FOOD MATTERS ± a
nutrition award for
Hertfordshire schools
Lucy Rochford
FOOD MATTERS is a county-wide award scheme which recognises the achievements of schools which promote the health of their pupils by encouraging healthy eating. There are very sound reasons why children should eat a healthy diet and there are immediate benefits. First, what children eat is important for their growth and development, their resistance to illness, their dental health and their concentration and performance at school. Second, healthy eating in childhood can help to decrease the risk of ill health in later life. For example osteoporosis, coronary heart disease and diabetes can begin devel-oping while we are still children. Third, some evidence suggests that long-term eating habits are established during childhood.
Research has identified several key areas of concern with regard to schoolchildren's diets. There have been several studies on the diets of British schoolchildren, all of which have given largely consistent results (Department of Health and Social Security, 1989; Gregory et al., 1990; Bull, 1985). The key findings are summarised below:
. Children's intakes of calcium, vitamin A, iron, folate, zinc and magnesium are less than the current recommendations (De-partment of Health and Social Security, 1989; Adamson et al., 1992).
. Children are eating less fruit and vege-tables than is considered desirable (Department of Health and Social Se-curity, 1989).
. Children from lower-income families have poorer and less varied diets and tend to have less milk, vegetables and fruit juices than those from higher income families (Department of Health and Social Security, 1989; Whincup, 1992). Children from lower-income families tend to have poorer growth (Ronaet al., 1979).
. Schoolchildren are, on average, eating more fat and sugar than is currently recommended (Department of Health and Social Security, 1989).
The recently published consultation paper, ``Our Healthier Nation'' (Department of Health, 1998) places greater emphasis on the important role schools have to play in promot-ing health among pupils. FOOD MATTERS has been developed by an alliance between Hertfordshire Health Promotion (on behalf of West Hertfordshire and East and North
The author
Lucy Rochfordis Health Promotion Dietitian,
Hertfordshire Health Promotion, Welwyn Garden City, UK.
Keywords
Schools, Children, Nutrition
Abstract
FOOD MATTERS is an award scheme that aims to encourage healthy eating amongst pupils in Hertfordshire schools. The FOOD MATTERS Award seeks to encourage a whole school approach to healthy eating. To achieve the Award, schools must carry out the following: set up a FOOD MATTERS co-ordination group; gain the FOOD MATTERS catering certificate by meeting set catering criteria; and identify and achieve targets regarding the promotion of healthy eating in school. Schools partici-pating in FOOD MATTERS have carried out many different projects. These include a pupil-run healthier tuck shop; a ``try it and you might like it'' day (to encourage primary school pupils to eat more fruit and vegetables); the introduction of ``fruit smoothies'', (to increase pupils' intake of fruit and high-calcium foods); a fruit-sharing scheme; and the installation of new drinking fountains.
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278 Nutrition & Food Science
Hertfordshire Health Authorities) and Hert-fordshire Education Services. Several other organisations have been involved, including the local school catering organisations, dietitians and community dentists. The FOOD MAT-TERS Award contributes towards the delivery of the Health Improvement Programmes across Hertfordshire.
The aim of FOOD MATTERS is to make eating in school a health-promoting experi-ence through:
. positive practice;
. delivery of consistent messages;
. supporting healthy food-related choices; . whole school and community
involve-ment.
Schools can choose to work towards the whole FOOD MATTERS Award, or alter-natively begin with the FOOD MATTERS Catering Certificate. The FOOD MATTERS Award seeks to encourage a whole school approach to healthy eating. To achieve the Award, schools must carry out the following:
. set up a FOOD MATTERS
co-ordina-tion group;
. gain the FOOD MATTERS Catering
Certificate by meeting set catering criteria;
. identify and achieve targets regarding the promotion of healthy eating in school.
The role of the co-ordination group is to identify potential areas for development re-garding the promotion of healthy eating and to set targets accordingly. The co-ordination group also oversees the project. The whole school community can be represented on this group, e.g. school governors, headteachers, teachers, caterers, school nurses, parents and, very importantly, pupils. FOOD MATTERS advisers from Hertfordshire Health Promo-tion and Hertfordshire EducaPromo-tion Services are on hand to assist in the process.
The school catering staff have a vital role to play in the school's achieving the FOOD MATTERS Award, primarily by gaining the FOOD MATTERS Catering Certificate. School lunches, breaktime catering, break-fasts, tuck shops, and vending machines are all assessed against the FOOD MATTERS Catering Criteria. The catering staff are asked to complete the FOOD MATTERS Catering Check Lists, which are in a ``tick-box format'', and to send copies of their menu cycle. Nutrition issues such as choice of dishes, vegetarian options, the fat, sugar, fibre,
protein, iron and calcium content and the amount of fruit and vegetables available are all considered.
Participating schools have identified and carried out many different initiatives as part of their FOOD MATTERS projects. A selection of these is summarised below. A JMI school in Ware took on a whole school approach to encourage pupils to eat more fruit and vegetables. The work included a ``Try it and you might like it'' day where pupils were encouraged to try a wide selection of fruits and vegetables and were each presented with a certificate listing each item they had tried. Pupils are learning about healthy eating during lessons and have made posters during art classes to encourage their fellow pupils to eat more fruit and vegetables. Pupils are encouraged to bring in a piece of fruit each day to eat at mid-morning break. Their caterers supported this initiative by offering healthy lunches.
At a school for pupils with learning diffi-culties in Hemel Hempstead, year-11 pupils ran a ``Healthy Tuck Shop'' which was available to all pupils. Year-11 pupils under-took all of the tasks involved in running the tuck shop from researching the demand for various food items, to purchasing the food items, running the ``shop'' and adding up the proceeds. The school's caterers also pro-moted healthy eating by providing healthy lunches.
A first school in Borehamwood runs a breakfast club for pupils and their families. It has been successful in gaining a grant from the National Dairy Council to pilot the provision of ``fruit smoothies'' in an attempt to increase pupils' intake of fruit and high-calcium foods. The pupils have been involved in designing and sampling ``smoothie'' re-cipes, with the most popular recipes being prepared by the school catering staff and served at breakfast and lunchtimes. The school has also introduced a fruit sharing scheme where pupils from each class are asked to bring in a piece of fruit every morning. The fruit is then washed, chopped and served to pupils before morning break. This is proving to be very successful. The school is also very keen to promote healthy eating to parents. Written information on healthy eating is readily available in the school and family health sessions are being set up where parents can drop in for advice and support.
279 FOOD MATTERS ± a nutrition award for Hertfordshire schools
Lucy Rochford
Nutrition & Food Science
Schools participating in the FOOD MATTERS Award have carried out many other projects. These have included the installation of new drinking fountains, changes to recipes and menus, incentives for pupils to choose healthy meals, the promotion of healthier packed lunches and food-related art projects and competitions. Some schools have carried out a review of their food and nutrition-related curriculum content and of all the other ways in which food comes into the school day. This has enabled them to ensure that consistent messages regarding healthy eating are given throughout the school.
Various materials and training sessions have been developed to support the FOOD MATTERS Award. Printed materials include the FOOD MATTERS Brochure, FOOD MATTERS Pack (which schools receive on registering for the award) and various packed lunch leaflets. Training sessions have been run for school teachers, school nurses and catering staff. FOOD MATTERS is part of the Hertfordshire Health Promoting Schools Award but can be undertaken as a stand-alone project.
References
Adamson, A., Rugg-Gunn, A.J., Butler, T., Appleton, D.R. and Hackett, A. (1992), ``Nutritional intake, height and weight of 11- to 12-year old Northumberland children in 1990 compared with information obtained in 1980'',British Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 68, p. 3.
Bull, N. (1985), ``Dietary habits of 15- to 25-year olds'', Human Nutrition: Applied Nutrition, Vol. 39A Supplement 1, pp. 1-68.
Department of Health and Social Security (1989),The Diets of British Schoolchildren, Sub-committee on Nutritional Surveillance, Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, Report on health and social subjects 36, HMSO, London.
Department of Health and Social Security (1998), Our Healthier Nation, A Contract for Health: A Consultation Paper, The Stationery Office, London.
Gregory, J., Foster, K., Tyler, H. and Wiseman, M. (1990), The Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults, HMSO, London.
Rona, R.J., Chinn, S. and Smith, A.M. (1979), ``Height of children receiving free school meals'',Lancet, Vol. 2, p. 692.
Whincup, P. (1992),Nutritional Guidelines for School Meals, Caroline Walker Trust, London.
Erratum
Nutrition & Food Science, Number 4, 1999
Owing to an error in the production of the article, ``Organisations providing diet sheets for people with Diabetes Mellitus'', by Mabel Blades, pp. 192-5, in the above issue, the list of references was omitted. The list is reproduced below. MCB University Press sincerely apologizes for this error.
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National Association for Health Authorities and Trusts (1996),Costs of Diabetes, National Association for Health Authorities and Trusts, London.
Nutrition Sub-Committee of the British Diabetic Association (1982), ``Dietary recommendations for diabetics in the 1980s'',
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Nutrition Sub-Committee of the British Diabetic Association (1990), ``Sucrose and fructose in the diabetic diet'',Diabetic Medicine, Vol. 7, pp. 764-9.
Nutrition Sub-Committee of the British Diabetic Associations Professional Advisory Committee (1992), ``Dietary recommendations for people with diabetes ± an update for the 1990s'', British Diabetic Association reprint from
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Thomas, B. (Ed.) (1994),Manual of Dietetic Practice, Blackwell Scientific Publications, London.
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280 FOOD MATTERS ± a nutrition award for Hertfordshire schools
Lucy Rochford
Nutrition & Food Science
