School meals provider Manchester Fayre wins award for supporting Change4Life initiative

Manchester Fayre scooped the prize at the Local Authority Caterers Association Awards for actively promoting the benefits of healthy eating and the need for pupils to learn about healthy and more active lifestyles. Manchester's catering service helped deliver the Change4Life initiative in Aspinall Primary School in Gorton, with a specially created programme. This included creating a link between the school canteen and the dining room at home, helping educate parents about the risks associated with an unhealthy diet and what that could mean for their kids. These steps were carried out through a number of different activities including tasting sessions of the school meals menu, demonstrating the fat and sugar content in popular confectionary and offering advice on alternative healthier foods and snacks. Changes are already being seen following the introduction of these measures including a 15% increase of school meals in favour of packed lunches and healthier snacks and lunches being prepared by parents. Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council's executive member for finance and human resources with a responsibility for school meals, said: "The Change4Life agenda has been welcomed in Manchester as it is a direct response to tackling some of the key health problems that exist within the city. "I am particularly proud that we have been recognised for our work in this area and we will continue to build on our achievements and roll the scheme out across the city."