Catering

Catering services at MHCHS are provided by Harrison Catering.

Please be aware that some of our dishes may contain ingredients that can cause food allergies. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please speak to our catering staff who can advise you accordingly.

Please note that we operate a cashless system in the school canteen facilitated by Parent Pay. The school does not accept cash.

Free School Meals

The allowance for Free School Meal is a statutory entitlement and should be claimed if your child qualifies. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals, please complete the following online form. Free school meal entitlement will only apply from the date the application has been approved. It cannot be backdated. The school will support parents with the application.

Packed Lunches

The quality of school dinners in recent years has improved by the adoption of the standards produced by the government. However, evidence has suggested that there has been a widening gap between the nutritional value of school dinners and packed lunches. This guidance is therefore provided by the school to help parents in planning what to include when their child brings a packed lunch to school.

Findings from research carried out by the School Food trust found that:

• 65% of packed lunches contained an unhealthy snack or item of confectionary
• 28% of packed lunches contained both confectionary and an unhealthy snack
• 31% of packed lunches contained a drink that did not meet the food based standards introduced in September 2006

The following guidance is adopted from that produced by the Schools Food Trust.

PACKED LUNCHES SHOULD INCLUDE:

• At least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetable every day
• Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (e.g. lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, hummus, peanut butter or falafel) every day.
• Oily fish such as salmon, at least once every three weeks.
• A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other types of cereal every day.
• Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard every day.
• Still or sparkling water, fruit juice, semi skimmed or skimmed milk, yoghurt or milk drinks and smoothies.

PACKED LUNCHES SHOULD NOT INCLUDE:

• Snacks such as crisps.
• Confectionary such as chocolate bars, chocolate covered biscuits and sweets
• Meat products such as sausage rolls, individual pies or sausages should only be included occasionally.

We recognise that some students may require a special diet that does not allow for the standards to be met exactly. However, we would encourage parents to ensure that the packed lunches provided are as healthy as possible.