NSMW

LACA to run National School Meals Week

National School Meals Week has been running since 1993 and is organised by the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA).  The week encourages pupils in Nursery School and Primary Schools and students in Secondary Schools and colleges to have a healthy school meal that meets the nutrient standards laid down by the respective National Body or Government.

The other key messages are to:

• Make healthy eating fun and enjoyable for Primary School pupils.
• Encourage the Hotel and Catering Industry to support schools and encouraging pupils to enjoy and have an interest in great food.
• Promote regular exercise, such as dancing, so that Secondary students and Primary pupils understand the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle.
• Help young people understand what it was like in the 1940s to have a meal at school and encourage them to remember the significance of Remembrance Day.
• Put fun in to the promotion of healthy eating so the pupils enjoy the food and want to come back for more.
• Increase the number of healthy school meals that are served in schools each day.

The week is taking place from 8th to 12th November 2010. It is a truly national promotion of healthy school meals in England, Scotland and Wales. There are different activities taking place each day.

In England school caterers were required to meet the nutrient standards laid down by the Government in all schools by September 2009. In Scotland, school caterers have to meet the standard laid out in "Scottish Nutrient Standards for School Lunches" and in Wales they are set out in "Appetite for Life".