School Food
RedBranch provide a consultancy service to food businesses and school canteens that enables them to successfully promote healthy school food. In the future, this will take the form of a RedBranch School Food quality assurance scheme.
Our work in schools has demonstrated that healthy food can be promoted whilst generating a profit. Implementation of RedBranch policies in one test school created the following changes in the behaviour of students:
The proportion of students consuming one or more pieces of fruit per day rose from 32% to 66% over a 9 month period- There was a major reduction in the daily consumption of “junk” food and beverages, and an increase in the consumption rates for water and milk
- Satisfaction with school food rose from 25% to 60% during the first year of the initiative, even though the food service was in competition with a local McDonalds and a range of chip shops
Why Healthy Food in Schools?
Making nutritious food available in schools leads to improved behaviour and academic performance. By helping children and young people to develop healthy eating habits, the health message in the curriculum is supported and the life-long health of children is improved. In addition, organising the supply of healthy food at school proves highly popular with parents.
“The Healthy School Cafe has been an incredible benefit to our school. Initially we were worried about how students would react to a healthy food service, but the feedback from students, staff and parents has been extremely positive. The RedBranch team have given students a say in the food selection and students have been very receptive to the healthy food ethos of the cafe. RedBranch are now working with the school to improve levels of physical activity amongst students…the School Cafe has been an unqualified success.”
- Matt Power, Secondary School Principal
RedBranch: Changing School Food
RedBranch have run several initiatives to change the school food environment, giving children better access to healthy food at school. Our work has ranged from:
- Advising commercial food suppliers on how best to promote healthy food in schools
- Helping schools to set up healthy school canteens
- Changing the school vending environment, with 60% of schools in Clare ditching traditional vending in favour of bottled water
- Piloting a healthy school cafe initiative in second-level schools, in partnership with the School Food Company
- Providing educational support to commercial food companies wishing to promote healthy school food
We have been involved in the provision of healthy school food since 2006, and we have provided technical consultancy services to a range of school food suppliers. This includes Lunchpak Ltd and Canavan Enterprises Ltd who provide school food services to over 30 schools, primarily in Dublin.
RedBranch has been instrumental in helping schools to develop healthy eating policies and we provide technical consultancy services for a number of directly run school canteens. We have also helped schools to create healthy canteen services from scratch.
In 2009, RedBranch created a specialised food service that is specifically designed to promote healthy eating in schools: The Healthy Schools Cafe. In March 2011, RedBranch helped to found The School Food Company, a commercial food service that is committed to providing and promoting healthy food in schools.
In 2011, RedBranch will be rolling out an expanded healthy schools vending service, in partnership with the School Food Company.
If you are interested in our school food consultancy service,.
