Remember, for the lunch provision to be compliant with the food-based standard for fruit and vegetables at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables or salad must be provided per pupil per day.
Remember, for the lunch provision to be compliant with the food-based standard for fruit and vegetables at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables or salad must be provided per pupil per day. In practice, this means that you should include a portion of vegetable or salad and portion of fruit for each pupil in the nutrient analysis. Fruit can be provided as fresh, canned, frozen, dried, as part of a fruit-based dessert or as fruit juice. Vegetables can be provided as portions of vegetables or included in main dishes (e.g. vegetable curry or lasagne).
At lunchtime it is important that students are encouraged to select and consume the fruit and vegetables provided both for both their own health benefits and to limit waste. Encouraging pupils to eat fruit and vegetables can sometimes be a struggle, especially in secondary schools where a large selection of foods is often available. However, research has shown that when fruit and vegetables are available and easily accessible, for example chopped up and ready to eat, more pupils will eat them. Providing a variety of different fruits and vegetables is one way to encourage pupils towards healthy eating habits, however you need to be patient. There is some evidence that children need to try new fruits and vegetables up to eight or nine time before they are liked or accepted.
Fruit-based desserts
Fruit-based desserts are often a popular choice with pupils of all ages. Some pupils require more persuasion to take and consume a portion of fruit. To help you easily access tried and tested fruit-based dessert recipes, we have compiled a summary spreadsheet of all the desserts that provide at least one portion of fruit per serving. The recommended portion size is 40g of fruit for primary pupils and 80g for secondary pupils. The spreadsheet features a range of desserts including fruit salads, crumbles and sponges. When you find a recipe that has the characteristics you require, you can click on the school name to download the relevant recipe document. Within that recipe document, you can either search for the recipe name or use the hyperlinks or contents page provided.
Fruit-based desserts database
Click here to download (MS Excel doc 96KB)
Keep trying!
Children and young people often need to try foods (including fruit and vegetables) more than once before they accept the new flavours and start to acquire a taste for them. Don’t give up after the first rejection – keep trying!
How to encourage pupils to eat fruit and vegetables?
We have created this page to share ideas on how to encourage students to select and consume a portion of fruit and vegetables or salad. If you have successfully encouraged your students to eat fruit and vegetables please share your ideas and tips. Submit your ideas by clicking here.
