Kitchen: Meals at Huntington School

The Government standards for school meals deliver a comprehensive set of guidelines for all caterers and providers of food in primary, secondary and other schools. This is called "white paper on school nutrition" and is something that every school now has to look and adhere to in more detail. Here at Huntington we are transforming school lunches and give pupils a healthier but also satisfying meal in keeping with these guidelines. The government are to introduce nutrient based standards and legislation in September 2009 to help your children receive the required levels. Our approach to changing lunches and other times the pupils can purchase foods will, I'm hoping, make it something they will enjoy as well as achieving government standards.

For some pupils a school lunch is the main meal of the day. So it is our concern that our menus and choices contain sufficient energy and micronutrients to promote good nutritional health for all pupils, and protect the ones that are nutritionally vulnerable. This group includes those who are at risk of micronutrient deficiencies, those who are underweight and those who are overweight.

Below are major introductions that we now have to consider in our menu planning, from September 2007 government legislation meant we had to:

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit_and_Vegetables

"Provide at least two portions of fruit and vegetables (at least one of which should be salad or vegetable and the other fruit)"

Oily Fish

Oily_Fish

"Oily fish should be on the school lunch menu at least once every 3 weeks."

(E.g. Salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel, tuna - all high in omega 3 fatty acids which have several benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease.)

Deep Fried Food

Deep_Fried_Food

"Deep fried products should not be on the school lunch menu more than twice a week. These include products fried during manufacturing!"

Manufactured Meat

Manufactured_Meat

"Manufactured meat products must meet the Meat Products (England) Regulations 2003." Some of these products can be useful sources of protein, iron and zinc, however it's important the product is wholesome and has good nutritional value.

Bread

Bread

"Bread should be available on lunch every day."

An excellent source of energy and a great way of satisfying healthy appetites.

Drinks

Drinks

"Drinks made available can be water, semi/skimmed milk, pure fruit juice, yoghurt and milk drinks (with less than 5% added sugar), coffee and tea."

Salt and Condiments

"Table salt should not be made available, and other condiments should only be available in sachets." Excessive salt intake is well known to cause health problems. All opportunity to reduce should be taken.

Confectionery

"Confectionary, chocolate and chocolate coated products (excluding cocoa powder used in baking) should not be available during lunch times.

Confectionary high in fat and sugars and adds significantly to a child's daily calorie intake.

In the canteen:

· We are providing more fruit and fruit based desserts and serving every main meal with fresh vegetables.

· We are using oily fish in lots of different ways at least once a week.

· We are determined to rid the school of its deep fat fryers; however they will be staying and be used sparingly for now.

· We are reducing the servings of chips to twice per week, there are alternatives!

· We are not purchasing any manufactured meat, (e.g. chicken nuggets/ sausage rolls, pork pies). We are making our own. E.g. tasty burgers!

· Fresh homemade baked bread is served every day.

· A large selection of drinks is available with little sugar content.

· There is no salt and pepper on tables. The added accompaniments and flavours of the dishes should now be good enough that salt is not needed.

· Levels of confectionary based products have been reduced.

· The desserts are becoming a lot healthier because we use less sugar.

We are trying to offer the pupils a more balanced diet when attending school and help them achieve the government's guidelines of:

"Providing around 30% of a child's daily energy needs."

Most of the calories in a school lunch should come from carbohydrates (Found in: pasta, rice, potatoes, bread)

"The school lunch should provide no more than 18.9g of NMES per day."

'Non Milk Extrinsic Sugars' food high in added sugars.

"No more than 35% of the calories in school lunch should come from fat and not more than 11% in saturated fat."

"The school lunch should provide at least 30% of a child's protein requirements."

(Found in: lean meat, fish, eggs, lentils, beans & pulses)

"The school lunch should provide no more than 30% of a child's recommended sodium intake."

Salt is the main source of sodium.

"The school should provide at least 30% of a child's recommended intake."

(Found in: Bread, oats, cereals etc)

"The school lunch should provide at least 40% of a child's requirement for vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, iron, zinc and calcium."

Nutrient	Good Sources
Vitamin A	Whole milk and whole milk products Oily fish and eggs Liver Carrots, red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli
Vitamin C	Oranges, strawberries, berries and blackcurrants Fruit juices Vegetables and Potatoes
Folate	Green, leafy vegetables Pulses Oranges Liver
Iron	Meat, especially lean red meat Liver Green leafy vegetables Pulses Dried fruit, nuts and seeds Bread and foods made from UK fortified white flour Fortified breakfast cereals
Zinc	Meat, especially lean red meat Fish and shellfish Milk & milk products, eggs Green leafy vegetables Pulses Fortified breakfast cereals
Calcium	Milk and dairy products Canned fish containing soft bones Green leafy vegetables Pulses Bread and foods made from UK fortified white and brown flour

Have a good look at our menus and encourage your children to eat sensibly at school. We also provide a great selection of cold sandwiches and salads which we will be promoting on the website very soon. We currently have hot meal deals running every week and are soon introducing nutritionally balanced cold sandwich pack ups that can be ordered at the beginning of the school day.

As the famous saying goes "you are what you eat"!

At Huntington we want to help your child achieve and enjoy a great school life in every possible way, and take great pride in catering for all the pupils.

James Goodwin

Catering Manager