HEALTHY LUNCH POLICY
Rationale
This policy is to ensure children eat a healthy, well-balanced lunch, thus promoting a healthy lifestyle. By encouraging healthy eating patterns we educate children for later life. We would like all our children to understand that:
- You start the day right with a healthy breakfast
- As so much time is spent at school during the day it is important to obtain 1/3 of your daily nutrients during school time.
- That healthy food provides many benefits including ;
- Concentration for school
- Shiny hair, healthy teeth and clear skin
- Energy to play and participate in sports.
Objectives
- To ensure that we are giving consistent messages about food and health.
- To give our pupils the information they need to make healthy choices.
- To promote health awareness and encourage all our children to eat healthily.
- To enhance awareness of our Green School programme
Healthy lunch suggestions
Lunches should be composed of a variety of foods and include at least one item from the different food groups. For example there should be something in the lunch box from:
1. Fruit and vegetable group
Some typical choices are a whole fruit, a fruit juice drink, vegetable soup, salad, or cooked/raw vegetables.
2. Cereal group
Foods such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, bagels, pancakes or pitta bread.
3. Dairy group
Milk, cheese or yoghurt.
4. Protein-rich food
Meat, chicken, fish, egg, beans, peas, lentils or cheese.
As a helpful guide ; The following foods are not allowed:
- Crisps
- Cereal bars
- Winders
- Pringles
- Sweets
- Tortillas
- Gum
- Popcorn
- Toffee
- Nuts ( any kind )
- Fudge
- Cans of fizzy drinks
- Croissants
- Sports drinks Danish pastries
- Chocolate
- Doughnuts
- Muffins
The following foods are suitable for lunches:
- Whole fresh fruit
- Fruit juice
- Soup and tea (Age appropriate parents’ discretion)
- Batons of raw vegetables
- Salad vegetables in sandwiches Wraps and Rolls
- Homemade fruit salad
- Fruit chunks in ready to peel packs
- Sandwiches
- Crackers
- Bread sticks
- Rice cakes
- Flour tortillas (wraps)
- Ciabatta bread
- Foccacia bread
- Pitta bread
- Naan bread
- Bagels
- Pancakes
- Plain biscuits
- Pasta salad
- Rice salad
- Potato salad
- Bean salad
- Couscous
- Oatcakes
- Yoghurt pots (Age appropriate parents’ discretion)
- Yoghurt drinks (Age appropriate parents’ discretion)
- Cheese (sliced/grated/cubed/cream)
- Cheese strings
- Cheese triangles
- Milk
- Smoothies
- Fromage frais (Age appropriate parents’ discretion)
- Tinned fish in brine
- Ham
- Egg
- Cheese
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Frubes (Age appropriate parents’ discretion)
- Madeira cake
- Scones
- Plain/Currant buns
- Flapjacks
Green schools guidelines in relation to lunches
Our Green School Motto is
- Lets be keen, lets be green, lets keep Emo clean.
Don’t be lazy -Be environmentally crazy
In order to achieve and maintain a Green Flag for Emo N.S. we must clearly show we are Reducing-Re-using and Re-Cycling.
- All children need a lunch box/bag and a re-usable drinks bottle ie no drink cartons.
- Tinfoil and cling film are not permitted in lunch boxes. Paper /paper towels, re-usable lunch bags or a small container are suitable alternatives .
Roles and Responsibilities:
Role of Parents
- Provide a healthy well-balanced lunch for children
- Encourage healthy eating
- Inform the school in writing of any child’s special dietary needs.
- To implement school policy by not allowing their children to bring foods or drinks from the unsuitable foods list above.
- To follow the Green Schools guidelines above.
Role of Children
- To eat their lunch
- To bring home any uneaten lunch
- To help make their lunches and remind parents of the Healthy Lunch Policy.
- To implement school policy by bringing foods or drinks from the unsuitable foods list above.
- To follow the Green Schools guidelines above.
Role of School
- To provide a consistent programme of cross-curricular nutrition education.
- To promote and encourage healthy eating.
- To provide adequate time for children to eat their lunch.
- To implement school policy by not allowing children to consume foods or drinks from the unsuitable foods list above.
- To arrange for a guest speaker to advise pupils on diet, healthy lifestyle etc.
- Teachers will continue to reward improvements in good work and behaviour with healthy treats.
- If children present at school without a lunch parents will be contacted by phone.
Implementation:
This revised policy will be implemented from Monday 9th March 2009 .