Packed Lunch Audit. Whitchurch Primary School. Maureen Rafferty. Dominic Green. Pupil packed lunch baseline audit

Transcription

1 Packed Lunch Audit SCHOOL: CONTACT: HEP REPRESENTATIVES: Whitchurch Primary School Maureen Rafferty Dominic Green DATE: 1 st December 2015 PURPOSE OF VISIT: Pupil packed lunch baseline audit NOTES OF VISIT: The audit was completed by Dominic Green working for Health Education Partnership A total of 126 lunchboxes were assessed Information about packed lunches The recent government report, the School Food Plan suggested the preference of school packed lunch as the reason for the decrease in school lunch uptake in recent years contributing to an increase in school age obesity. Research highlights that buying a wellbalanced school lunch is now the most nutritious choice for children and young people due to the introduction of the school food standards. These standards do not apply to lunch boxes, but following the School Food Plan schools now have governmental support to help children to make healthier choices by possibly restricting unhealthy options at school. A survey, commissioned by the Food Standards Agency in 2010 showed that the average packed lunch brought in from home contained far too much fat (especially saturated fat), sugar and up to half the daily limit of salt, all of which can contribute to long term health issues. Only one in five packed lunches contained any vegetables, only about half contained a portion of fruit or vegetables and only one in ten contained salad. The British Medical Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health also found that, of 1,300 packed lunches surveyed across the UK, 99% did not meet the school food standards. Excess sugar is one of the biggest threats to children s nutrition - at the moment, they re having two to three times more sugar than recommended - Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, 17 th July 2015 Sugar and your health The Facts The reality is that consuming too much sugar will have a detrimental effect on your health: Sugar provides the body with empty calories that give us energy without any nutrients. As a result, we eat more without feeling full or satisfied. This leads to an increased risk

2 of weight gain, certain diseases, and a cycle of highs and lows in energy levels, which will leave you feeling tired and craving even more sugar Frequent consumption can lead to tooth decay. A report by the Royal College of Surgeons published earlier this year showed tooth decay to be the most common reason five- to nineyear-olds were admitted to hospital It can also lead to type-2 diabetes, the levels of which have risen dramatically in recent years. Being overweight or obese also increases your risk of developing the disease. Diabetes UK reports that there are currently 3.3 million people in the UK living with diabetes, and many of these cases are type-2 What to remember The key thing to remember is that overall, eating healthily is all about balance. Indulgent foods, such as those high in fat and/or sugar, can be enjoyed and savoured, but only occasionally, not every day. The majority of our diet should be made up of balanced, nutritious everyday foods. Are packed lunches more attractive than school dinners? Are children opting for packed lunches because they can have the indulgent foods every day such as crisps, confectionary or a sugary drink? Schools have a responsibility to ensure children make the right choices and with the introduction of a comprehensive packed lunch policy will ensure packed lunches are not a better option than a freshly prepared school meal. A policy can discourage, restrict or ban sugary drinks, crisps and confectionery, alternatively prizes and other incentives can be introduced for bringing in a healthy packed lunch. Some schools have banned packed lunches outright, if you want to do this, try starting with your newest intake (pupils in reception). The ban will then apply to all the years that follow, until it extends to the whole school. Perhaps, an easy to enforce first step would be to restrict the type of drinks in lunchboxes to water only. Promote to parents free drinking water is available to packed lunch pupils, and the benefits such as cost saving and tooth decay prevention. Then think about restricting crisps and confectionary items, your school may decide just to allow crisps one day a week in the transition stage. All foods provide energy and nutrients and it is achieving the correct intake of those nutrients that is important for health. Variety is the key to a healthy diet, so try to encourage parents not to offer the same foods on consecutive days. By including a broad range of different foods, a much wider variety of nutrients will be eaten. Healthy eating is simply about getting a better balance and eating a wide variety of foods. So encourage your children to try new foods and develop a healthy enjoyment of food.

3 Whitchurch Primary School Packed Lunches - Key Findings: % Graph showing the results of a packed lunch audit at Whitchurch Primary School 1st December % 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% Percentage 10.00% 0.00% The lunchboxes assessed were below the recommended standard with the majority not providing children with the nutrients they need to grow well, do well at school and stay healthy. Many packed lunches were lacking essential nutrients, 64% were without vegetables or salad and 60% lacked prime protein from meat, fish or vegetable source. Many pupil packed lunches contained just bread and butter or confectionary fillings such as chocolate spread and jam. These sweet sandwich fillings inflated the confectionery count to 28%. On a positive note 94% of packed lunches contained carbohydrate, essential for energy release throughout the school afternoon. Nearly 60% of packed lunches contained fruit, a high percentage when compared to other Harrow schools and very few packed lunches contained crisps, 10% and just 15% included a sugary drink. It is clear buy the lower than average numbers of crisps and sugary drinks the school has made inroads toward a balanced healthy packed lunch. We do however recommend a revision of your school s Packed Lunch Policy involving a representative group of people

4 including pupils, teacher, governor and parents. If everyone has ownership of it then it is easier to enforce. An easy win will would be to restrict sugary drinks and allow pupils to only bring water into school. The government initiated School Food Plan favours school dinners as a lunch time meal choice due to the nutritional benefits and encourages schools not to make packed lunches the preferred pupil choice. Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) Uptake 78 key stage one pupils were recorded having a packed lunch rather than a free healthy and nutritious school meal, the government has set a target UIFSM uptake of 87%. School meals are not suitable for every child due to some having complex dietary issues such as allergies, intolerances or phobias however schools should encourage pupils and parents to take this free entitlement. An infant free school meal is worth around 380 per year per pupil, not taking into account both the monetary and time savings when not having to prepare a healthy packed lunch. School lunch time observation Lunch menu Roast turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips and cabbage Or Quorn and vegetable korma with wholegrain pilau rice with Rhubarb and pear crumble with custard or fresh fruit salad School meals are prepared fresh on site by Pride Caterers, the quality of food was a good standard. A good salad selection was available Dining room staff were offering encouragement and support resulting in a friendly dining experience. Packed lunch pupils were allowed to sit with their school lunch peers. This is good practice and works well when a packed lunch policy is in place restricted high sugar content drinks and snacks KS2 pupils ate their packed lunches in their classrooms Chocolate spread was a favourite packed lunch sandwich choice. If Whitchurch Primary School has a nut free policy parents should be made aware the majority of chocolate spreads contain nuts, even when not obvious. Ingredients: Tesco value chocolate spread Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Palm Oil, Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder (8%), Milk Sugar, Whey Powder (Milk), Carob Powder, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithins), Flavouring, Hazelnuts

5 Recommendations Introduce or review a packed lunch policy in consultation with pupils, parent and parents to encourage a standard mirroring the variety of the school meal service currently on offer and in line with the government s Eatwell Plate. Restrict chocolate spread if the school has a nut free policy Restrict all drinks allowed in packed lunches and offer water at the table to packed lunch pupils. Restrict the sweet treats to mirror the school menu rather than allow confectionary and other high sugar snacks. Encourage parents to pack fruit based cakes instead of treats with very high sugar content. Promote to parents the healthy eating guidelines attached in this report including the benefits of fruit, vegetables and salad daily. The salad and vegetable content especially is low compared to the borough average. Packed lunch pupils were noted eating their food from bags or closed lunch boxes as if they didn t want their peers to see the contents. Lunch time should be an open and inclusive experience without secrecy between each other. Providing KS1 packed lunch pupil with a paper plate or napkin to lay out their lunch onto may encourage healthier eating when the contents are visible to all. Raising awareness through the curriculum and parent engagement of the dangers a diet high in fat and sugar and encourage pupils to opt for healthier food choices. Parent interventions and workshops may initiate the nudge effect and encourage healthier option rather than the supermarket confectionary aisle. Look into the possibility of allowing KS2 pupils to eat their packed lunch in the school dining room. Consult with KS1 parents to ascertain why so many infants are not taking up the Universal Infant Free School Meal.

6 Packed Lunch Audit Statistics Whitchurch Primary School 1 st December 2015 Fruit 58% of lunchboxes included at least one portion of fruit Salad and Vegetables 37% contained at least one portion of salad or vegetables Starchy Foods 94% of the lunch boxes contained some form of carbohydrate (bread, potatoes, rice or pasta) Lean Meat, Fish or Vegetable Protein Alternative 26% of lunchboxes contained a healthy source of protein such as meat, fish, eggs or beans Processed Meat Products 13% of lunchboxes contained meat products such as pepperoni, sausage rolls or pasties Dairy Food 53% of lunchboxes contained a minimum of one portion of dairy such as cheese or yoghurt., Milk or Fruit Juice 17% of lunchboxes contained either water, milk or fruit juice Soft Drinks (diet or no sugar added) 0% included a drink labelled as diet or no added sugar Soft Drinks - (sweetened or sugary) 16% of lunchboxes had a flavoured sweetened drinks Crisps (or any snack with salt) 10% of lunchboxes contained crisps Confectionary (sweets, chocolate, cereal bars or items sweetened with sugar) 28% of lunchboxes contained confectionery

7 Packed Lunch Guidance Recommendations Foods Recommended Packed Lunch should be based on the national standards for school meals and the Eatwell Plate; a healthy packed lunch should be made up of the following food groups. Fruit and vegetable food group Choose at least one portion from this food group One portion of vegetables e.g. vegetable sticks such as carrots, peppers or cucumbers or lettuce. One portion of fruit e.g. fresh fruit such as bananas, apples or canned fruits in fruit juice or dried fruits such as raisins or apricots. Breads, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods Your child s packed lunch should include at least one portion from this food group, for example: Sandwiches made with a variety of breads such as pita, bagels, wraps, chapatti, roti, and rolls (offer a mix of wholegrain, brown and white varieties). Salads made with pasta, rice, couscous, noodles or potatoes. Milk and dairy foods Choose at least one portion from this food group, for example: Low fat yoghurt, custard or fromage frais, cheese, semi skimmed milk. Soya products that have added calcium. Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein Choose at least one portion from this food group, for example: Meat, chicken, fish and eggs. Beans such as chickpeas, kidney, haricot or lentils.

8 A healthy drink A healthy drink should be included; water, semi-skimmed milk, pure fruit juice or fruit juice made from concentrate, diluted fruit juice, drinks with less than 5% added sugars or artificial Limited depending on packed lunch policy *Juice drinks and flavoured waters are not recommended. Packed Lunch Guidance Foods / Drinks Not Recommended on a Daily Basis Foods / Drinks high in fat and or sugar The following foods and drinks are not recommended as part of a healthy packed lunch: Crisps, fried food (chicken & chips) or takeaways. Cereal bars, cakes, biscuits, muffins, and doughnuts and other foods containing fat and sugar. Juice drinks, sports drinks and flavoured waters. Confectionary such as chocolate bars, chocolate coated biscuits and sweets. The following high sugar foods and drinks cannot be brought into school for health and safety reasons: Fizzy drinks and energy drinks. Chewing gum Schools can monitor the packed lunches in the following ways: Incentives can be given to the children with balanced packed lunches. Packed lunches regularly containing food and drinks not recommended will be recorded and a slip will be sent home to parent s outline which foods are not recommended. Foods which cannot be brought into school will be taken away and returned to your child at the end of the day.

9 Occasional treats Having a healthy lunch does not mean not allowing any treats. Healthier treats could include a slice of malt loaf, banana bread, fruit jelly or a fruit scone. Here are some ideas that are suitable as a sweet treat in packed lunches. Banana cake Plain, fruit or cheese and chive scones Apple, apricot and sultana squares Homemade fruity flapjacks Bag of plain popcorn (you could try this dusted with cinnamon or mixed with dried apple or banana chips) Two Weeks of Healthy Packed Lunches Week one Week Two Monday Turkey baguette with tomato and lettuce, low-fat spread Fruit cocktail in natural juice & cherry tomatoes Low-fat fruit yoghurt Egg, cress and mayonnaise in brown roll Canned peaches in juice & cucumber batons Plain popcorn, small packet (no added salt) Tuesday Wednesday Ham, salad and tomato in a granary roll Grapes & Peppers Cheese and crackers Fruit bun e.g. tea cake Tuna, sweet corn and mayonnaise sandwich Kiwi fruit & cherry tomatoes Rice pudding Tuna and sweetcorn pasta salad Banana & cucumber sticks Low fat fromage frais Currant bun Chicken couscous with mushrooms, peppers and onion Pineapple pieces & carrot sticks

10 Thursday English muffin toasted, with reduced-fat hard cheese, tomato and ham slices Grapes & pepper sticks Malt loaf Bagel with salad, canned salmon and cream cheese Apple & carrot batons Pot of low fat custard Friday Potato salad with chicken pieces Ready-to-eat apricots & carrot sticks Fruit bun Milk, semi-skimmed Cheese and salad wrap Satsuma & Cherry tomatoes Slice of malt load Yoghurt drink Parent Packed Lunch Checklist Have you included? Healthier lunchbox checklist a good portion of starchy food, e.g. thick wholemeal bread, chapatti, pitta pocket, pasta or rice salad? plenty of fruit and vegetables, e.g. an apple, a satsuma, handful of cherry tomatoes or carrot sticks, mini-can of fruit chinks or small box of raisins? a portion of milk or dairy food, e.g. individual cheese portion or pot of yogurt? a portion of lean meat, fish or alternative, e.g. ham, chicken, beef, tuna, egg, hummus or bean/lentil salad? a drink, e.g milk or water. (occasionally a small pure fruit juice) Most importantly enjoy your lunch!