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School meals

Welcome to our healthy, tasty and nutritious school meals page.

School meals are a great way to be sure your child is eating a healthy and well-balanced meal during the school day.

Waltham Forest Catering's school lunch bunch ensure that tasty school lunches, on average, provide one third of a child’s daily nutritional needs.

What's on the menu?

Waltham Forest Catering ensure there is an excellent, wide variety of tasty school lunches every day of the week, including Caribbean, Asian, Mediterranean, and traditional dishes, so there is sure to be something for everyone's taste.

Our lunches consist of a main course and dessert made fresh on the premises each day, freshly baked bread and seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables.

School meals newsletter

» Download the spring term 2012 primary school meals newsletter (1.9MB PDF file)

Primary schools (serviced by Waltham Forest Catering)

Waltham Forest Catering provide school lunches to all of the primary schools except Davies Lane Primary, Church Hill Nursery, Hillyfields Community School, St Patricks Primary School and Mission Grove Primary School and Acacia Nursery.

» Download the primary school menus - spring term 2012 (199KB PDF file)

Secondary schools (serviced by Waltham Forest Catering)

Waltham Forest Catering provides school lunches to Connaught Girls, Leytonstone, George Mitchell, Holy Family Technology College, Norlington Boys and Willowfield Schools.

» Download an example of the secondary schools spring menus (27KB PDF file)

Value for money

School lunches offer great variety, great taste, and great value, as well as being healthy and nutritious.

For just £1.75 for primary and £1.80 for secondary you can get a tasty two course meal. You can pay for your school meals in the way that is most convenient for you – weekly, by term, or half-term. Please discuss arrangements with your school office. Many children will qualify for free school meals, (please see below).

  • Please note: this is the average price of a school meal. Price may vary in some schools depending on school policy.

Do you qualify for free school meals?

Free school meals are school lunches which are provided each school day to pupils for no charge.

Free school meals are now administrated by the Benefits Service, making it simpler to apply.

For information on whether your child is eligible for free school meals and how to apply download the Free school meals leaflet, (865KB PDF file) or visit the Free school meals page on the Waltham Forest Council website.

New nutritional standards for school lunches

The nutritional standards mean that school meals must contain the set minimum and maximum levels of nutrients to provide the optimum nutritional balance.

School meals meet the Government's rigorous nutritional standards, which have been put in place to make meals healthier and give children what they need to develop, grow and lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

You can find everything you need to know about the new nutritional standards and what you can do to help your children by visiting: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/parents-carers

Remember, school meals are a great way to be sure your child is eating a healthy and well-balanced meal during the day, so don’t miss out and apply now.

Try these recipes at home

School meals can take care of children eating well at school, but what about at home?

If you are finding it tough to introduce healthy eating at home, try making these simple recipes for your family. These healthy, tasty and nutritious recipes are an example of what can be found on our school meal menu.

Change4Life

Waltham Forest Council is in support of Change4Life. In order to maintain a healthy weight we need to both eat better and move more. Many families are making changes that will help them live healthier and longer lives. Visit the NHS Change4life website or call 0300 123 4567 for more information.

Change4Life Pack

The Change4Life Pack (1.3MB PDF file) has been designed by NHS Waltham Forest as part of the Change4Life programme. It aims to help parents with advice and support to get our kids moving more and eating better. For more information contact the community dieticians on 020 8430 8096.   

Food for life

Food For Life Bronze Catering Mark

Waltham Forest Catering (WFC) has been awarded the Food For Life (FFL) Bronze Catering Mark by the Soil Association. This means that WFC meets the following criteria for it's primary, special and nursery school meal menus:

- Meals contain no undesirable food additives or hydrogenated fats

- 75% of dishes are freshly prepared

- Meat is from farms which satisfies UK welfare standards

- Eggs are from cage-free hens

- Menus are seasonal

- No GM ingredients are used

- Well trained catering staff        

The auditor gave recognition to where WFC exceeded criteria requirements, in particular 97% of our dishes are freshly prepared.

Over the past 2 years, 2009-2011, the overall take-up of school meals in schools using WFC as their provider has increased by 7%. WFC, in partnership with schools, are continuing efforts to increase the number of children benefiting from having nutritious school meals. Achieving the FFL Bronze Catering Mark provides independent verification of the good quality products that WFC uses in the production of it's school meals and we hope that this will strengthen consumer confidence and encourage more take-up.     

Good Egg Award

Good Egg Award

On Monday 28 November 2011, Waltham Forest Catering received the Good Egg Award from Compassion in World Farming, the leading farm animal welfare charity, in recognition that we use only free range eggs in our school meals. Ensuring customer confidence in our meals is critical to increasing the number of children and young people benefiting from having nutritious school meals. Holding the Good Egg Award is a further demonstration of our commitment to our customers on the quality of produce that we used.      

Contact us

If you would like to write to us then please use the address below:

Waltham Forest Catering Service
Environment & Regeneration
Silver Birch House
Uplands Business Park
Blackhorse Lane
Walthamstow E17 5SD

Tel 020 8496 3000

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