Pupils urged to follow healthy diet

4:18pm Thursday 22nd May 2008

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A PRIMARY school near Westbury has employed a new chef and is encouraging its pupils to grow their own vegetables under a new healthy eating regime.

Westbury Leigh Primary School was previously under the Wiltshire County Council's catering contract with Sodexho but has decided to bring in a new chef, use local produce and give their pupils the opportunity to grow their own vegetables.

Helen Plows, 42, is the new school chef and has been in the catering industry since she was 15.

She said: "The children's favourites have been roasts and Spanish omelette, but I'm trying to encourage them with noodles and curry as well.

"They are also really enjoying my flapjacks, which I've been making with fruit and seeds.

"I'm trying to use low fat food with less additives and I'm also trying not to use food from packets.

"The only thing we've had out of a packet since I've been here was fish fingers, which were made from 100 per cent fish."

The school has 389 pupils and aims to get half of the children eating schools dinners.

An improvement has already been made with 95 children eating a school dinner on Friday, compared to 60 pupils that used to eat a school meal under Sodexho.

L & F Jones Food Services is now supplying the school with their dried foods.

New business development executive Gill Murphy said: "We have been servicing schools for a number of years now.

"A lot of schools are coming out of contracts and we are helping more with the transition by providing them with our products.

"We are also committed to the healthy eating programme that schools now have."

The school is also running two competitions to mark the changes in their eating programme.

The children are being given the chance to name the kitchen and design their own menu with the winner being cooked for the pupils by the kitchen staff.