Serving meals to school children could help pubs stave off closure and provide a healthy fill for kids.
That's the view of top food writer Prue Leith who believes that pubs could develop a sideline in supplying meals to schools with no catering facilities or even invite the kids into the pub at lunchtime.
"It could work for the pub, which could make a small profit, securing its future, and, more importantly binding it to the community," said Leith in the Campaign for Real Ale's Beer magazine.
"Many pubs, warm and cosy at night, are empty, miserable places at lunchtime with a couple of old codgers supping their pints in silence in the gloomiest corner.
"And there are plenty of primary schools with no kitchens or dining rooms at all, where children bring in cold packed lunches to eat in the classroom or playground amid the attendant packaging litter.
"A lot of those packed lunches consist of crisps, chocolate and little else."
Leith believes that despite having to jump through a few hoops such as Criminal Records Bureau checks and meeting mandatory nutritional standards, it could work.
"Having a troop of children in the pub would liven the place up no end, make a contribution to costs, carve the pub into the affections of the community and solve a huge problem for the school."
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