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School food

Packed lunches

Any packed lunch provided by a school (for a day trip or school outing) must comply with the Government’s new school food standards.

How can parents / carers help?

If your child takes a packed lunch to school, you can help by including foods that support the new school food standards. By supporting these standards, you will help towards the school’s ‘whole school approach’ to healthy eating. As part of the National Healthy Schools Programme schools should have a whole school food policy. Many schools include a section on packed lunches in this document. This policy should be available for parents and pupils to view and comment upon. This could contribute to the school’s Healthy School Award Status.

Try to support the new standards by keeping these out of packed lunches:

• Sugary or sweetened drinks
• Sweets
• Chocolate
• Crisps
• Cereal bars which can be high in sugar.

And what about including these in packed lunches instead?

• A portion of starchy food for energy. This could be wholegrain bread/teacakes, wholemeal pittas, pasta, or couscous.
• A protein food to aid growth. This could be lean meat, oily fish like sardines or salmon, eggs, beans or nuts.
• Fruit and vegetables that provide lots of vitamins and minerals. A tub of salad, some cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, celery and pepper sticks, a piece of fresh fruit, or some tinned fruit in natural juice.
• Calcium for strong bones. A small carton of milk, cheese, yoghurt or a pot of fromage frais.
• Healthy drinks include water, semi-skimmed milk and fruit juice. Or what about a smoothie made from fruit and yoghurt?

There are a number of web sites where you can find out a lot more about packed lunches in Useful links .

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