NUT FREE SCHOOL

Please remember that SS Peter and Paul JNS is a NUT FREE school therefore no items of food that contain nuts should be brought into school. Please check any food packaging that you send in with your child. We encourage a healthy lunch that contains fresh food with limited packaging. Please read our Healthy Eating Guidelines (see below) on suggestions for lunch ideas and also make note of prohibited foods that are not allowed in school. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation on this matter.

Healthy Eating Guidelines

 Parents/Guardians are encouraged to provide children with a healthy lunch, which helps to maintain their level of concentration in the classroom throughout the day.

A healthy lunchbox should include a variety of the following foods:

·         Fruit and Vegetables-e.g. carrot/celery sticks, cucumber slices, sugar snap/mange tout peas, sweetcorn, broccoli florets, finely sliced peppers, cherry tomatoes (halved), pears, bananas, oranges, apples, melon slices, grapes (cut in half as they are a serious choking hazard)

·         Bread and Cereals (preferably wholemeal) - e.g. sandwiches/rolls/pitta bread/ crackers/rice cakes/bagels

·         Salad – e.g. pasta salad, vegetable salad, egg salad/mayonnaise

·         Milk and Cheese –e.g.  cheese triangles, cheese cubes

·         Meat, Chicken, Turkey, Fish and Alternatives – e.g. humus, chicken/turkey/ham/tuna sandwiches. Encourage your child to eat a variety of these sandwich fillings

·         Water

Prohibited Foods

In order to encourage healthy, balanced eating habits among children in school the following foods are prohibited:

·         Crisps, sweets, lollipops, biscuits and chocolate bars

·         Spreads-Nutella, jam, honey, peanut butter

·         Fizzy drinks & Fruit Juice *

·         Cakes, croissants & buns

·         Nuts-We are a “nut free” school.

·         Cereal bars

·         High cholesterol/high fatty foods e.g., sausage rolls/breakfast rolls

·         Popcorn **

·         Yoghurt Products **

·         Raisins **

*Fruit Juice- New research has shown that fruit juices are a contributing factor to tooth erosion in young children. Almost half of Irish five-year-olds suffer from tooth erosion, which if left unchecked can lead to the chipping and eventual wearing away of the teeth. Children who consume fruit juices once a day are over three times more likely to suffer erosion, than children who do not.

**Although these items are healthy options, we at SS Peter & Paul JNS discourage them as most seems to end up on our school carpets and are difficult to remove.

On special occasions such as an end of term party, teachers may, at their discretion. give sugary items to their own class. Where possible though healthy alternatives are encouraged.

We would encourage all children to bring home any food wrappers they have left over from their lunch therefore reducing the school’s waste intake.