NHS Forth Valley – Food In Schools

Schools can play an important role in both providing healthier food and drink choices and promoting healthy eating habits to children from an early age.

Schools should strive to ensure that their young people have access to healthier food and drink choices throughout the school day and that these healthier choices are highlighted and promoted at any opportunity.

They should also embed consistent healthy eating messages into classroom lessons and ensure all contact with families, parents and carers feed forward healthy eating messages that can be taken home. This will in turn help to give our children and young people and their families the best possible start in life and will help to reduce diet related health inequalities.

The Public Health Nutrition Team, NHS Forth Valley supports this whole school approach to food, health and well-being and are concerned with all food and drink provision in schools and early years establishments, whether it be during the school day or out with for example during breakfast or holiday clubs.

We work with education departments, local authorities, catering services, staff, parents and pupils within schools, children’s and NHS services to ensure schools are supporting healthy food provision as part of the schools health promoting agenda.

In this section:

School Meals
Resources for teaching about food and nutrition
Growing in Schools
Healthy Weight
National Documents around Food in Schools

School Meals

Find out more about the school meal service in your local area and how to access financial support.

Clackmannanshire Council – School Meals
Falkirk Council – School Meals
Stirling Council – School Meals

Parent Club – Have a section All about school meals.

Read more about Free School Meals on the Scottish Government website.

Resources for teaching about food and nutrition

Nutrition Resource Catalogue – This Nutrition Resource Catalogue, created by the Healthier Future – Public Health Nutrition Team, supports early years staff and teachers in delivering interactive food activities like growing, preparing healthy snacks, and exploring nutritious foods. While designed for schools and childcare providers, it includes valuable resources, activities, and worksheets suitable for anyone working with children and families around food and cooking.
Nutrition Resource Awareness Webinar – This webinar supports staff and volunteers working with children and food in recreational settings. It covers national nutrition standards (e.g. Setting the Table 2024), the Eatwell Guide, training opportunities, and links to helpful food and nutrition resources.
Food a Fact of Life – Free resources for teaching young people aged 3-16 years about where food comes from, cooking and healthy eating. They have cooking skills videos, easy recipes, worksheets and much more to support teachers deliver their food and nutrition education programmes. These resources could also be used with adults.
Food Standards Scotland – Have a range of Education Resources – to support anyone teaching others about food safety and healthy eating. They have a range of online interactive games as well as group activity ideas, videos and information sheets to help teach how to get a balance of healthier and more sustainable food.
Eat, Move, Learn – World Cancer Research Fund – have some fun resources, recipes and activity ideas all about healthy living for teachers, children and families.
Veg Power – 80% of our kids are not eating enough vegetables. VegPower is on a mission to get the UK eating more vegetables! They have free downloadable posters and activity sheets and workbooks that can be used to make learning about healthy eating fun.

Growing in Schools

The Royal Highland Educational Trust have produced The Good Food Learning Resource – Seasons in Scotland – which is a great resource for schools, community groups or individuals wanting to start to grow their own produce.
Grow to School – Find out more about outdoor learning and food growing in schools.
Grow Your Own Potatoes

Healthy Lunch and Snack Ideas

All you need to know about snacking – Parent Club
Healthy Lunchboxes – Food a Fact of Life
Healthier Lunchbox Recipes – Change4Life – Has loads of tasty and easy to prepare ideas that everyone can enjoy for lunch
Healthy Packed Lunches – British Nutrition Foundation
Healthy Packed Lunches – Factsheet – British Dietetic Association
School Packed Lunch Inspiration – BBC Good Food
Lunch and snack ideas for back to school – BBC Good Food

Food and Farming

Food a Fact of Life – This site supports children learning about where their food comes from and how it is farmed. They have video clips and presentations, posters, workbooks, editable resources, interactive whiteboard activities and curriculum links to support their theme Food and Farming.
Food for Life – Soil Association

Food, Sustainability and Reducing Food Waste

Love Food Hate Waste – Are you a teacher looking for inspiration? – Love Food Hate Waste have a range of food waste fighting activities and curriculum-linked lesson plans to get your waste warriors geared up to make the most of the good food we love in Scotland.
Zero Waste Scotland – Information on waste management; includes advice on recycling, reusing, reducing rubbish, with news and links to public awareness sites.

Health and Nutrition Information

Parent Club – Has information on the changes to school meals as well as information on food and eating for the family, recipes and videos for families on how to make healthier changes to how they shop, cook and eat. They have easy recipes for school-night teas, handy hints for meal planning, cook along videos to try and information on dealing with fussy eaters. They also have a Family Support Directory to support parents and carers with information on benefits and signposts to local support organisations.
Veg Power – 80% of our kids are not eating enough vegetables. Veg Power is on a mission to get the UK eating more vegetables! They have free downloadable posters and activity sheets and workbooks that can be used to make learning about healthy eating fun.

Healthy Weight

Child Healthy Weight Service – Why Weight – NHS Forth Valley – The Why Weight programme Service helps support children, young people and their families work towards a healthier weight. They offer a range of practical programs looking at wellbeing, activity and nutrition and aim to engage families in practical work to support behaviour change.
Food and Recipes – Why Weight