LACA National School Meals Week

National School Meals Week 2011

National School Meals Week (NSMW) has been running since 1993 and is organised by LACA (the Local Authority Caterers Association).  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 week is taking place from 7th to 11th November 2011. It is a truly national promotion of healthy school meals in England, Scotland and Wales. There are different activities taking place each day and this year there are more local authorities, foodservice contractors and schools taking part than ever before. For more information please go to www.iloveschoolmeals.co.uk. You will be able to see the themes of each day, download all the marketing materials and on 7th November download a copy of the LACA/ParentPay market research report on school meals and daily life issues 2011.

There is also a recipe book that has lots of help and advice about healthy lifestyles.  This has been provided by Change4Life, an official partner of LACA.  It can be downloaded here.

During NSMW the LACA road show will be travelling around the country and visiting different schools.  This is where it is going and a brief summary of what is happening at each stop.

Monday 7th November 2011 at 8.30am

The launch of the LACA/ParentPay market research at St Clement Danes CE Primary School, Covent Garden.  The research had over 10,000 responses from parents and makes it one of the biggest research projects into school meals.  It is packed full of information that will help school caterers improve their service.

Tuesday 8th November 2011

It is Get Travelling Day supported by Bernard Matthews Foodservice. Today will be a Chinese Theme Day with pupils and teachers from St Pauls VA School, Worlebury, Weston-super-Mare helping to decorate the dining room.  Pupils are dressing up with certificates for the best outfits. There are five different country themes provided on line with activity sheets, a snap game and much more.

Wednesday 9th November 2011

On Get Creating Day the NSMW road show visits Cheswick Green School, Shirley, Solihull and links up with Idris Caldora from the Chef’s Adopt-a-school scheme run by the Academy of Culinary Arts.  Idris is running two sessions for pupils. The first is about healthy eating and the food groups.  The second is a practical session about making a salad and learning how to use knives safely.

Thursday 19th November 2011

Off we go to Easingwold School, York Road, Easingwold in North Yorkshire where Bob Davies has just been voted Secondary School Caterer of the Year by EDUcatering Magazine.  There will be a school assembly where Tony Begley from Mary’s Meals will talk about the charity that provides free school meals to thousands of poor children in countries like Malawi and Somalia.  Students will be able to try the fortified porridge that is served by Mary’s Meals.

Friday 11th November

It is Remembrance Day when we visit Alma Park School, Levenshulme, Manchester. There will be a two minute silence plus a presentation of World War 2 artefacts by Philippa James and a school assembly that has a video message from Simon Weston. Manchester Fayre is setting up a street party with lots of flags, bunting and great food from the 1940s.