How to take a whole school approach to food
Children consume around a third of their food at school, providing an opportunity to promote healthy diets and reduce levels of obesity. The World Health Organisation and UK government recommend that schools adopt approaches across the whole school day that support children to make healthy food choices, offering consistency in the quality of food provided, eating culture, education about diet, and use of food to learn.
To take a holistic approach to school food and culture, schools should consider some key areas to work on and develop:
- Priorities of school leaders
- Food on the curriculum
- School food provision
- School food policy and culture
- Dining experience
- Stakeholder engagement
- Pastoral care
A great example of taking a whole school approach to food, is schools engaging their students in food growing opportunities. Food growing allows children to become more familiar with foods and connect with them on a much deeper level. Developing an understanding of how they are grown, taking care of them, sensory exploration and learning to cook with the produce creates a more positive experience when children come to decide whether they would like to eat fruits and vegetables.
