Bland and beige’ most accurately describes the school lunches served up to children at Redriff Primary School in southeast London two years ago. Plain pasta with cheese, frozen burger buns, potatoes and frozen fish pieces. ‘The majority of food was brought in and defrosted,’ explains deputy head Caroline Sharp. ‘Children had a limited choice – and we didn’t have the range of fresh produce that we wanted.’
Teachers observed children’s energy levels dipping after lunch, which impacted their ability to self-regulate and engage in learning. ‘We were concerned that some children were not getting the quality or quantity of food needed to sustain them throughout the day. And we knew we had to fix it,’ Sharp says.
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