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Packed Lunch Audit Packed Lunch Audit SCHOOL: Norbury Primary School CONTACT: Tania Mathiason HEP REPRESENTATIVES: Dominic Green DATE: 21st October 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 134 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 well- balanced 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, 17th 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 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 nine- year-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. Norbury Primary School – Packed Lunches - Key Findings: Graph showing the results of a packed lunch audit at Norbury Primary School 21st October 2015 100.00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% Percentage 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% The lunchboxes assessed were below the recommended standard with some 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, three quarters were without vegetables or salad and some contained just bread and butter or confectionary fillings such as chocolate spread and jam. Half of all packed lunches did not have any fruit or dairy foods (milk, yoghurt, cheese) and 17 packed lunches were lacking any form of carbohydrate, essential for healthy active lifestyles. On a positive note very few packed lunches contained crisps and only one contained a sugary drink. A revision of your school’s Packed Lunch Policy is recommended to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption and restriction of high sugar processed snacks and sweet sandwich fillings. This is part of your School Food Policy and should involve a representative group of people including pupils, teacher, governor and parents. If everyone has ownership of it then it is easier to enforce. 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. Extreme example of branded and processed lunch box fillers Examples of healthy pupil packed lunches Not all packed lunches lacked essential nutrients; I did observe some packed lunches that offered a balanced meal. Tuna and vegetable pasta salad and fruit Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) Uptake 48 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 Norbury Primary School operates an in-house catered lunch service. The school has great pride in the quality of their school meals. A good salad selection was available in addition to daily vegetable choice. Dining room staff offered 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 restricting high sugar content snacks. Chocolate spread was a favourite packed lunch sandwich choice. If Norbury 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 Recommendations Introduce 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 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. Packed Lunch Audit Statistics Norbury Primary School – 22nd October 2015 Fruit 48% of lunchboxes included at least one portion of fruit Salad and Vegetables 25% contained at least one portion of salad or vegetables Starchy Foods 87% of the lunch boxes contained some form of carbohydrate (bread, potatoes, rice or pasta) Lean Meat, Fish or Vegetable Protein Alternative 45% of lunchboxes contained a healthy source of protein such as meat, fish, eggs or beans Processed Meat Products 19% of lunchboxes contained meat products such as pepperoni, sausage rolls or pasties Dairy Food 51% of lunchboxes contained a minimum of one portion of dairy such as cheese or yoghurt.
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