School meals for £1 in Derbyshire

St Andrew's Church of England Junior School, Hadfield, and Hadfield Infant School are being offered the reduced-priced meals from 7 June to 22 July. Children can choose from the normal menu, which usually costs £1.85 per meal. This includes a main course meat, fish or vegetarian dish, fresh sandwiches made on request, potatoes, rice or pasta with vegetables or salad. There is also fresh salad, fruit, semi-skimmed milk and a fruit juice drink available every day and a choice of pudding. The trial is being funded with £10,000 from Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust, which will also cover further trials in other areas of the county later on. It is hoped that the scheme will help promote healthy eating habits, boost the health and well-being of pupils, and encourage parents to try school lunches for their children. Councillor Mike Longden, Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for education, said: "We keep the cost of our meals as low as possible so families can make sure their children can enjoy our nutritious and tasty school lunches. "Good health is vital and we want children to enjoy their time at school and achieve their full potential. Our meals meet Government nutrition standards, are low in sugar and fat and use high quality ingredients which are locally sourced wherever possible. "We hope this reduced-cost meals pilot will encourage even more families to get their children eating school lunches." In 2008/09 42.9% of Derbyshire primary stage pupils had school meals – 3.6% above the national average.