New activities added to 2018 National School Meals Week

National School Meals Week (NSMW), sponsored by Kraft Heinz Foodservice, takes place 12-16 November and this year marks the initiative’s 25th Anniversary.

The week hosts a range of activities celebrating all that is great about school meals.

There will be a one-off event to celebrate Prince Charles reaches 70th birthday, which takes place during NSMW. To mark the occasion, LACA is bringing together the ten regional SCOTY 2018 winners to bake a special celebratory cake fit for a (future) King and have sought permission to deliver in person.

This year, LACA is running an online poll to find out what the public’s favourite school meal has been over the past 25 years and schools are encouraged to get in touch. From the emails, tweets and messages, NSMW will create a shortlist of 10 and put the list to the vote. The Nation’s favourite school meal will be announced in September. School caterers will also be encouraged to serve the winning dish during NSMW.

#cookeditmyselfie will return this year. Schools are encouraged to send photos of their fantastic food for a chance to win £500.00 prize of equipment or marketing support.

National Roast Dinner Day will also be back, led by the Soil Association’s Food For Life initiative. Free to download resources will be available nearer the time to invite customers to the event.

Host a School Chef will also return, with school cooks entering a professional kitchen. Last year, the Ritz Hotel London, Rick Stein’s Sandbanks Restaurant, and the Chester Grosvenor, hosted a school chef.

NSMW will be going to each region to celebrate the benefits of school meals, such as health, creativity, academic attainment, concentration and behaviour. NSMW wants to involve as many members as possible and are looking for volunteers. Use the NSMW website link to register your interest.

Last year, Karen Robinson, a team member of NSMW, took the message of healthy school meals to the road, by running the equivalent of five marathons in five days, with meals provided by schools along the route.