National School Meals Week provides a great whole school opportunity for teachers and Caterers

The Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) has announced that NSMW will take place from Monday 7 to Friday 11 November. The key theme of the week is to promote healthy eating as part of a whole school approach to parents, pupils, teachers and governors across England and Wales. More details can be found at www.iloveschoolmeals.co.uk.

Each day has a different theme, they are: Monday Get Eating as part of Britain's Biggest School Lunch; Tuesday is Get Travelling where pupils can learn about food from different countries; on Wednesday it is Get Creative when pupils and students are encouraged to be creative with food; Thursday is Get 5-a-Day and we will be explaining the importance of fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet, Friday is Get Remembering when young people turn their minds to all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It is also a reminder about how school meals for all were first introduced to combat malnutrition in war time.

Two sponsors have been confirmed to enhance the week's activities. Dolmio will support Get Eating and Britain's Biggest School Lunch. Tuesday's Get Travelling Day is being sponsored by Bernard Matthews Foodservice.

Sandra Russell, chairman of LACA, said: "I hope more teachers will take part this year as the resources are free and available to download from the website now at www.iloveschoolmeals.co.uk. This year's teaching resources include assemblies for each of the days and they will be on the site by the end of August.

"On Thursday we partner Change4life and its 5 A DAY campaign with a series of quizzes for Key Stages 1 to 4. Also on this day we link up with Mary's Meals, which provide a free meal to children in poorer countries. You can find out more at www.marysmeals.org.uk.

"For the Friday there is an interview with Falkland's war hero Simon Weston as he talks about how good food in his early days helped keep him alive when he came back seriously injured. To obtain more information about NSMW teachers should register to take part at www.iloveschoolmeals.co.uk and then you will be given full access to all the information on the website."

In the last two years we have seen more than 16,000 schools take part in the week and this makes it the biggest healthy eating event in the country.

Sarah Gray, national account manager from Dolmio said: "NSMW is a very important event in the school calendar for several reasons. It encourages more children to have a healthy meal at lunch time and this helps young people regenerate their batteries for afternoon lessons.

"Pasta is a great energy food and is very popular when served with one of our delicious Dolmio sauces. Last year these sauces were reformulated so they comply with all the nutritional standards set out by the government."

Chris Walkden, national account manager, Bernard Matthews Foodservice, added: "Our Big Green Tick Turkey Thigh Mince, Diced Turkey Thigh and ready to eat Turkey Breast Chunks are very popular with schools as they are low in saturated fat and extremely versatile.

"They can provide a protein base for dishes from around the world, from curries to chilli. This is why we are delighted to take part in the Get Travelling Day. We will be providing a range of recipe ideas, developed by our home economist to meet the food and nutrient based standards that caterers can use on the day and then incorporate into their autumn menus.

"Bernard Matthews Foodservice totally supports the aim of LACA's NSMW and I am sure this year will be bigger and better than ever."