The Shadow Minister for Education Launches National School Meals Week (NSMW)

The Shadow Minister for Education, Sharon Hodgson MP, will launch NSMW at Hall Mead School, Marlborough Road, Upminster, on Monday 8th November at 10.45am.

NSMW is organised by the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) to promote healthy and nutritious school meals to parents, teachers and children across England and Wales. It has been running since 1993 and this year has more authorities and schools taking part than ever before. LACA estimates that about 17,000 schools will be adopting at least one of the five themes during the week.

The week will run until Friday 12th November and there is more information at www.iloveschoolmeals.co.uk

The five themes for the week are: Get Eating on Monday with Britain's Biggest School Lunch; Get Supporting Day on Tuesday 9th where hotels, restaurants and pubs can work with schools to generate a greater interest in food. Schools can also download videos filmed at Chewton Glen that show children how to make a healthy fruit smoothie and lay up a table in their restaurant. On Wednesday it is Get Dancing Day when pupils can watch youth dance teacher Hannah Bayston create a dance routine that will build up an appetite for a school lunch; Thursday is Remembrance
Day when pupils will be able to hear memories from people that had a school meal in the 1940s and see recipes from that time; the week ends with Get Giggling Day when pupils can download food masks or make their own and fun is the order of the day
.
Sharon Hodgson, said, "School meals are a very important part of the whole school day and I admire the work that all LACA members do in providing hot and nutritious meals that meet the high standards that were set down by the Labour Government.  I hope that everyone will get behind this week and enjoy it; it's a great opportunity for all schools to promote healthy eating in a variety of fun and enjoyable ways, and I am delighted to hear that more local authorities, foodservice contractors and schools are taking part this year than ever before. Too many children are not
getting hot, healthy meals at school or home for a variety of reasons, storing up health problems for the future. So I also hope that activities this week can help increase take‐up of school meals, particularly where children are entitled to receive them for free."

Sandra Russell, Chair of LACA, added, "National School Meals Week has been held and organised by LACA since 1993 and is one of the biggest healthy eating promotions in the country. We have nearly 100 local authorities registered online so this will make it the biggest yet and our 1200 members have all sorts of promotions and activities planned. I wish them every success with the week and I am sure that even more young people will be enjoying a school meal in the months ahead. School meals play a vital part in the whole school day and I must thank all the Headteachers
that give us such fantastic support. Where school caterers have good engagement with a Headteacher there is a thriving service that brings real benefit to everyone in the school".

After the official launch students will be taking part in a dance Masterclass with street dancers Peridot who nearly made it to the final of Britain's Got Talent. Once they have built up an appetite the students will enjoy a healthy lunch of pasta Bolognese served by Papa Dolmio from Mars Foodservice who is supporting the day.  Schools across the country will be serving a healthy lunch to their visitors as part of Britain's Biggest School Lunch. MPs, local celebrities and personalities will be going into schools to spread the vital healthy eating messages that can impact on a child
for life.

Kerry Leigh, one of the UK's top Laughologists will be talking to local school caterers in the afternoon about how they can use laughter to alter their attitudes from negative to positive. Kerry will also show the Friday NSMW, fun, online video that has a very serious message. It introduces Major Savings, Will Power and Mrs Bee Positive who has to deal with large cuts to her catering budget. Instead of despair and gloom Mrs Bee Positive learns to flip her behaviour so that the job gets done.