Schoolgirl's food blog ban lifted

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LOCHGILPHEAD, Scotland, June 15 (UPI) -- Scottish officials have reversed course and allowed a 9-year-old girl to continue posting pictures of her school meals on her blog.

Officials with the Argyll and Bute Council, who previously barred student Martha Payne from posting the pictures of her Lochgilphead Primary School meals on her NeverSeconds blog because it led catering workers to fear for their jobs, said they have now lifted the ban, the BBC reported Friday.

"It is a good thing to do, to change your mind, and I have certainly done that," council leader Roddy McCuish told BBC Radio 4's "World at One" program.

Payne's family said the blog began as a writing project, and she would rate each meal on a "food-o-meter" and analyze its healthiness and the amount of bites it took her to complete the meal.

The girl had also been using her blog to raise funds for the charity Mary's Meals, which feeds hungry children around the world. The publicity on the ban helped the total grow from about $3,000 Thursday night to more than $31,000 Friday.

"Thanks to this fantastic support, Martha has now raised enough money to build a kitchen in Malawi for children receiving Mary's Meals as part of our Sponsor A School initiative and has broken the record for hitting a Sponsor A School online fundraising target in the quickest amount of time," a spokesman for the charity said.