National School Meals week drives take-up of school dinners

National School Meals Week has boosted take-up of school dinners, according to a survey of achievements from the 2010 event.

The results of a questionnaire completed in January found that 74% of respondents saw an average increase in meal numbers of 6.3% during the week, while 62% continued to see the increase the following week and 55% had an increase in meal numbers a month later.

More schools than ever before took part in the initiative, organised by the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) to promote healthy school meals to parents, teachers and children across England and Wales, with an estimated 17,000 schools getting involved on at least one of the days.

The number of authorities taking part rose by 8.4% to 103 year on year, while the number of schools taking part in the whole week increased 71% from 214 in 2009 to 366 in 2010.

Nearly half the respondents rated the website and the week in general as very good, while 85% of respondents rated the week as good or very good.

The most popular day was Monday, followed by Thursday, Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

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By Gemma Rowbotham

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