National School Meals Week (NSMW) is an annual celebration that aims to highlight the importance of nutritious school meals in fostering healthy, happy, and successful students. This year, it will be taking place week commencing 6th of November 2023. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of NSMW and the exciting initiatives being carried out during this week.
National School Meals Week 2023 provides an opportunity to recognise the importance of school meals in the lives of students and the positive impact they have on their health, education, and overall well-being. By celebrating the progress made in school meal programs and embracing the initiatives during this week, we can continue to support the nourishment of young minds and the building of brighter futures for our students. Let’s take this opportunity to appreciate the hard work of school nutrition professionals and advocate for further improvements in school meal programs across the country.
National School Meals Week 2023 promises to be an exciting event with various activities and initiatives for you to get involved with! For each exciting theme, we have highlighted just some of the support we have available for you.
Launch day, enjoy great school food
This day is all about putting on your students’ favourite lunch. Why not create a fun poll for the students to do in the dining room for what they would like to see on the menu! As we know high street foods are always a hit with pupils, why not check out how to Compete with the Street in your school canteens?
It is filled with printable menus, posters, activities and recipes. We have Asian Fusion and Pizza + Sides…
Come Dine With Us
This is a great chance to get the parents involved in a lunch service at the school. Invite them along to be a part of the lunch, try the food and showcase just how creative your menus are for the pupils. It is also a great chance for them to see it all in action, help create a new atmosphere for the week and truly make it a lunch to remember!
You could even ask the students to help create some extra special invites to take home…
Looking for some extra special recipe ideas? Here is just some of our school recipes we have available to help bring this theme alive.
National Roast Dinner Day
LACA have challenged school caterers to put on a roast day. A firm favourite amongst students, this is a chance to also offer a vegan roast! For some roast recipes and some vegan options, you can view our primary school menu cycle here.
Try something new
This offers a chance for pupils to push themselves into trying something new! Can you create some new sample dishes for them to try new things? Or even look at doing some taster bites of a new mystery dish! To help support you with creating new ideas, our Chef Wayne Wright has created an array of fantastic recipes all on Bidfood Direct – our online shop. Simply speak to your Account Manager to learn more.
To end the week on a high, it is the birthday of NSMW!
It has been 30 years since its creation, so it is worthy of a great celebration. Usually the focus of lunchtime is on students, but how about bringing alive VIP Day by inviting a guest of honour? You could even challenge the chefs to help create a show stopper birthday cake!
For this special event, how about inviting teachers and lunchtime staff to dine as VIP guests. Get your students to help create the decorations, compile a playlist, explore new recipe ideas and even help set up tables so teachers can eat like royalty! You could also look at inviting your local MP or a local celebrity to lunch instead!
Don’t forget to take some photos to share on social media with #greatschoolfood– trust us, this is a day you’ll want to remember.
Read more about how we are School Food Suppliers – Catering for schools across the UK here.
Listen to our podcast on breaking down barriers around healthy eating in education here:
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