For Parents

Healthy food is essential for learning.  We make sure our menus are full of familiar foods that the children will enjoy.

Healthy body & mind

Research shows that children are able to concentrate better after a hot school meal.  This means they’ll be more focused for the afternoon lessons.

Schools have told us that children are often better behaved, calmer and more able to concentrate after they’ve had our cooked lunches.

Our lunches follow strict School Food Standards and are packed full of healthy goodness.  We use fresh, locally sourced ingredients wherever possible and always sneak extra vegetables in wherever we can!  Did you know only 1.5% of packed lunches meet the same nutritional values as a cooked school meal?

Trying new foods

We make sure our menus have lots of familiar foods and with three choices a day it’s easy to find something your children will enjoy.  Parents have told us that the children like eating with their friends, and will try new foods with them that they may not try at home!

Warm and well-fuelled

A good cooked lunch gives children the fuel not only for the afternoon’s learning, but also for after-school clubs – and it saves you having to load them up with snacks when school ends.  On a cold day, a hot meal is much better than a sandwich and a bag of crisps too.

Convenient and FREE for Key Stage 1 children

Our nutritious and delicious lunches save you all the time and hassle of having to make packed lunches and takes the pressure off you needing cook a big meal in the evening too. If your child is Key Stage 1 (that’s Reception, Year 1 & 2) they’ll get our lunches for free. If your child is in Year 3 or above, you could be eligible for means-tested free school meals.

Healthy school

As well as the benefits for the children, our lunches are good for the whole school. Better behaved and engaged children make lessons more effective and easier for teachers. A proper lunch makes children more sociable. And we think food education is a really vital part of every child’s learning.

Here’s just a selection of feedback about our lunches:

“My son goes to Stalbridge Primary and can be a bit of a fussy eater at home – but he loves his hot school meals and often comes out at the end of the day with a sticker because he’s cleared his plate! Result! Thank you.”

“My kids both have hot school meals and they both absolutely love them, particulary the pasta and pizza dish and both love the lemon drizzle cake.”

“My 4 year old enjoys his lunches and likes looking up on the iPad what he is going to have the next day!”

“Loving the new menu choices – can’t say enough times how much both my girls love their school dinners !!! My little one is even eating the ‘yellow stuff’ now…….. !!! (Custard)”

“Good food, locally sourced ingredients, plenty of options, hot lunch time meal = happy mummy, tasty food (with seconds and sometimes thirds!) = happy 7 year old daughter.”

If you’d like to add your review, please visit and like our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/LocalFoodLinks/reviews

From December 2014, all food producers need to label their products with details of certain allergens. The Food Standards Agency has identified 14 primary allergens to be aware of, and gives details of them in this infographic.

Keeping an eye on ingredients

We want to make it easy for you to check that our meals are suitable for your children – so we give details of the ingredients, dish by dish, within the my.localfoodlinks.org.uk online meals ordering system. Simply click on any meal choice to bring up the list of ingredients contained.

As well as this, you can now see every ingredient we’re using in the current menu, and any allergy advice about it in this spreadsheet:

Allergen_details_2023

Discussing your child’s allergies

While it is still a parent’s responsibility to choose appropriate school meals for their children’s diets, we’re happy to help you with any concerns or questions you may have.

– Firstly you should complete and return this form to your child’s school:

2023 LFL Allergy Special Dietary Requirement Form

– You can also contact Barry Dovell on 01308 428921 or barry.dovell@localfoodlinks.org.uk to discuss your child’s dietary requirements.

Here’s our current menu:

LFL Autumn 2 Menu 2024

Our menus change each term, and throughout the term we create meals that are nutritionally balanced, familiar, filling and comforting.

With school meals, we know sometimes it’s a bit of an effort to get children to eat up all their veg, but we have a secret weapon – hidden veg. Our tomato sauce is packed with veg before it’s blended, so they’ll never know how good it is for them.

Even the puddings often have hidden goodness, like dates in our chocolate brownies.

We also create theme days throughout the year – for example Comic Relief, World Book Day and many others. And in December we pull out all the stops for Christmas lunch!

Following recommendations in the School Food Plan, the government is funding free school meals to all Key Stage 1 pupils (in reception, year 1 and year 2) in state-funded schools in England.

That means that if your child is in KS1 they’ll get a free lunch every day. You don’t need to do anything – it will start automatically. It’s easy to start ordering school meals online – just contact your school office for a registration code and you can get going at https://my.localfoodlinks.org.uk/

If they’ve never had a Local Food Links school meal before, have a look at Summer Menu 2022 to see what they’ll be enjoying!