School Meals - Hungry for Success

The Scottish Government has introduced a package of improvements to Scotland's school meals, putting healthier school meals firmly on the menu.  Led by North Lanarkshire Council's former Director of Education, and Expert Panel produced national guidance outling changes and improvements to school meal provision ' Hungry for Success'.  A whole school aproach to school meals in Scotland.

Hungry for Success has three main aims:

• To establish nutritional standards for school meals
• To improve the presentaiton of school meals to improve general
  take-up
• To eliminate any stigma attached to taking free school meals.
  

The Scottish Executive has provided local authorities with additional funding to implement Hungry for Success and a range of initiative, including free fruit for all primary one and two pupils.  In North Lanarkshire, this added funding has been spent on school meals; from healthier meals to better facilities, more choice and fewer dining room queues.  This will go a long way to establising good eating habits in children from an early age, giving them the best start in life physically, academically, socially and emotionally.

Menus

New menus have been introduced in to all schools, which are now nutritionally analysed to ensure complance with the nutrient standards set out in Hungry for Success.  New menus offer a greater variety of fruit, vegetables, and starchy carbohydrates including bread, pasta, rice and potatoes.  Chips, fried and processed foods have been significantly reduced.  Larger portions of healthier options are available, as well as a variety of free bread.

Hungry for Succes encourages pupils to try foods that are new to them.  Free tasters are offered in schools regularly to encourage children to taste new dishes.  For example, oil-rich fish now appears on school lunch menus once per week. Children are encourage to try new dishes such as mackerel pate, sardines on toast and salmon pasta, in an effort to increase consumption of this nutritious food.  For more information on oil-rich fish and recipe ideas to try at home log on to the Sea Fish Industry Authortiy website @ seafish.org

In primary schools, lunch menus are sent home to parents on a regular basis to encourage discussion about menu options at home before coming to school.

In some primary and special schools, menu boards with coloured photographs are displayed in the dining room.  This allows catering staff to demonstrate the current day's menu to pupils using photographs of food available within North Lanarkshire school dining rooms.  This assists pupils in making informed choices about food they eat at lunchtime.

Theme days are ongoing in North Lanarkshire schools throughout the year and include Burns Day, Halloween specials and Christmas dinner.

Incentives

North Lanarkshire has developed two incentive schemes to encourage uptake of school meals and to increase consumption of healthier options.

In primary and special schoools a 'stamp and save' card is used to encourage consumption of fruit and vegetables.  Each time pupils buy a portion of fruit or vegetables at lunchtime they collect a stamp.  Once all stamps have been collected, pupils are eligible for a prize.

In secondary schools, a cashless catering reward system is in operation.  Pupils can collect points each time they purchase food or drink from the school dining room.  The healthier the food or drink, the more points available.  Points mean prizes, from CD vouchers and cinema tickets to a gym membership at a local leisure facility.

Whole School Approach

Hungry for Success encourages a whole-school, whole-child approach to food in schools. This means that all members of the school community are involved in food issues, including pupils, parents and carers, teaching staff, catering staff and the wider community.  As part of the whole-school approach, schools must ensure that food and health education in the classroom reflects food and drink provision throughout the school.  To assist schools with this, North Lanarkshire Council has developed a curriculum pack for schools ' Hungry for Health' to enhance healthy eating and food activity within the classroom.

Schools(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act

To further support the implementation of Hunry for Success, the Scottish Executive has introduced legislative measures to ensure healthier options are provided in schools and that all school environments are health promoting.  The Schools Act not only addresses food and drink provision at lunchtime but also foods and drinks provided outwith lunchtime, including breakfast services, tuckshops and vending machines.

Healthy Tuckshops and Vending

North Lanarkshire Council's catering service provides schools with healthier food and drinks within tuckshops and vending machines.  These include fruit, yoghurt, toast, water, milk and fresh fruit juice.  Fizzy juice and confectionery are currently being phased out of all schools and replaced with healthier options.