Run a consultation exercise
Parents have an important and influential role a child's food and drink choices and preferences.
To change the content of packed lunches, both parents and pupils will have to be on board. The best way to achieve this is through consultation. This gives you the opportunity to explain what you want to achieve and why. It also provides parents and pupils the chance to say what they would like and to feel involved in the process.
Consultation may also help to identify any support parents may like to improve the packed lunches, for example healthy packed lunch workshops or tasting sessions for pupils and parents.
Consultation can be carried out through a School Nutrition Action Group, which is made up of a variety of people involved or interested in school food, such as a member of the senior management team, lunchtime supervisor, school health advisor, pupils, parents or governor, or by holding a parents' morning or evening. A simple lunchbox questionaire for pupils or parents may give you a good starting point to take matters forward.
Use the online resources to inform discussions with parents the different policy options to produce the packed lunch advisory leaflet. The multi-lingual leaflet publishing tools can also be used to within ICT for children to produce their own leaflet to take home.
You may find that, due to the activities around healthier eating at the school and the consultation with parents and pupils, the content of the packed lunch advisory leaflet can be adjusted to reflect changing opinions about healthy eating.
There may be communication routes already established, such as the school newsletter, website and PTA, which you can use to reinforce key messages. Adding a note to these about vegetables which are in season at different times of the year (and therefore cheaper and tastier), or a reminder of the importance of drinking enough water may help to keep the message alive and everyone on track.