A POWER-packed, packed lunch!

To grow and stay healthy, children need to eat a nutritionally well-balanced diet. Schools are an influential setting and can contribute significantly to improving the health and well-being of pupils. Good nutrition in childhood can help prevent a variety of health problems, both in the short term and later in life. There is increasing concern that many children are consuming too much fat, sugar, and salt and too little fiber, fruit, and vegetables. Packed lunches can contribute to almost a third of a child’s weekly food intake and therefore need to be balanced and nutritious.

At Holy Trinity, we aim to ensure that packed lunches (brought in from home) reflect the new standards for school meals.

What’s the big deal?

The content of lunch boxes needs to reflect the requirement of schools to meet minimum food and nutrition standards for school meals. The contents of lunchboxes in some schools can be extremely unhealthy. Recent audits of lunchboxes have shown that, in the main, they contain foods with high levels of fat, sugar, and salt, and very few fruit and vegetables. The short-term effects of unhealthy packed lunches and food intake can include poor growth, tooth decay, obesity, anemia, constipation, poor concentration, and behavioral problems, which may have an impact on a child’s learning. The longer-term effects of a poor diet in childhood can be an increased risk of stroke, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes in adulthood.

A healthier packed lunch

Children’s packed lunches should include items from the 5 main food groups:

1) Bread, Rice, Potatoes, Pasta

These starchy foods are a healthy source of energy. Packed lunches should include 2 or more portions, e.g., pasta salad, a sandwich.

2) Fruit and Vegetables

These foods provide vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Lunches should include at least 1 portion of fruit and 1 portion of vegetables/salad, or more, e.g., carrot/cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes, a piece of fruit.

3) Milk and Dairy

These foods provide calcium for healthy bones and teeth. Include 1 portion at lunch e.g. yoghurt, fromage frais, milk.

4) Meat, Fish, Eggs, Beans

These foods provide protein for growth. Packed lunches should include 1 portion of these foods, e.g., boiled egg as a filling in a sandwich, mixed bean salad.

5) Drinks – any drinks provided in lunch boxes should only include either plain water, milk (semi-skimmed), unsweetened fresh fruit juice, diluted fresh fruit juice, fruit, or dairy alternative or dairy-based smoothies

BBC Good Food has some great ideas here: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/school-packed-lunch-inspiration

The NHS also provides lunchbox ideas:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/school-packed-lunch-inspiration

Things to avoid    

We are looking to avoid processed foods, e.g., pre-packed sandwiches or snack packs, chocolate (including toppings, fillings, choc chips), crisps, and salted savories (all varieties), fizzy and sugary drinks.

Please note:

NUTS SHOULD BE EXCLUDED DUE TO ALLERGIES PRESENT IN A SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

These guidelines have been issued for the following reasons:

• The school teaches health and well-being as part of the curriculum, and we do not want children to receive mixed messages within the school environment.

• School dinners have already changed for the better, are nutritious, well-balanced, and contain many organic ingredients.

• There is a nationwide drive for schools to become healthier.

Please help our children and their future health and vitality by following these recommendations.