Head teachers in England are being urged to ban packed lunches to increase the take-up of school dinners and promote healthy eating.
A government-commissioned school food review by two founders of the Leon restaurant chain says take-up is low at 43% despite huge quality improvements.
The authors of the School Food Plan say packed lunches are nearly always less nutritious than a cooked meal.
And heads are being urged to lower the price of lunches to boost take-up.
This might include providing subsidised meals for reception classes in primary schools and Year 7 classes in secondary schools, the report says.
The Department for Education ordered the review by restaurateurs Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent into the state of school meals in 2012 following strong criticism from Jamie Oliver.
'Turkey twizzler'Seven years earlier, the chef had led a successful campaign to ban junk and processed food from school canteens. This resulted in tight nutritional guidelines and healthy eating policies for those bringing packed lunches.
But in 2011 he claimed that standards were being eroded because academies and free schools were exempt from national nutritional guidelines.
Mr Dimbleby told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that school food had improved since the "dark days of the turkey twizzler", but that the proportion of children eating school meals was not high enough.
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Pupils at Bramley Sunnyside primary school in Rotherham are encouraged to grow their own food as part of their learning
"Packed lunches, and more than half of our children bring packed lunches into schools, two-thirds of those have crisps in them and two-thirds have confectionery in them," he said.
"The best schools, the schools with good food, find ways of making packed lunches the least exciting option."
He said if packed lunches were banned, schools would be able to provide better meals at a cheaper price and this would help boost children's performance.
"We did a survey of 400 head teachers - over 90% believe strongly that food has a direct effect on both academic achievement and behaviour."
The review suggests that items such as sugary drinks, crisps and confectionery be forbidden from lunch boxes. In reality many schools already have healthy packed lunch policies banning such items.
And heads are being warned to watch what is being served at mid-morning break, when some children are said to fill up on pizzas, panini or cake.
Packed lunches are understood to be banned in just a very small number of schools, but the DfE insists it is possible.
General secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers Russell Hobby said he felt it probably was not feasible for schools to ban packed lunches.
Obesity ratesHe thought it was right, instead, to focus on making school meals more attractive in terms of cost and access as well as nutritional content, taste and presentation.
He added: "It is hard for students to concentrate on learning when they haven't eaten enough or when they've eaten the wrong things. The benefits from investing in decent cooked meals are huge: better learning and better habits later in life; a calm and sociable lunch hall also sets a tone for the rest of the day.
End Quote Rob Rees Children's Food TrustKnowing I'm investing my money wisely and my child is happy is giving me peace of mind"
"In addition, increasing numbers of schools are growing part of their own food, and this can have a big impact on the children."
The Association of School and College Leaders said it was important the plan related to academy schools as well as regular state schools.
Its general secretary Brian Lightman added: "While encouraging all students to eat a nutritious hot lunch is the right aim, it is not always feasible. Many hardworking families on relatively low incomes give their children packed lunches because they don't qualify for free school meals and the cost of a school dinner would be prohibitive."
Labour said exempting academies had allowed junk food "creep back" into schools and it urged the government to enforce food standards across the board.
Shadow children's minister Sharon Hodgson said when the country is in the middle of a childhood obesity crisis, it is important that schools are doing their part to improve diets.
"Labour vastly improved the quality of school food after Jamie Oliver's important campaign. David Cameron and Michael Gove have deliberately undermined that progress by exempting academies and free schools from Labour's rules, and junk food has crept back into canteens and vending machines.
"Parents deserve to have confidence in the quality of school meals. Labour's food standards should apply in all schools, and Michael Gove needs to perform another U-turn to ensure they do."
Wonderful piesOther recommendations include: after-school cooking lessons for parents and children, more schools to have stay-on-site rules for break and lunch time, and for teachers to be encouraged to sit in the dining hall with children.
The report comes as the obesity rate among children at the end of primary school has risen to almost one in five.
It claims only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food.
Rob Rees, chairman of the Children's Food Trust, said his own children preferred school dinners, but added some parents feel they are expensive.
"They absolutely love it. It's not the school meals of the past. It's wonderful fish pies, bologneses, lasagnes.
"Knowing I'm investing my money wisely and my child is happy is giving me peace of mind, so absolutely it is a barrier, but there's not many things where you can get such good value for money."
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