1. Getting started
As healthier lunch boxes are an important feature of food and drink provision in your school,
a good start is to think about them as part of your whole school tactic. Lunch box issues
should be considered by the school body or SNAG, particularly involving pupils and parents.
A whole school tactic allows you to:
• outline to parents, staff and pupils the school’s expectations of what constitutes a healthier
lunch box;
• help parents and pupils put together a lunch box which is healthier and realistic;
• set up a standard, reliable approach to the issue of food in your school;
• endorse the fact that your school takes the health of its pupils seriously.
To do
To find out what is obligatory you could conduct an audit of lunch box fillings before you start
your healthier lunch box raise. The audit will give you a baseline from which you can see if
any changes occur as a result of promoting healthier lunch boxes.
Ask pupils who have a lunch box to write down the contents of their lunch box for a day.
Analyse the responses. The results will highlight the least and most consumed food groups
and might indicate that you need to place an emphasis on encouraging pupils to eat more
fruit and vegetables or have a drink at lunch time.
Use the information to plan and undertake your healthier lunch box activities.
&&&&
2. Raise awareness:
When arrangement healthier lunch box doings, you need to ensure that you communicate consistent message to everybody involved in your school. By using the ‘School food: top marks’
lunch box leaflet and other resources you will ensure that steady healthy eating posts
about lunch boxes can be delivered throughout your school.
Pupils like to be involved in making choices, so why not encourage them to help? At school this
might involve creation lunch box items or trying new foods as part of a healthy eating topic. At
home, pupils could be fortified to help with the food shopping or help make the contents of
their lunch box wherever possible.
You could try..
• A healthier lunch box meeting.
• A healthier lunch box buffet for parents, children and local organisations.
• Running a theme day at school to motivate parents and pupils. You could try a ‘Fruit Friday’, a‘Red food day’, a non-sandwich day or a ‘Funky food Friday’.
• Implementing a whole school health day or week. You could focus on all aspects of health,
including bodily activity.
• Including top tips for parents around healthier lunch boxes in your school newsletter, website,
prospectus or brochure.
• Seeking parents’ and pupils’ opinions about healthier lunch boxes. What sustenance would they
like? This could be identified through a simple questionnaire or at a parents’ evening.
• Explaining to parents and pupils what you want to achieve and why. For example, you want
to ensure that all the children in your school are fit and healthy.
• Stressing the importance of a balanced and varied diet. Do not ban certain food items (unless
on grounds of safety, for example peanuts and risk to allergy sufferers). Be positive and promote
best practice. One approach might be to promote a healthier lunch box checklist for parents.
• Focusing on food safety. Give ideas and tips on how to save lunch boxes and drinks bottles
clean and safe.
&&&&
3. Communicate with parents
Parents play an important and powerful role in determining their child’s food and drink
choices and preferences. Data to parents needs to be consistent, helpful and realistic.
Approaches will differ between primary and post-primary schools, but ultimately the goal is the
same – to endorse a healthy lifestyle.
It is important to communicate to parents all of the rudiments that could contribute to healthier
lunch boxes. Also consider employed with health professionals such as community dietitians,
school nurses, and public dental teams.
Examples of good communication ideas
• Providing healthier lunch box information to all parents by sending out the ‘School food: top
marks’ healthy lunch box leaflet, Are you stuffing a healthy lunch?
• Setting up a display in the main school entrance or at a parents’ evening.
• Holding a unusual healthy eating lunch box day or week, inviting parents to an assembly to watch
children talking about healthy eating and looking at the work they have completed during the term.
• Asking the PTA to endorse health as the theme for the summer fete or through social
occasions and events at school.
• Asking parents what support they would like, sending out a questionnaire to gauge their
opinion. What could you realistically offer?
• Setting up a series of lunch box workshops for parents and pupils to pass on top tips for
lunch box provision.
• Including healthier lunch box proposals in your newsletter or school website
Case study
One primary school created a newssheet featuring lunch box top tips for parents. The response
was positive and resulted in the whole school community developing healthier food choices.
‘Healthier lunch boxes has been the best. I learnt a lot about which are good foods to eat.’
Year 5 pupil
4. Run a healthier lunch box workshop
Running a shop provides parents or carers with some ideas, suggestions and support.
Providing support with the opportunity to chat to other parents will help to engage parents in
addressing the health of their child.
Top tips
• Be realistic. Find out when parents typically have contact with the school. Can you build a
workshop around an event that parents attend already?
• Give notice. Let parents know about what you intend to do. Some may wish to come along,
but need notice to make arrangements for family and work promises. Publicise and
promote the event.
• Support the family. Depending on your school circumstance, you could run a workshop
where parents and their children work together.
• Keep to the point. Keep the shop short and snappy. Make your point, allow discussion
and provide support, for example hand out the ‘School food: top marks’ healthy lunch box
leaflet, Are you packing a healthy lunch?
• Make it interactive. Make your workshop more fun (and therefore more memorable) by
including some hands-on activities, for example making a simple sandwich or snack.
• Be positive. Promote good choices, balance, variety and health, rather than concentrating on
the negative.
• Do not give up. Only a few parents may appear your first workshop – but the news will soon
spread. Be persistent and provide a number of opportunities for parents to attend.
• Make links. Your health promotion coordinator, community dietitian, school nurse or
supermarket representative may be able to help. Make contact and find out.
• Give your workshop a theme. For example, ‘Summer lunch box top tips’, ‘Taking the chore out
of the lunch box’ or ‘Making a fit lunch for less than £1’.
• Promote a healthy picnic as part of the school’s sports day. Invite parents to join in, preparing
food and taking part in the activities.
• Hold a drop-in workshop at a school open evening (for prospective new pupils’ parents, for
example) or parents’ evening. Run a series of 10–15 minute workshops about healthy lunch boxes.
5. Store healthier lunch boxes at school
Provision for storage can touch what parents provide their child for lunch. How lunch boxes
are stored, and whether they are kept cool, can be an important factor in the type of foods
included. For example, sandwich fillings such as egg and cheese are sometimes not included
as there is concern from parents that the ingredients will become ‘smelly’ and therefore
off-putting to their child at lunch time.
The Food Standards Agency advises that if food is carefully prepared on the day of
consumption, there are relatively few foods where lack of refrigeration until lunch time could lead
to the growth of harmful organisms, although it is important that they are not kept in a warm place.
Schools need to be realistic when dealing with the issue of storing lunch boxes, while also
acknowledging real concerns about food safety and hygiene. The school building, location,
pupil roll and size are just a few factors that will determine the way lunch boxes are stored.
*Things to consider
How can we store lunch boxes away from sources of heat, for example pipes, radiators and
direct sunlight? Where are the cool, well ventilated places, for example a cool dark
cupboard?
• How can we encourage parents to use insulated boxes or ‘ice’ packs?
• What is the best way to promote top lunch box safety tips?
• Could we supply fridges for classrooms, perhaps funded by the PTA?
6. Encourage social eating
An important aspect of developing good eating habits is to look at where and how children eat.
Depending on your school’s size, resources and number of pupils who have a lunch box,
various organisational methods for eating at lunch time can be employed.
To do
Create a sociable eating area in the summer term (some schools put up gazebos and
provide benches to improve children’s social and eating skills).
Encourage better eating and social skills by sitting older and younger pupils together.
Older pupils can act as good role models for younger children. By ’serving’ water or milk
they can encourage younger children to consume plenty of fluid.
Establish benches in the playground to encourage pupils to eat together.
If space is not a problem, seat children who have a lunch box with those having a school
meal. This will allow friends to sit together and possibly encourage children to try a school
dinner.
When arrangement healthier lunch box doings, you need to ensure that you communicate consistent message to everybody involved in your school. By using the ‘School food: top marks’
lunch box leaflet and other resources you will ensure that steady healthy eating posts
about lunch boxes can be delivered throughout your school.
Pupils like to be involved in making choices, so why not encourage them to help? At school this
might involve creation lunch box items or trying new foods as part of a healthy eating topic. At
home, pupils could be fortified to help with the food shopping or help make the contents of
their lunch box wherever possible.
You could try..
• A healthier lunch box meeting.
• A healthier lunch box buffet for parents, children and local organisations.
• Running a theme day at school to motivate parents and pupils. You could try a ‘Fruit Friday’, a‘Red food day’, a non-sandwich day or a ‘Funky food Friday’.
• Implementing a whole school health day or week. You could focus on all aspects of health,
including bodily activity.
• Including top tips for parents around healthier lunch boxes in your school newsletter, website,
prospectus or brochure.
• Seeking parents’ and pupils’ opinions about healthier lunch boxes. What sustenance would they
like? This could be identified through a simple questionnaire or at a parents’ evening.
• Explaining to parents and pupils what you want to achieve and why. For example, you want
to ensure that all the children in your school are fit and healthy.
• Stressing the importance of a balanced and varied diet. Do not ban certain food items (unless
on grounds of safety, for example peanuts and risk to allergy sufferers). Be positive and promote
best practice. One approach might be to promote a healthier lunch box checklist for parents.
• Focusing on food safety. Give ideas and tips on how to save lunch boxes and drinks bottles
clean and safe.
&&&&
3. Communicate with parents
Parents play an important and powerful role in determining their child’s food and drink
choices and preferences. Data to parents needs to be consistent, helpful and realistic.
Approaches will differ between primary and post-primary schools, but ultimately the goal is the
same – to endorse a healthy lifestyle.
It is important to communicate to parents all of the rudiments that could contribute to healthier
lunch boxes. Also consider employed with health professionals such as community dietitians,
school nurses, and public dental teams.
Examples of good communication ideas
• Providing healthier lunch box information to all parents by sending out the ‘School food: top
marks’ healthy lunch box leaflet, Are you stuffing a healthy lunch?
• Setting up a display in the main school entrance or at a parents’ evening.
• Holding a unusual healthy eating lunch box day or week, inviting parents to an assembly to watch
children talking about healthy eating and looking at the work they have completed during the term.
• Asking the PTA to endorse health as the theme for the summer fete or through social
occasions and events at school.
• Asking parents what support they would like, sending out a questionnaire to gauge their
opinion. What could you realistically offer?
• Setting up a series of lunch box workshops for parents and pupils to pass on top tips for
lunch box provision.
• Including healthier lunch box proposals in your newsletter or school website
Case study
One primary school created a newssheet featuring lunch box top tips for parents. The response
was positive and resulted in the whole school community developing healthier food choices.
‘Healthier lunch boxes has been the best. I learnt a lot about which are good foods to eat.’
Year 5 pupil
4. Run a healthier lunch box workshop
Running a shop provides parents or carers with some ideas, suggestions and support.
Providing support with the opportunity to chat to other parents will help to engage parents in
addressing the health of their child.
Top tips
• Be realistic. Find out when parents typically have contact with the school. Can you build a
workshop around an event that parents attend already?
• Give notice. Let parents know about what you intend to do. Some may wish to come along,
but need notice to make arrangements for family and work promises. Publicise and
promote the event.
• Support the family. Depending on your school circumstance, you could run a workshop
where parents and their children work together.
• Keep to the point. Keep the shop short and snappy. Make your point, allow discussion
and provide support, for example hand out the ‘School food: top marks’ healthy lunch box
leaflet, Are you packing a healthy lunch?
• Make it interactive. Make your workshop more fun (and therefore more memorable) by
including some hands-on activities, for example making a simple sandwich or snack.
• Be positive. Promote good choices, balance, variety and health, rather than concentrating on
the negative.
• Do not give up. Only a few parents may appear your first workshop – but the news will soon
spread. Be persistent and provide a number of opportunities for parents to attend.
• Make links. Your health promotion coordinator, community dietitian, school nurse or
supermarket representative may be able to help. Make contact and find out.
• Give your workshop a theme. For example, ‘Summer lunch box top tips’, ‘Taking the chore out
of the lunch box’ or ‘Making a fit lunch for less than £1’.
• Promote a healthy picnic as part of the school’s sports day. Invite parents to join in, preparing
food and taking part in the activities.
• Hold a drop-in workshop at a school open evening (for prospective new pupils’ parents, for
example) or parents’ evening. Run a series of 10–15 minute workshops about healthy lunch boxes.
5. Store healthier lunch boxes at school
Provision for storage can touch what parents provide their child for lunch. How lunch boxes
are stored, and whether they are kept cool, can be an important factor in the type of foods
included. For example, sandwich fillings such as egg and cheese are sometimes not included
as there is concern from parents that the ingredients will become ‘smelly’ and therefore
off-putting to their child at lunch time.
The Food Standards Agency advises that if food is carefully prepared on the day of
consumption, there are relatively few foods where lack of refrigeration until lunch time could lead
to the growth of harmful organisms, although it is important that they are not kept in a warm place.
Schools need to be realistic when dealing with the issue of storing lunch boxes, while also
acknowledging real concerns about food safety and hygiene. The school building, location,
pupil roll and size are just a few factors that will determine the way lunch boxes are stored.
*Things to consider
How can we store lunch boxes away from sources of heat, for example pipes, radiators and
direct sunlight? Where are the cool, well ventilated places, for example a cool dark
cupboard?
• How can we encourage parents to use insulated boxes or ‘ice’ packs?
• What is the best way to promote top lunch box safety tips?
• Could we supply fridges for classrooms, perhaps funded by the PTA?
6. Encourage social eating
An important aspect of developing good eating habits is to look at where and how children eat.
Depending on your school’s size, resources and number of pupils who have a lunch box,
various organisational methods for eating at lunch time can be employed.
To do
Create a sociable eating area in the summer term (some schools put up gazebos and
provide benches to improve children’s social and eating skills).
Encourage better eating and social skills by sitting older and younger pupils together.
Older pupils can act as good role models for younger children. By ’serving’ water or milk
they can encourage younger children to consume plenty of fluid.
Establish benches in the playground to encourage pupils to eat together.
If space is not a problem, seat children who have a lunch box with those having a school
meal. This will allow friends to sit together and possibly encourage children to try a school
dinner.
