NeverSeconds

Never Seconds is a blog created and written by the Scottish schoolgirl Martha Payne. In it she shares her thoughts and experiences in the school meal menus at their elementary school in Lochgilphead.

Description

Launched on April 30, 2012 as a school writing project with the help of Martha's father David, she writes the blog under the pseudonym " VEG " ( Veritas Ex Gustu - Truth by taste ), with the subtitle " One primary school pupil 's daily dose of school dinners ". Similar to a restaurant review, include the daily entries via the 2 -pound school menu that Martha / " VEG " has chosen at this school, their thoughts about the food and its quality, the number of counted hairs therein, health assessments, an image, and a total dot count based on a " food -o-meter ", which is up to 10.

The first complete listing of the nine -year-old Martha May 8, 2012 shows a picture of a slice of pizza, a single potato croquette, together with some sweetcorn and a muffin for dessert. Your comment was authored to: "I'm a growing child, and I have to concentrate all afternoon. I can not do with only one croquette. "And" The good thing about my blog is that my dad now understands why I often quite famished get home. "

The blog made ​​local and national headlines after it got help and assistance of cooking school and menu Kampagner Jamie Oliver, who tweeted: " Shocking but inspiring blog, keep it up! ". The blog reached on June 15, 2012 ahead 3 million visitors. Martha also under way to phase images of school lunches, which were sent to her by children in Germany, Japan, Spain, Taiwan and the United States began. The notoriety followed the media's interest, Martha was a guest on the program "You and Yours" radio station BBC Radio 4, and later even himself the subject of an edition of "The Food Programme " on BBC Radio 4 After Never Seconds spread virally, met Martha's father, the school board, which announced that all students should have unlimited servings of fruit, vegetables and bread.

Given the current revenue Martha decided the money to the charity Mary's Meals to donate. Starting with £ 50 of a magazine for the publishing rights of her photos in an article, put Martha in her 19th blog entry originally a fundraising target of £ 7,000 to the charity portal Just Giving. By mid- June 2012 were as already £ 90,000 collected in donations, which were used for the charitable purpose to build a new kitchen, in the Lirangwe elementary school with 1,963 students in Blantyre, Malawi.

Controversy

On June 14, Martha was removed from the teaching of mathematics, and brought to the office of the headmistress. There, she was told that she could no longer take pictures of their food in the dining room. This decision came from higher up, and went by the managing authority in Argyll and Bute in which was alarmed by the negative press, and the effect this had on the staff of the school canteen. Specifically, there was concern about an article in the Daily Record, which shows a photo of Martha with chef Nick Nairn cooking, entitled "Time to fire up the canteen cooks ". In response to critisim Martha wrote an entry titled "Goodbye ," in which she gave the decision of the administrative body known, followed by a comment of her father. The human rights group Big Brother Watch called this act " to authoritarian infringement on her civil liberties ." On June 15, after a storm of protests on the Internet, the Authority published a press release in which she defended the decision first. Nevertheless, after an intervention by the local SNP politicians, Scottish Member of Parliament and Education Secretary Mike Russell, the councilor Roddy McCuish finally said in BBC Radio 4's " World At One": " There's no place for censorship in Argyll and Bute Council and there never Hat been and there never will be. I've just instructed senior officials to immediately withdraw the ban on pictures from the school dining hall. It's a good thing to do, to change your mind, and I've Certainly done that. " As a result of the controversy, the donations of Martha's Just Giving donations call the day rose to more than £ 40,000 during the evening of 15 June, and at £ 65,000 it. In July was the status of donations at £ 110,412. In late November 2012 over £ 123,000.

Awards

Martha Payne has won several awards as a result of her blog:

• "Public Campaigner of the Year 2012" at the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards
• "Human Rights Young Person of the Year " at the 2012 Liberty Awards
• " Best Food Blog " at the OFM Awards 2012
• "Young Fundraiser of the Year finalist in 2013 " for the JustGiving Awards 2013 's
• " Lidl Young Fundraiser of the Year" at the Pride of Britain Awards 2013