Lunches
The Inn at Grasmere provide us with our hot lunches. They are wonderful!
Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 have hot lunches daily. These can also be booked by children in years 3, 4, 5 and 6. Bookings are made for the term. The lunch menu is on our calendar. Lunches for children in years 3 – 6 cost £3.50 per meal. A complete list of ingredients that appear on the notifiable allergens list is available at the point of booking.
We believe that what we eat has a direct impact on our ability to learn. Therefore we are putting all the money from the government’s new scheme directly into the food. We are paying for the administration and staffing out of the school budget.
Guidance for packed lunches:
We support parents in following this NHS guidance:
Thanks to Jamie Oliver, school dinners have had a radical overhaul. But what about the lunchboxes we pack for our kids?
It’s just as important to make sure the lunchbox your child takes to school provides as healthy and balanced a lunch as what they would eat at home. This means plenty of foods that contain the nutrients that children need, and fewer foods high in sugar and saturated fat.
Preparing your child’s lunchbox
A balanced packed lunch should contain:
- starchy foods – these are bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and others
- protein foods – including meat, fish, eggs, beans and others
- a dairy item – this could be cheese or a yoghurt
- vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit
Starchy foods are a good source of energy and should make up a third of the lunchbox. But don’t let things get boring.
Instead of sandwiches, give kids bagels, pitta bread, wraps and baguettes. Use brown, wholemeal or seeded bread, not white bread.
Low-fat snacks for kids
Children often like food they can eat with their fingers, so chop up raw veggies such as carrots or peppers and give them hummus or cottage cheese to dip the veggies in.
Breadsticks and wholemeal crackers are great finger foods that can be spread with low-fat soft cheese or eaten with reduced-fat cheddar and pickles.
Replace chocolate bars and cakes with fresh fruit. Vary the fruit each day.
Unsalted nuts are a great snack food for children to have at home, but it’s best to leave them out of your child’s packed lunch. Many schools ban nuts to protect pupils with a nut allergy.
You could also make up a tasty fruit salad. Be inventive and encourage your children when they try something new.
Note that dried fruit is no longer recommended as a between-meal snack as it’s high in sugar and can be bad for teeth.