Archive - Tuesday, 5 March 2002


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Pupil power promotes funky food for schools

Schools in Pembrokeshire are leading the UK with a pioneering project to bring pupil power to school dinners.

A funky food group has been set up with four county schools - Johnston CP School, Hubberston VC Primary School, Milford Haven Junior School and Ysgol Glan Cleddau in Haverfordwest.

The group, made up of four pupils and one teacher from each school, Lynne Perry of Pembrokeshire Health Promotion Service, a dietician and two school meals managers, has devised alternative menus for cold and hot lunches.

Children are much more likely to make healthy food choices when they have been involved in designing the menus, said Lynne Perry.

Pupil representatives on the funky food group use their knowledge of nutrition, together with their understanding of what children like, to help put together meals which will be healthy as well as popular.

The schools have carried out research into pupils food preferences and held tasting sessions for the new menus.

Surprise favourites include raw carrot, which tops the popularity table for vegetables at one school, and yogurt being more popular than milk shakes. Pupils also gave their views on the whole eating experience, saying they prefer adult-sized cutlery and like their meals served in take-away style brown bags.

The funky food group is part of the alternative school meals pilot and is a joint project between the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Health Promotion Service of Pembrokeshire Local Health Group, Pembrokeshire Local Education Authority and the School Catering Service.

SOME of the childrens suggestions which have been added to the new menus include:

3 Sandwiches made with a mixture of brown and white bread, with two different fillings in each pack instead of having both sandwiches the same. 3 Take-away style salads. 3 Fruit boxes with a mixture of fruit pieces. 3 New fillings such as chicken korma for jacket potatoes and baguettes.

Caption: Pictured with teacher Mrs Pam Davies are Rhianydd Owens and Matthew John, two of the children at Milford Haven Junior School who took part in the project. PICTURE: Western Telegraph.