Healthy Packed Lunch Tool Kit

Edited: February 2021

Contents page

3. Aim and objectives 4. Flow chart 5. Action plan 6. Letter to parents (audit) 7. Sample packed lunch policy 10. Example audit tool 11. Packed lunch guidance notes 19. Healthy packed lunch activity session plan 20. Audit tool template 22. Links to resources

Edited: February 2021

Family Food First Programme Plus: Pack a Punch in Your Packed Lunch

Aim: To inspire parents to pack healthy lunch boxes for their children, and promote the importance of packing a healthy packed lunch.

Objectives/Action: 1. Audit packed lunch content 2. Promote healthy packed lunches through early years setting (provide resources to families, such as packed lunch leaflet/videos, set up packed lunch display in setting) 3. Deliver healthy packed lunch activity with children of setting 4. Re-audit packed lunches after given time of campaign (2-4 weeks) 5. Identify an improvement in packed lunch content pre and post programme intervention.

Key messages to promote to parents How to pack a punch in your packed lunch! Always include: 1. A fruit AND a vegetable 2. A source of protein 3. Water as a drink 4. 1-2 portions of starchy food 5. A source of calcium 6. Me-size portions

Edited: February 2021

Healthy Packed Lunch action Plan (example) Task When Who How Plan date for audit and send September Setting staff Meeting out audit letter to parents

Reviewing results following September/October Setting staff audit

Set up a lead group to write October/November Setting staff, parents, catering Meetings the packed lunch policy staff Agree draft policy Send out to parents for consultation Run healthy packed lunch November/December Setting staff Deliver workshops with workshops along with children and implement awareness raising campaign awareness raising with various materials Launch packed lunch policy January Setting staff launch policy Send out policy to relevant and re-audit people

Final report on findings from February Setting staff Written document of project findings which will include future recommendations

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(Name of setting) (Address of setting)

Dear parent/carer,

I am writing to let you know that we are due to carry out a packed lunch audit at our setting and therefore will be looking at the content of all children’s packed lunches for one day during the week commencing…………. Our aim is to ensure all packed lunches bought in from home provide children with a healthy and balanced meal to ensure they are receiving all the essential nutrients for growth and development. Once data has been collected and we assess what foods are commonly used in packed lunches we plan to set some guidelines around packed lunches and will do so in consultation with staff, parents and governors.

If you do not wish your child’s packed lunch to be part of the audit please complete the slip below and return

Child’s name:

I do not give permission for my child’s packed lunch to be part of the audit

Signed:

Date:

Edited: February 2021

Sample Packed Lunch Box Policy

This template is for use in schools in Luton, it may need to be adapted as appropriate for your setting.

Name of School: Policy Agreed by: Date Agreed: Review date:

Signed……………………………….

1. Backround information  State the number of pupils who currently bring a packed lunch to school

 Add results from a packed lunch audit if available

2. Rationale for policy development  State why the policy is being written  Consider how the aims of this policy contribute towards the schools overall aims.

3. Aim of policy  State what you want to achieve e.g To provide clarity about schools policy on food brought into school e.g packed lunches

4. Policy Development

 State who will be involved in developing, monitoring and reviewing the packed lunch policy. e.g parents, teachers, governors, pupil forum, school council

Edited: February 2021

5. Food Provision

 State where pupils will sit and it packed lunches – will this be with pupils eating school meals? .

6. Storage of packaged lunches

 State how and where packed lunches will be stored when brought into school e.g fridge in kitchen

 State what will happen to food not eaten in lunchboxes e.g uneaten food is returned to packed lunch boxes so that parents can see what is being eaten by their child.

7. Food and drink in packed lunches

 Packed lunches will include foods from the four main food groups:

Bread , other cereals and potatoes food group

Fruit and vegetables . Milk and dairy

Meat, Fish or alternative foods

8. Drink provision

 State which drinks are permitted in packed lunch boxes

 State which drinks are not permitted in lunchboxes e.g fizzy or carbonated drinks

 State if water is available within the schools grounds or if water will be provided by the school.

Edited: February 2021

9. Food and drink not encouraged

 State which foods not be permitted and/or will be limited in packed lunch boxes e.g crisps, confectionary, biscuits, processed meat products (sausage rolls, pasty)

10. Monitoring of lunch boxes

 State who will monitor the packed lunches e.g teaching staff, midday supervisors, pupils

 State how often the packed lunches will be reviewed e.g daily, weekly, termly

 State how the school will enforce the packed lunch policy if a pupil brings a food that is not permitted e.g item will be sent home in packed lunch box with a note.

11. Dissemination of information, training and resources The school may wish to include the lunch box policy on its website, have copies of the policy available at parents’ events, and mail it out to parents at the start of the school year. It may be appropriate to mention your school’s lunch box policy in the prospectus before pupils start at the school.

The school may support Family Workers and other staff as appropriate, to receive training on healthy lunch boxes which will enable them to provide training and support to parents/carers. Healthy lunch box sessions may be offered to parents/carers. Schemes of Work/extended schools include age appropriate lessons on healthy lunch boxes. To support parents try to include regular lunch box ideas in your newsletter or on the school’s website (if available), newsletters and information leaflets, and involve them through training sessions, food sampling, demonstrations and competitions.

Edited: February 2021

Example Packed Lunch Audit Tool

Class: Name of staff member: Write the number of portions/items here

Fruit Veg Foods high in Drink Contents of Packed Lunch sugar/fat (write items in packed lunch including sandwich filling) 1.

2. ½ 0 3 Orange juice Ham sandwich, packet of crisps, carton of orange juice, chocolate bar, fairy cake, satsuma x1

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Developing a Packed Lunch Policy

Guidance Notes

Edited: February 2021

Action Plan

1. Getting Started

Discuss the concept of a packed lunch policy with governors, senior management team and staff.

Create a working group to help with development. Members of the group could be representatives from the school council, governors, catering staff, teaching staff, lunch time supervisors

Allocate a representative of the group to take the responsibility for the development and co-ordination of the packed lunch policy

2. Where are you now?

To establish what issues are occurring with packed lunch boxes within your school, the working group should conduct a packed lunch audit. Prior to the audit, parents should be informed of when the audit is going to take place and be given the opportunity of opting out if necessary.

See appendix of guidance notes for example audit tool and letter to parents

3. Where do you want to be?

Following the audit of packed lunches, review the data to see if there are any common themes appearing e.g chocolate spread as a sandwich filling.

Identify aims and objectives for your packed lunch policy and set realistic targets e.g packed lunch boxes will only contain one item high in fat and/or sugar.

4. Draft a Policy

Use the packed lunch box policy template and guidance notes to help draft a policy

5. Consult on the draft policy

Once the policy has been drafted, it is important to ensure the document is available for all to read including parents, staff, governors and pupils.

The draft policy could be put onto a staff/parent notice board or copies could be available to comments at parents evenings.

Edited: February 2021

6. Modify the policy following feedback

Ensure the policy acknowledges all involved in the consultation. Once the final version of the policy has been devised, the policy needs to be agreed and signed by a lead member of staff e.g senior leadership team or head teacher

7. Implement the policy

Its now time to put the policy into action. Ensure all staff are briefed about the policy and clarify their roles and responsibilities. Decide a date to launch the policy e.g at the beginning of a new term or a new school year

8. Distribute revised policy

Once a date has been decided, it is important to raise awareness of the policy e.g flyers, assembly, school prospectus, school website, newsletter, create a display at school gates.

9. Continue to audit, monitor and evaluate

Following the implementation of the policy, it is vital to continue reviewing the policy e.g annually. To monitor if the aims and objectives have been met, it is a good idea to continue to audit packed lunches e.g termly, yearly, monthly or weekly. Allocate school staff or pupils to audit.

Edited: February 2021

Guidance Notes

The next section provides details of the key areas to include in your policy. Not all suggested sections will be relevant to your school or setting.

School Name: ………………………………………………………………..

Policy Agreed by: ………………………………………………………………..

Date Agreed: ………………………………………………………………..

Review date: ………………………………………………………………..

Backround information on packed lunches Provide information about the number of pupils who bring a packed lunch to school. This may vary throughout the year depending on season or if friends are having packed lunches or school meals.

If your school has conducted a packed lunch audit, add a summary of the key findings from the audit here.

Rationale for policy development Discuss why the policy is being written. For example your school could be working towards improving local health outcomes e.g reducing childhood obesity or reducing tooth decay.

The policy may be supporting current government legislation to improve school food. As schools are required to meet food and nutrient based standards for school lunches, it could be a priority to address the nutritional content of packed lunches.

Aim of policy Explain what you want to achieve by implementing a packed lunch policy. This will be different for each school. For example, your school may want to provide clarity on which items are allowed in packed lunches or reduce the number of items high in fat and/or sugar in lunches brought from home.

It may be useful to review your results from the packed lunch audit when deciding the aim of your policy.

Edited: February 2021

Policy Development Identify a consultative group to help with the development, consultation, monitoring and review of the policy.

Ideally the group should include parents, teachers, governors, pupils and/or a representative from the school council or SNAG (School Nutrition Action Group)

Food Provision At lunchtime, consider the eating environment and the dining experience for the pupils. Decide where pupils with packed lunches are going to sit. Ensure the area is clean, warm and has facilities for litter.

It is recommended that children bringing packed lunches sit with those eating a school dinner so they are able to sit with friends and make lunchtime a sociable occasion for all

Storage of packaged lunches Packed lunches should be stored in a cool, dark area away from radiators or sources of heat and light.

Parents should try to ensure that lunches are in insulated bags and that small gel packs or ice packs are used to keep food cool.

Any lunchboxes provided by the school or local authority will adhere to the government’s standards for school food.

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Drink provision The school should ensure that fresh, palatable, free drinking water is available to all pupils and easily accessible

Drinks that are encouraged are still or sparkling water, fruit juice (with at least 50% fruit juice), vegetable drinks, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk

Food and drink in packed lunches

Packed lunches should include at least one food from each food group

e.g bread, pita, bagels, tortilla wrap, pasta, couscous, Starchy Food noodles, and rice or potato salad. Wholegrain bread, pasta and rice should be encouraged.

Avoid instant snacks e.g flavoured noodles and pastas as these can be high in salt.

e.g fresh fruit (whole or in chunks), salad vegetables (can Fruit and be added to sandwiches) sliced or baby vegetables, fruit Vegetables salad tinned in juice (with no added sugar, salt, or sweetened syrup), fruit juice, dried fruit, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, fruit chunks, grapes, satsumas, pear, apple, banana, raisins, apricots, salad or vegetables within pasta salad.

e.g a carton of milk (semi-skimmed or skimmed), cheese, Milk and Dairy unflavoured pot of yogurt or fromage frais, cheese dips with vegetable sticks. Be aware that novelty yoghurts in tubes or yoghurt drinks can be high in sugar.

e.g a portion of lean meat or fish, such as ham, chicken, Meat, Fish or beef or tuna, oily fish such as salmon and mackerel salad alternative should be included. Try to encourage oily fish once a week. foods For vegetarian children, an appropriate meat alternative includes cheese, eggs, beans or pulses e.g hummus, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans.

Avoid packaged snacks e.g lunchable or dunkers as these can be high in salt. Encourage families to make their own version using wholemeal crackers, cheese cubes and lean ham.

Edited: February 2021

Food and drink not encouraged Snacks such as crisps in the lunch box, are not encouraged. Try healthier alternatives such as savoury crackers, breadsticks or homemade popcorn.

Confectionary such as chocolate bars or chocolate spread as a sandwich filling should be discouraged. Schools can decide if they will allow a treat day (Fridays) when pupils are allowed to bring in a small chocolate bar or crisps.

Cakes and biscuits are allowed but encourage these only as part of a balanced diet, try to encourage plain or fruit scone, malt loaf or plain scotch pancake.

Meat products such as sausage rolls, pies and corned beef should be discouraged or offered no more than once a week.

Fizzy or carbonated drinks should be discouraged in packed lunch boxes.

Safety issues - The school can decide whether they wish to address the use of glass bottles and tins in the lunch box, and the school may wish to ban these.

Monitoring of lunch boxes Packed lunches need to be regularly reviewed by teaching staff or midday supervisors.

Individual schools can decide how they wish to communicate with parents of pupils who do not adhere to the policy. The school may choose to send a leaflet home in the lunch box informing parents and carers of the policy or they may have staff, such as the family Worker to contact them if it is a persistent problem, or to send the items that are not allowed back home in the lunchbox.

Schools should decide what type of support, information or training should be given to parents. Individual schools can decide if they will have a reward policy for school lunch boxes (stickers/award certificate etc).

Dissemination of information, training and resources

Schools could promote the lunch box policy on their website, have copies of the policy available at parents’ events, and mail it out to parents at the start of

Edited: February 2021

the school year. It may be appropriate to mention your school’s lunch box policy in the prospectus before pupils start at the school.

Healthy lunch box sessions may be offered to parents/carers. Schemes of Work/extended schools include age appropriate lessons on healthy lunch boxes.

To support parents try to include regular lunch box ideas in your newsletter or on the school’s website (if available), newsletters and information leaflets, and involve them through training sessions, food sampling, demonstrations and competitions.

Edited: February 2021

Healthy Packed Lunches Activity with children: Build teddy a healthy packed lunch

Session Plan Time Content Teaching method Resource 5 minutes Introduce Leader explains to a small group of (up to 10) children ‘today we are going to build teddy a healthy Teddy bear session to packed lunch. I would like you to go the shop and select 3 healthy food items for teddy’s packed A variety of food models/items for children packed lunches (healthy and lunch unhealthy items) Baskets Overview:

1. Children select 3 food items from the shop

2. The food items are then discussed ‘is this a healthy item for Teddy’s packed lunch?

3. Only healthy items are put in Teddy’s packed lunch

15 minutes Selecting the Select 2-3 children at 1 time go and select items from the shop and bring back to group items for Leader sits at the front of group with teddy and packed lunch box and allows each child to share what teddy’s they have chosen and the group can decide if it is a healthy choice and whether it should go in packed lunch his/her packed lunch

5-10 minutes Create your Allow children to cut and stick or draw pictures of healthy food items into their packed lunch template, Template of packed lunch with own healthy with support from leader pictures to cut out and stick or packed lunch draw onto template

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Packed Lunch Audit Tool

Starchy food Protein food Fruit and veg Dairy Food Other Example 1 slice of bread Ham (in sandwich) Carrot sticks x 5 approx. 2x petit filous Coco pops cereal bar handful of grapes Packed Lunch 1

Packed lunch 2

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Packed lunch 10

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Links to other useful resources

Packed lunch leaflet

Packed lunch videos: Animation: https://vimeo.com/370128567 Pasta recipe: https://vimeo.com/370124622 Dal recipe: https://vimeo.com/370173975 Sandwich recipe: https://vimeo.com/370175236

Packed lunch leaflets: https://www.cambscommunityservices.nhs.uk/docs/default-source/beds---family-food-first/packed-lunches-low- rez.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Edited: February 2021