Canteens, Healthy Eating and Other Food Services

Introduction

Schools are encouraged to take a health promoting schools’ approach to support healthy eating.

'A health-promoting school is a place where all members of the school community work together to provide students with integrated and positive experiences and structures that promote and protect their health' – World Health Organization, 1996.

It is important that parents, teachers and students work together to support a whole-school approach to building a school culture in which students actively choose nutritious foods and a healthy lifestyle.

Examples of healthy eating and food-related actions that schools may take are:

• developing curriculum that supports healthy food choices
• encouraging students to become involved in food-related activities, for example planning meals
• growing foods, shopping for food products, cooking and promoting foods
• offering a variety of nutritious foods at the school food service and regularly changing the menu
• being creative with presentation and preparation of healthy foods
• maintaining consistent messages about healthy foods in all parts of the school operation
• making links with local fruit and vegetable retailers – this could include a school visit by the retailers, or an excursion to a local market
• supporting an enthusiastic group of people to serve the food to students.