Education Today Education Today Magazine
School caterer Olive Dining is supporting this year’s National School Meals Week (NSMW) – the annual campaign created by the Local Authority Caterers’ Association (LACA) – to honour the vital role that school meals play in pupils’ lives across the UK.
Taking place from 10-14 November, National School Meals Week is about highlighting the importance of healthy, hot school lunches, and aims to ensure all young people have access to the nutritious meals they need for optimum health, wellbeing and educational performance.
This year, LACA has launched the “School Lunch Skills for Life” programme as part of NSMW, where each day of the week will focus on a different benefit of enjoying a school lunch:
- Monday – Cooking together
- Tuesday – Nutrition
- Wednesday – Community
- Thursday – Environmental
- Friday – Social
Olive Dining is promoting a number of initiatives – both new and existing – across the 150 primary and secondary schools it works with, to coincide with each of the above.
The family-run caterer will be holding interactive cooking classes and engagement activities, encouraging pupils to try new recipes and enjoy creating delicious dishes together, whilst their very own Nutritionist will be providing mindful eating tips, helping students learn what makes a healthy plate and giving them the tools they need to make positive food choices every day.
Throughout the entire week, Olive Dining will not only be celebrating the people and places behind every school meal, from their local farmers and suppliers to the talented teams who prepare and serve each dish, but also the steps they’ve taken to reduce food waste and help kitchens/pupils understand the importance of sustainability.
Stephanie Spratt, co-founder and CEO of Olive Dining, said: “At Olive Dining, we believe every student should have access to a hot, nutritious lunch, so when it comes to school meals, we offer more than just food on a plate. We provide balanced, locally sourced meals that not only allow children to grow strong and healthy, but also give them the energy to learn and thrive in the classroom.
“National School Meals Week is a chance for us to reflect on what we’re doing as an industry to make this a reality. Are we doing enough to ensure every child has access to the food they need, and are we getting adequate support to make this happen? Are we taking action to ensure the school catering industry is operating in a sustainable way that protects the planet?
“This week, we’re working with a number of schools to help promote NSMW’s key pillars – cooking together, nutrition, community, environmental and social – through our own initiatives that help children explore food, build confidence around mealtimes and discover the fun of cooking. Together with our school communities, we can make positive changes, one meal at a time!”
