School meals provide a substantial proportion of children's daily nutrition. For some it is the only cooked meal in the day. While regulations now specify minimum nutritional standards for school meals, it is up to the school and its caterers to develop a menu and an all-round eating experience that promotes health.

The SNAG provides a forum to discuss and refine the menu choices available. This is likely to take some bargaining, as the list of foods that kids say they want in the box overleaf shows! But, for example, by adjusting the composition of popular foods, by changing the variety and preparation of fruit and vegetable options or by promoting fruit and vegetable options, it is possible to identify popular and healthy options.

Some children and parents will choose to bring a packed lunch. Many schools provide healthy packed lunch guidelines for parents and some ban fizzy drinks, chocolate or sweets in packed lunches.

Ideas bank 1: Change the rules!, ideas bank 2: Change the lunch menu, ideas bank 3, Healthy packed lunches, information bank 11, Responsibility for providing school meals

Learning about food (particularly if it actually involves buying, handling, preparing, cooking and eating food) is fun! Food provides a rich context for learning, above and beyond learning about food itself. A topic on food, for example, can cover design and make skills within the design and technology curriculum, life processes and nutrition within the science curriculum as well as supporting key skills within other areas of the curriculum. Food activities which are taking place on a 'whole school' basis can be tied into classroom work at different levels. For example, surveying the most popular fruit sold by the fruit tuck shop provides an excellent opportunity to develop data handling skills and a school garden can demonstrate the stages of plant growth to support a science lesson.

There are many food-based activities that you can do within the classroom without too much equipment. You could also take the opportunity to go outside the school to investigate food growing and selling.

Info bank 5: Get food into the curriculum, The Grab 5! Curriculum Pack

Remember that the Grab 5! Curriculum Pack makes specific links to the Key Stage 2 curriculum. The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme also has curriculum materials available for participating schools with activities linked to the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 2 curriculum..