Royal seal of approval for healthier meals dished up for pupils
The Prince of Wales has helped reward the efforts of two West Midlands schools in serving up better and healthier meals for its pupils.
Shropshire schools St Peter’s CE Primary, in Wem, and St Andrew’s Primary, in Shifnal, were presented with Food for Life Partnership Silver Awards during the first ever Food for Life Partnership Awards ceremony, held in London.
The awards, which recognise the best school food culture, were presented by the Prince of Wales. School meal take-up at St Peter’s has gone up by 17 per cent, giving Shire Services the confidence to roll out the Food for Life Silver menu across the county.
The school’s quad has been given over to raised beds, with herbs and vegetables used in school dinners along with eggs from their two chickens.
School cook Jo Jones teaches two cooking clubs and also takes pupils to the greengrocer weekly.
Head teacher Ian Nurser said: “We don’t know what kind of jobs will be around for these children when they grow up, so it’s essential we prepare them for life in general and growing and cooking food are some of the most vital life skills we can teach them.”
St Andrew’s Primary has created a new teaching kitchen for cookery lessons for pupils and parents, while recipes use lots of fresh produce grown by pupils in the garden. And organic farm Green Acres has become the school’s new outdoor classroom.
Adrian Marsh, head teacher at St Andrew’s, said: “We really enjoy being part of the Food for Life Partnership experience and feel that the programme has made a real impact on all aspects of school life.”
