School Meals

LUNCHES

St. Margaret's School Lunches - Winter Menu

Allergen Sheet Autumn Term 2024

“We aim for all Children to have a happy & nutritious lunchtime. The Kitchen team are experienced and passionate about healthy balanced lunches. Our food is sourced as locally as possible and prepared fresh each day. All allergens are catered for and we are a nut free Kitchen. We welcome children or parents to come and talk to us about any concerns with allergens and/or diet.” - Kelly - Kitchen Manager.

At St. Margaret's, we offer a range of balanced, locally-sourced meals which are freshly cooked on site. We have a ‘meat free Monday’ to support and encourage children to try new dishes and eat a range vegetables.

If you decide to provide your child with a lunch from home (and in line with our drive to encourage our children to lead a healthy lifestyle), please see the information below regarding packed lunch guidance.

A useful website: Change4Life

Please note, we are a nut-free school.

Packed lunch guidance

In line with our healthy eating drive, we ask parent’s who provide their children with packed lunches follow the guidance from the NHS when it comes to preparing a healthy and nutritious lunch.

We recommend that packed lunches should include:

• at least one portion of fruit and/or vegetables every day
• meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (e.g. egg, lentils, beans, soya or hummus) every day
• oily fish, such as salmon or tuna occasionally
• a starchy food such as bread, pasta, rice, noodles, potatoes or other type of cereals every day
• dairy food such as cheese, yoghurt or fromage frais
• a drink – such as water, milk, or pure fruit juice

Packed lunches could include these foods but only as part of a balanced meal:

• cake/muffin
• biscuit
• cereal bar/ rice cake
• crisps

Packed lunches should not include:

• chocolate covered confectionery and sweets
• nuts or nut products (although they can be healthy) because of the danger to other children with allergies
• all drinks that are artificially sweetened or carbonated e.g. fruit shoots, flavoured water or fizzy drinks

Special Diets /Allergies

The school recognises that some pupils may have verified medical conditions requiring special diets or cultural/religious/ethical beliefs which may impact on diet. These may not allow for the standards to be met exactly. In this case parents are urged to be responsible in ensuring that packed lunches are as healthy as possible. Please ensure that the office and your child’s class teacher are notified regarding any special dietary needs or allergies.

NOTE For these reasons pupils are:

• not permitted to swap food items.
• not permitted to bring nuts and nut products into school.

For more information and packed lunch ideas please go to the following websites:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/childhealth6-15/Pages/Lighterlunchboxes.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life/Pages/healthy-lunchbox-picnic.aspx