Healthy food and benefits for kids online

The Local Authority Caterers Association has launched two websites for use by primary and secondary schools.

The sites can be customised to suit local needs and feature a healthy eating reward scheme, online meal payment, school bulletin board, links to local services, and discount shopping.

The primary school site is accessible to parents, who can set up individual reward programmes for their children based on better diet, general behaviour, attitude and achievement.

The site also includes an online "shopping mall", from which parents can buy household goods at below retail prices and win reductions on future purchases. In return, the child's school receives a commission on these purchases.

On the secondary school website, pupils can redeem points they have won for healthy eating against goods such as clothes, trainers and CDs.

Neil Porter, vice-chairman of LACA, said: "In an ideal world, we would all like to see children choosing the healthier food options because it'sbetter for them, but school caterers are all too aware that, with the current fast-food culture in this country, they need greater nutritional education and a lot of encouragement.

"We believe that offering rewards for healthier eating, which give tangible benefits, helps to put young people in more direct control of their own diets, without them feeling that healthy eating is being imposed on them."

Primary site, www.feedm.co.uk Secondary site, www.points4u.co.uk

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 19 - 25 February 2004