LONDON – A 9-year-old blogger won a food fight with authorities in her Scottish town Friday, after an online outcry prompted officials to lift a ban on posting photos of her school lunches.

Martha Payne’s images of uninspiring school meals — one consisted of two croquettes, a plain cheeseburger, three slices of cucumber and a lollipop — drew international attention. The blog, set up about six weeks ago as a writing project and to help raise money for a school-meals charity, has drawn more than 2 million hits.

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Scottish officials retreated Friday and lifted a ban on 9-year-old school lunch blogger Martha Payne. The Associated Press

Martha, who lives in the coastal town of Lochgilphead, about 130 miles west of Edinburgh, gave each meal a “food-o-meter” rating, and offered an assessment of its contents.

“I’d really like to know where the chicken comes from,” she wrote in an entry about chicken fajitas, “so I am going to write to the lady in charge to ask. I know it comes from a hen but I’d like to know where the hen lived.”

Local officials weren’t amused, and ordered the schoolgirl to stop taking pictures.

In a statement, Argyll and Bute Council said Payne’s photos were misleading and had caused distress to cafeteria staff. The council was particularly irked by a report about the blog in Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper headlined “Fire the Dinner Ladies.”

But free-speech group the Index on Censorship weighed in on Payne’s behalf. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted “Stay strong Martha” to his more than 2 million followers.

The Internet storm was quickly followed by an official U-turn. Council leader Roddy McCuish said he had ordered officials to lift the ban on cafeteria photos.

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