school meals - any examples of great school meals?

[midnightexpress]

Our Parent Council are currently in discussions with our local council about the quality (or otherwise...) of our school meals. We're being fed a load of flim-flam about nutritional guidelines, healthy choices etc, but I still see 'fish fingers and potato smiles' or 'pizza slice and chips', flavoured milk and so on among these 'healthy choices'. So, I was wondering if anyone has a school meal service that they are really pleased with and if so, could you give me any examples of the sort of meals that are provided, so that I can take them along to our next meeting?

I also wonder what having all these choices is good for. I understand it for older kids, but my two are 5 and 6, and faced with the choice of vegetables or no vegetables, chocolate milk or plain milk, pizza or chicken stir-fry, how many 5 year-olds would choose the healthier option, I wonder? While I still have traumatic memories of certain school meals I at least know what I don't like because I had to try it. It seems to me that offering endless choices (in our council's case, that means two hot meals, 2 cold meals, a starter and a choice of puddings, plus several drinks) means it's always possible to choose unhealthily. I'd be interested to see what other people think about this too.

TIA.

Another interesting one (looked this one up cos they used to work with v nice local pub, but not the case any more): www.northcerneyprimaryschool.co.uk/images/stories/Documents/SchoolLunches/spring%202012.pdf

Sounds lovely, but DD would turn her nose up at a LOT of those meals. :(

devonNorse provide this menu at teh school DS attends and I work at as lunch time staff.

Its a pretty decent menu. Assuming a half decent cook it tastes good and the children who have school meals eat most of whats on their plates. Certain choices are more popular that others. Pulse based meals are not popluar. Bread based ones are very popular. Fish on friday is probably the best attended, followed by Roast wednedays and any day there is pizza.

Our school is of a size that meals can be opted into on a day by day basis, choices are given in at morning registration. Choices are allocated in the hall by way of named children being called up to the servery for Veg and jacket spud choice before the rest of their class have the " 1 " option. There are choices but not many. at the servery kids have to chose which of two vegetables, and maybe which of 2 carbs ( normally potato or pasta) . Drinks are served at table, choice of water or other ( on certain days).

current menu. The kids can choose day to day if they want a school dinner or packed lunch. Ds tends to only go if it is fish and chips but doesnt like the chips so only eats the fish!! DD goes for quite few school dinners as she isnt as fussy as ds.

Ours are fab (it is a Junior School, and everything is cooked on the premises). The children choose from 'red/blue/yellow' menu at registration and are given the appropriate wristband to wear so there's no mind changing. This then means the right number of each meal is prepared (presumably plus one or two to allow for something being dropped on the floor or whatever) and it doesn't matter if you are last sitting, you still get your choice for the day. The menu comes home each 1/2 term I think (might be termly, sorry, not sure) so you can have it at home and help your child make the decisions if they need that support. It runs over 2 weeks then is repeated. Children can opt in and out of school meals on a daily basis if they want.... run out of bread? you can take money for a packed lunch that day... or ... money a bit short, bring a packed lunch that day....or... fussy eater? Take a packed lunch on those 2 days and have a school dinner on the other 3, etc.
There's always a veggie option (which others can choose if they want) and the yellow is a sandwhichy type option which also includes something like a milkshake, whereas the cooked meals usually don't.
Salad bar always available and can be added to any meal even where this makes for a wierd combination.
Costs - went up to £1.90 after Easter.
Let me know if you need actual meal choices copied out.

Have you heard about this? neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/

A nine year old girl's blog about her school dinners has become a real hit. She posts photos and rates the meals. She has a really good writing style.

Once she had become famous she invited children from all over the world to send in photos and descriptions of their school dinners.

One of the most telling things, I thought, was that the portion size was often very small. After she'd blogged about this, her father was officially informed that children were allowed unlimited amounts of fruit, veg, and bread rolls. Nobody had ever told the children this policy.

Hi midnight express:

If you haven't seen the news a 9 year old has been blogging about her school meals (with photos) for a while - all blew up this week - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18472795.

Her blog NeverSeconds is very entertaining - and her rating system (including hairs in food) seems fair: blog link here: neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/. To be fair I think NeverSeconds frequently does give high ratings for her meals (9/10 or 10/10) - but more importantly the photographs really portray what the child is presented with each day (presentation is also something that should be thought about - as a plate of white/ brown foods looks awful).

With pictures and reviews - I think there's plenty of ideas in there for your school.

My ds's very small school only has one choice of food per day (and a veggie choice - but you have to choose one or the other all week, you can't pick and choose to be a vegetarian!). It is all really 'healthy', never chips, quite a few 'gravy' meals, lots of pasta/rice/pulse meals and a baked pudding plus fruit option. No drink included. Has to be booked and paid for a half term at a time.

My ds never has school meals because he is gluten and dairy free and they can't cater for it (dinner ladies do make an exception to the 'no microwaving' policy and let me send in a plated meal at Christmas to join in with Christmas lunch). It's from an outside company that do at least 20 schools around us so I assume they all have the same policies/choices.

It is, however, very expensive, £2.75 a day.

I think only about 20-30% of children have the meals, mostly I think because it's quite a middle-class school (I think there is one fsm family) and the parents (Mums) know full well they can provide a packed lunch much more cheaply and it still be even healthier and contain things the children like every day. Blimey, you'd have to be mad to pay £8.25 a day for 3 children to eat lunch! My son has a chicken/tuna salad, three pieces of fruit, a soya yoghurt and one carb option (plain crisps/rice cakes/gluten free cereal bar) and fruit juice and it doesn't cost anywhere near £2.75!!

I think that maybe there should be a veggie and non veggie option,both healthy.I dont know why anyone would offer a child flavoured milk,its so crappy,i wouldnt give it to a starving hamster.I dont see why its such an issue,its not rocket science!