LONG gone are the days when
the prospect of school dinners
sent shivers down pupils'
spines. Questionable fish
cakes, limp-looking burgers
and cold chips are a thing of the
past.
Walk into any Hampshire school canteen now
and you are met with smiling children, happily
tucking into their healthy meals.
There has been a food revolution in school
kitchens up and down the county and children
are queuing up in droves to eat school dinners.
This month saw the launch of a new summer
menu in all 430 primary schools in Hampshire,
serving youngsters with their healthiest menus
yet.
Schoolchildren are now tucking into a variety
of nutritious and delicious meals, from vegetarian
chickpea Wellington to organic beefburgers
and roast dinners.
The latest menu from Hampshire County
Council's catering service, HC3S, aims to change
children's eating habits by giving them easier
access to healthier foods.
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For £1.90 each day, every child can choose from
a meat or vegetarian option and parents can be
sure that their child is getting one-third of the
recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals.
Evelyn Cook, food development officer for
HC3S, said: "Introducing a summer menu means
that the children are getting a wide variety of
flavours and different choices.
"The emphasis on healthy eating is important
and it's particularly beneficial to
get them trying new foods at an
early age before they get into bad
habits."
Read more in today's Daily Echo
Putting the new menu to the test
were the children at Cherbourg
Primary School in Eastleigh, where
the number of pupils choosing
school meals is rising every year.
With full stomachs, empty plates
and meatball sauce covering
many faces, it was clear that the
new menu was well received.
Kitchen supervisor Pauline
Howell said: "The children enjoy
the variety now that they are
starting to eat more fresh food and
vegetables and because they get to
choose what they want they actually
eat everything on their plate.
"What we have to remember is
that the image of horrible school
dinners was a long time ago and
things have changed a lot.
"Even since I've started working
here three years ago I've seen the
improvement and the increase in
numbers of children opting for
our meals and loving them.
"We're trying to teach children
about healthy eating and parents
like to know their child is getting
a healthy meal. Not all children
get a home-cooked meal so we provide
it for them here."
The numbers prove that the children
are enjoying what they eat.
Between the autumn terms of
2006 and 2007, more than 1,500
extra children in Hampshire ate
school dinners, rising from 27,787
to 29,371.
The campaign for healthier
school meals was initially spearheaded
by TV chef Jamie Oliver.
Julie Greer, head teacher at
Cherbourg Primary, said: "I think
initially, with the Jamie Oliver
drive, there was a lot of scepticism
among parents.
"Now they are much more
accepting and are happy to
embrace healthy eating, which is
all part of our ethos in school."
Mrs Greer says at least 40 more
of her pupils have taken up school
meals since September.
"The reaction has been really
positive, which is shown in the
rise of children taking up school
meals at lunchtime. It
also helps that
Pauline is an excellent
cook and has a
wonderful team.
"A lot of our parents
work so it's satisfying
for them to
know that their
child has eaten
at least one healthy meal a
day."
The menu works on a threeweek
rotational basis of
three menus, with two different
dishes set for each
day to ensure that the children
get a variety of meals.
With all the talk about food I
thought it was only fair to
test it for myself.
I went for the
meatballs with
rice and pasta It
was delicious,
and clear why
the children
look forward to
school dinners.
Posted by: dinner lady, Southampton on 10:56am Fri 16 May 08
Blimey, what school did you go to? the ones in our school are vile, tiny portions and most of our dinner children are free school dinners, bring back turkey twizzlers we say!
Blimey, what school did you go to? the ones in our school are vile, tiny portions and most of our dinner children are free school dinners, bring back turkey twizzlers we say!
[quote][bold]Anon[/bold] wrote:
[quote]Erm, where are the mistakes? You wouldn't just be jumping on a bandwagon, would you?[/quote] The mistake has been corrected. Christoff and Troll appeared to post around the same time. I noticed it earlier, but couldn't be bothered to comment.[/quote] Spot the sock puppet!
Troll/Anon posted after Christoff (the posts have times on them), but obviously it means so much to you Anon/Troll, you have to pretend otherwise.
Anon wrote:
Erm, where are the mistakes? You wouldn't just be jumping on a bandwagon, would you?
The mistake has been corrected. Christoff and Troll appeared to post around the same time. I noticed it earlier, but couldn't be bothered to comment.
Spot the sock puppet!
Troll/Anon posted after Christoff (the posts have times on them), but obviously it means so much to you Anon/Troll, you have to pretend otherwise.
Posted by: Allison, Southampton on 12:45pm Fri 16 May 08
I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.
I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.
[quote][bold]Allison[/bold] wrote:
I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.[/quote] You can have sweets and still be healthy.
Allison wrote:
I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.
Posted by: pie and mash, far away from you on 3:28pm Fri 16 May 08
Not all school diners were horrible or fattening – we were certainly not as fat as today’s children. I loved the meat pie, who can honestly say that they never liked chocolate sponge with white custard – some of the schools were not as good as others and those where the ones were the food was usually not cooked on premises i.e. Shirley middle got theirs from Bellmore. But I have to say, that St. Anne’s school dinners were lovely and I have fond memories. Bring back pie and mash and real cooked dinners (minus bullet peas) with puddings – the great British institution!
Not all school diners were horrible or fattening – we were certainly not as fat as today’s children. I loved the meat pie, who can honestly say that they never liked chocolate sponge with white custard – some of the schools were not as good as others and those where the ones were the food was usually not cooked on premises i.e. Shirley middle got theirs from Bellmore. But I have to say, that St. Anne’s school dinners were lovely and I have fond memories. Bring back pie and mash and real cooked dinners (minus bullet peas) with puddings – the great British institution!
Posted by: Bill, DeSoto MO USA on 3:38pm Fri 16 May 08
[quote][bold]paul b[/bold] wrote:
What a load of spin This will give the benefit claiming mothers one more reason not to cook for their spawns[/quote] You can always count on [bold]paul b[/bold] to put it in the right perspective.
paul b wrote:
What a load of spin This will give the benefit claiming mothers one more reason not to cook for their spawns
You can always count on paul b to put it in the right perspective.
[quote][bold]Adrian Smith[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Anon[/bold] wrote: [quote]Erm, where are the mistakes? You wouldn't just be jumping on a bandwagon, would you?[/quote] The mistake has been corrected. Christoff and Troll appeared to post around the same time. I noticed it earlier, but couldn't be bothered to comment.[/quote] Spot the sock puppet! Troll/Anon posted after Christoff (the posts have times on them), but obviously it means so much to you Anon/Troll, you have to pretend otherwise.[/quote] Spot the imposter!
Adrian Smith wrote:
Anon wrote:
Erm, where are the mistakes? You wouldn't just be jumping on a bandwagon, would you?
The mistake has been corrected. Christoff and Troll appeared to post around the same time. I noticed it earlier, but couldn't be bothered to comment.
Spot the sock puppet! Troll/Anon posted after Christoff (the posts have times on them), but obviously it means so much to you Anon/Troll, you have to pretend otherwise.
[quote][bold]Adrian Smith[/bold] wrote:
[quote][bold]Allison[/bold] wrote: I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.[/quote] You can have sweets and still be healthy.[/quote] I agree with you - whoever you are.
Adrian Smith wrote:
Allison wrote: I love that it is an article about how lunches are now healthy and the little boy is holding a tray with a chocolate muffin on it and some type of processed looking juice. So how about a piece of apple cake or fruit and having real juice, milk or water? Common sense of a healthy lunch.
[quote][bold]paul b[/bold] wrote:
What a load of spin This will give the benefit claiming mothers one more reason not to cook for their spawns[/quote] Quote of the day!
paul b wrote:
What a load of spin This will give the benefit claiming mothers one more reason not to cook for their spawns
I work in a school and our kids are offered fruit as an alternative to pudding, and they all have a cup of water each, set up on the tables before they come in to get their lunches.I also have a school dinner after I have finished work, and I really like them, they are balanced and nutritious. And whats more important the children really like them. They are offered frozen fruit smoothies, which contain real fruit and they are also offered small pots of salad aswell. So I think certainly in my school, they have the balance right.
I work in a school and our kids are offered fruit as an alternative to pudding, and they all have a cup of water each, set up on the tables before they come in to get their lunches.I also have a school dinner after I have finished work, and I really like them, they are balanced and nutritious. And whats more important the children really like them. They are offered frozen fruit smoothies, which contain real fruit and they are also offered small pots of salad aswell. So I think certainly in my school, they have the balance right.
[quote][bold]alig[/bold] wrote:
I work in a school and our kids are offered fruit as an alternative to pudding, and they all have a cup of water each, set up on the tables before they come in to get their lunches.I also have a school dinner after I have finished work, and I really like them, they are balanced and nutritious. And whats more important the children really like them. They are offered frozen fruit smoothies, which contain real fruit and they are also offered small pots of salad aswell. So I think certainly in my school, they have the balance right.[/quote] i bet you like Mika
alig wrote:
I work in a school and our kids are offered fruit as an alternative to pudding, and they all have a cup of water each, set up on the tables before they come in to get their lunches.I also have a school dinner after I have finished work, and I really like them, they are balanced and nutritious. And whats more important the children really like them. They are offered frozen fruit smoothies, which contain real fruit and they are also offered small pots of salad aswell. So I think certainly in my school, they have the balance right.
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