7 steps to improving nutrition in schools

The role of schools in forming lifelong healthy eating habits cannot be underestimated. By providing effective nutrition education alongside healthy school meals, schools can equip pupils with the tools to make healthier choices in adolescence and later life.

This week marks the British Nutrition Foundation’s Healthy Eating Week, which focuses on the ‘finding your healthier you’ journey. We have compiled seven practical steps to improve nutrition in schools and encourage positive long-term eating habits.

What are the government food standards and regulations for schools?

According to gov.uk, food served in schools and academies in England must meet the School Food Standards so that children have healthy, balanced diets.

Meals must provide high-quality meat, poultry or oily fish, fruit and vegetables, bread, and other cereals and potatoes. There cannot be drinks with added sugar and crisps, chocolate or sweets in school meals or vending machines, alongside a limit of no more than two portions of deep-fried, battered, or breaded food a week.

Are schools delivering adequate nutrition to staff and pupils?

Whilst the School Food Standards are in place to ensure schools encourage pupils to develop healthy food choices; some schools struggle to get the correct nutrition and balanced diet to not only their students but to their staff body, and for various reasons.

There are various reasons for this struggle, and one most evident is the lack of efficient management in their school systems.

One of the biggest offenders of an unhealthy diet in pupils is the day-to-day slog of mealtime queuing in schools. Long wait times with shorter lunchtimes increase pupils' likelihood of making lunch choices based on convenience and availability.

Therefore, mealtime queuing can be one of the main contributors to unhealthy food choices in schools, leading to malnutrition, reduced productivity, and childhood obesity.

Out-of-gate spending

As pupils turn to alternative methods to queue for school lunches, out-of-gate spending increases further. According to Q Minder, a secondary school in London found that its pupils rejected food in a school canteen and instead favoured the option to leave school grounds and purchase their lunches, rather than queue for the school meals provided.

This kind of out-of-gate spending can mean students are consuming unhealthy foods for lunch, which the school cannot have complete control over, increasing the risk of childhood weight gain and poor nutrition in children.

Doctor Dame Sally Davies warns obesity poses such a threat to the country that we should treat it as a national risk alongside terrorism. This statement was accompanied by a survey that found obesity prevalence was 13.9% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 18.4% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 20.6% among 12- to 19-year-olds. 

How can schools teach children about food nutrition and a healthy diet?

According to the school blog KSL, there are seven helpful pointers to assist schools with food with pupils healthily and educationally. These include:

1. 1. Be mindful of language - avoid using ‘bad versus good’ language surrounding food choices, which teaches kids to categorise food types based on morality can lead to shame and guilt when indulging in the occasional treat.
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3. 2. Teach that food is fuel for the body - encourage children to associate nutritious foods with gaining energy to do all the things they love.
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5. 3. Encourage trying new foods - use taste testing, introduce variety and teach pupils about the exciting foods on offer in different countries.
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7. 4. Teach the principle of variety - provide education on a balanced meal, and link this back to the enjoyment of food and how nutritious food can also be tasty.
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9. 5. Back to nature - connect kids to gardening and agriculture and teach them where foods come from with 'grow your own' activities in lessons.
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11. 6. Teach the importance of inclusivity - reinforce the idea that all foods can be included, in moderation, in a balanced diet. Avoid discussing eliminating food groups.
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13. 7. Teach kids to respect biological diversity - discuss messages of size diversity in the context of a lesson on nutrition.

The link between cashless operations and pupil diets

Cashless catering systems, such as AMI's Infinity + software, offer complete flexibility and work around each school's requirements. During school mealtimes, cashless systems reduce queues by using quicker identification methods and pre-order payments. These cashless methods ensure pupils spend less time queuing and have more time to eat a healthy school lunch.

The pre-order aspect of this software minimises food wastage whilst providing detailed allergy and dietary requirement information. The app also enables schools to remove any potential discrimination of students by offering Free School Meals (FSM) anonymity.

A LACA survey revealed that 4.9% of pupils entitled to a free school meal do not take up their entitlement, possibly due to parents not wanting their children to face potential embarrassment and discrimination. 

A cashless system also promotes healthy eating in schools as it reduces and controls the level of out-of-the-gate spending on unhealthy meals and snacks. Pre-order software, such as the Infinity+ Order pre-order app, mirrors modern food ordering apps such as Deliveroo, which encourages pupils to control their food choices and guarantees they can enjoy their favourite lunch every day.

Healthier lunch options that meet nutritional requirements are among the most effective ways to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, leading to a better learning environment and reducing food insecurity by establishing a lifetime of healthy habits in students.

Furthermore, AMI’s Infinity + cashless catering and ID management software enables parents to take an active role in their children’s daily school food consumption, despite them not being present at school throughout the day.

When using the Infinity+ Order pre-order app, parents can sit with their children and help them make educated and balanced food choices, ensuring their child is getting a healthy and nutritious meal during school hours. The cashless catering options of AMI Education means parents can rest assured the money spent on school meals is used to make healthy food choices backed by a comprehensive education on nutrition in schools.

Are you looking to make your school cashless?

Get in touch with our team to see how ami’s cashless solutions can benefit your school.