Hungry for Success

a guide to healthy eating in primary school.

Why choose a school meal?

• Provides one third of the daily nutrients a child requires for growth and development

• Encourages healthy eating from an early age

• Meal entitlement meets Scottish Executive Nutritional Guidelines

• Eating a balanced meal at lunchtime has been shown to aid concentration during afternoon lessons

• Helps develop the social skills of eating within a safe, supervised dining room environment

• Convenient - qualified staff prepare and cook lunch saving you time preparing a packed lunch

• Vegetarian, Medically Prescribed Diets and Special Dietary Needs can be accommodated, where possible

• Lots of variety and choice

• Chilled fruit juice, milk or water available with every meal

• Bread included with every meal

• Regular fun days and promotions

• Represents excellent value for money

The Scottish Executive has recently issued all schools with a report detailing Nutritional Guidelines for School Lunches entitled 'Hungry for Success'.

Aberdeen City Council is committed to implementing all recommendations in the report, which aims to provide healthier food and drink in schools and to foster a 'whole school approach' to encourage positive changes in pupils eating patterns over time, where required.

To achieve this, Aberdeen City Council's School Meals Catering in Partnership with Grampian Primary Healthcare Trust has introduced into all its Primary Schools, a Menu Planning Package. This package ensures we offer a nutritionally balanced diet over a week.                          

how it works

Our Menu Planning Package consists of a range of recipes and food items which have been analysed by a team of dieticians and specialists, then coloured coded and awarded JJJ, JJ or J according to their nutritional content.

Generally the package is designed to provide the type and proportion of foods needed to make a well-balanced and healthy diet. The amount of Fat, Salt and Sugar is limited and children are encouraged to increase their uptake of Fruit, Vegetables, Bread, other Cereals and Potatoes.

Weekly menus are planned by your School Cook using a special colour coded Menu Grid which controls the frequency recipes and food items can appear on the menu each week according to their nutritional content as follows.

 

KEY	JJJ           Green dishes	'Healthy Choices' can appear freely and are actively promoted on the service counter
	JJ               Blue dishes	Some limitation on use
	J                  Red dishes	Limited use due to fat, salt and sugar content

All main meal dishes are highlighted using J symbols on the menu you receive at home enabling you to help your child appreciate the different categories. In addition, the menu board at the service counter is also colour coded, so children can make appropriate choices.

If a child chooses the J Red Dish on offer, it is not a poor choice as the menu provides a balance of nutrients over the week. It is important to encourage your child to take their full meal entitlement so ensuring that the complete range of nutrients from all food groups is acquired.

Operating this system ensures our weekly menus comply with Scottish Executive Nutritional Guidelines as laid down in 'Hungry for Success'.

your School Meals Catering Service aims to :

• Provide nutritious, well presented meal choices daily

• Promote the healthy options and actively encourage their uptake

• Be proactive in recipe development and introducing new menu tastes

• Provide a service that meets the highest Health and Safety standards

• Guarantee compliance with all current relevant legislation, including Scottish executive Nutritional Standards for School Lunches

• Work in partnership with Head Teachers, Teaching staff, Parents, Pupils and other external partners to encourage positive changes in eating patterns over time

• Provide a service that meets the needs of our customers

• Strive for continuous improvements in all aspects of the service