Meals on wheels for school children

Lunch boxes could become a thing of the past for children at Leintwardine Endowed Primary School thanks to a new scheme introduced by the Council.

Almost 90 children will see their lunchtime arrangements change from lunchboxes and a baked potato once a week, to a healthy, freshly prepared nutritious hot lunch with pudding five times a week. Menus offer a wide variety of options including a daily vegetarian choice with fruit or yoghurt as alternatives to sweet.

Many of the county’s primary schools do not have their own kitchens and struggle to provide hot meals for their children. Children bring in their own lunches on a daily basis and eat them in the school hall before playing outside during the mid day break.

The government expects all schools to be able to offer hot lunches by 2008, yet there isn’t enough money available to build new kitchens in all the county’s primary schools.

By partnering with the local High Schools and developing their catering facilities hot lunches can be prepared and transported to primary schools.

Under this particular scheme the meals are pre-ordered, then freshly cooked at Wigmore High School and transported to Leintwardine Endowed Primary School by catering company, Alliance in Partnership.

Mrs Ann Davies, the school’s head teacher, says “Many of our parents have been wanting us to provide healthy hot lunches for a long time.

“The school has been working hard for some considerable time to promote awareness of healthy options by offering fruit to children, encouraging healthier snacks, and talking about the importance of good food choices in the curriculum, but lunch times have always been a bit of a problem.

“We’ve had a fantastic response to the scheme. Bookings for the first week back have increased from 15 baked potatoes to more than 170 hot meals and the bookings keep coming in.”

In order to make the scheme work, Herefordshire Council has invested in equipment to help keep the food hot, and is meeting part of the costs of transportation.

Cabinet member for children and young people, Councillor Don Rule, says: “Studies show that children who eat a balanced diet find it easier to concentrate at school, yet the costs of providing such a service to all schools can be prohibitive.

“Using our high schools as a base for preparing meals with fresh and healthy ingredients is an excellent way of using resources efficiently, and providing parents with choice about how and what their children eat at school.”