and we can see some sensible budgeting from now on. I’m sure that further research in years to come will be able to prove that the investment in our children’s health has been paid off ten fold by the savings to the NHS. The school nurse at one of Jamie’s original test schools reported a drastic reduction in the use of asthma inhalers in the first few months for starters.

Why we have all become so dim that we now require good money to be spent doing research to prove something we have known for generations (ie that our health is directly related to the quality of our diet) is beyond me. Probably further proof that our poor diet is rotting our brains! However, this is all great news for us because, by the same token, it is official proof that eating Scoff has to be good for the brain too (providing it’s not just the treacle sponge you’re going for of course!)!

Some of you may know that Scoff provide a daily hot school lunch service for a Eridge House school in Fulham. Their forward thinking Headmistress is totally convinced by the healthy food argument and took the bold step of asking us, (the local takeaway!), for our help when we first launched Scoff back in 2007. The children are a delight to feed and it is so gratifying to see them eagerly devouring a grass-fed British beef and vegetable casserole with organic brown rice or a free range chicken pie and steamed Somerset vegetables. Our hope is that this sensible approach to eating and thinking about where their food comes from will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

But it is not only children that benefit from proper food. It naturally follows that grown ups do too. Of course hectic lives and long work hours make this more difficult to achieve which is why we launched Scoff. Getting some decent grub when you need it really shouldn’t be such hard work and there are no reasons (other than laziness and profit margins) why takeaway food has to be junk food. We are always so delighted to receive emails from customers who are excited that they can now enjoy the convenience of a healthy hot meal from impeccable provenance delivered to their door. People often comment about how nice it is not to suffer the uncomfortable night caused by the salt induced thirst and indigestion that often follows from eating a typical takeaway.

We also feed a lot of people at their desks whilst they are busy at work. We wouldn’t be at all surprised if it is those companies dining on Scoff rather than pizza that weather this recessionary storm the best. After all, we now have official research proving that they are going to be the ones applying maximum brain power. So, if anyone would like any tips on share buying……..

Would love to know what your views are about it all so please do add a comment!