Lunchtime

As of Monday 12th April, we have a new catering service, Olive Dining, providing our lunchtime meals.

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Guidance on Packed Lunches

Our Commitment to Healthy Living

At St Paul’s Way Primary School we are committed to helping our children to lead active and healthy lives. As part of this, we encourage all our children to eat a variety of healthy foods whilst they are in school. Eating healthily not only has long term health benefits for our children, but also helps them to concentrate and learn whilst they are at school.

All children from YR upwards are entitled to a free school meal. If you have decided not to access this, and to provide your child with a packed lunch from home we ask you to ensure that this lunch is healthy. Below is some guidance and information that will help you to ensure that your child’s lunch gives them the energy they need to learn all afternoon and contribute to their long-term good health.

What Should be Included in a Packed Lunch?

The following guidance, taken from The Children’s Food Trust and the Health Education Partnership, will help you to put together a balanced packed lunch for your child. They recommend you include the following:

A portion of starchy food

A sandwich made with white or wholegrain bread, rolls, pitta bread or wraps, plain naan bread, bagels; or cooked pasta, rice, noodles, couscous or potato as a salad.

A portion of protein

Cold meat, chicken, fish, egg or meat alternatives such as tofu or pulses like kidney beans and chickpeas in sandwiches or salads.

At least one portion of fruit and / or vegetables

Fresh, frozen, canned or dried, these can all count towards 5-A-DAY.

• Vegetables: carrot, cucumber, pepper or celery sticks, tomatoes as a snack; grated carrot in sandwiches or wraps, sweetcorn, peas or pulses in salad.
• Fruits: sliced apple or melon, plums, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, satsumas, chunks of pineapple, or dried fruit.

A portion of milk or dairy foods

Yoghurt or fromage frais, cheese (in sandwiches, wraps or salads or on its own) or plain milk.

A drink

This should be water or plain milk.

Packed lunches should be in a named container.

What Should NOT be Included in a Packed Lunch?

Children should not have foods that are high in:

• Saturated fats such as cakes, muffins, crisps, biscuits. These items can contribute to children becoming over-weight.
• Sugars including squash, sweets, chocolate. Sugary foods cause tooth decay and can contribute to children becoming over-weight.
• Salt for example crisps, popcorn or baked snacks flavoured with added salt. High salt diets can cause problems with blood pressure and heart health.
• Nuts including items that have nuts listed in the ingredients. This is due to the increasing number of very serious nut allergies in our schools.

Top Tips

• Seasonal fruits and vegetables add colour, texture and are often cheaper and tastier.
• Read food labels. Look out for the colour coded nutrition information on the front of packets. Remember the more green(s) on the label, the healthier the choice.
• Include your child in shopping, choosing and preparing what goes in their lunchbox, giving them choices within the food groups.
• Keep it fresh. Rinsing slices of apple in dilute lemon juice, for example, will stop the slices from turning brown.

Did you know?

• An average packed lunch contains; 22g Fat, 35g Sugar, 2.4g Salt. Maximum recommended amounts for children’s lunches are 20g total fat 15.5g sugars and 1.25g salt.
• Eating 7 bags of crisps – 1 each day of the week – has the same amount of fat as drinking one cup full of oil!
• Many blueberry muffins contain around 8 teaspoons of sugar.

Please note that we do not have facilities to refrigerate or heat food.