Press release
Home-made packed lunches are good for you
(London: Tuesday 12th January 2010) ‘Home-made, home-packed lunches are good for children,’ says Anne Caborn, co-founder of Make it and Mend it (www.makeitandmendit.com), in response to headlines implying the packed-lunch as unhealthy compared to school dinners.
Research commissioned by The Food Standard Agency and carried out by Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Leeds, indicated that only 1% of packed-lunches examined met the exacting standards set out by The School Food Trust to provide primary school children with a nutritionally balanced lunch.
However, media focus has shifted the argument to a packed-lunch vs school dinners debate, rather than a processed vs home-made food debate. Looking more closely at the research from Leeds University, it’s clear that many packed lunches need only a slight nudge to meet The School Food Trust’s standards (eg, changing a sugary drink to fresh water, or adding a piece of fresh fruit).
These standards were established in 2006 to improve food cooked on school premises in response to Jamie Oliver’s exposure of many low-quality, nutritionally unbalanced meals turned out by school kitchens before then.
Anne Caborn would like to see the argument focused more on the quality of food in lunch-boxes and a move towards making rather than buying the food to put into a packed-lunch. ‘The Leeds University research says that 5.5billion packed lunches are taken to school every year – that doesn’t include all the packed lunches we take to work as well. To help people plan we’ve produced an inspiring download people can print out and stick on their fridge to remind them of all the great things that can go into a packed lunch,’ she says.
Make it and Mend it’s remit is to inspire and encourage people to use the resources they already have to produce healthy and satisfying food – without digging deep into the food-budget to buy specially packaged and often high in sugar and fat lunch-box items.
‘In January we launched our campaign platform to get people making healthier home-made packed-lunches’ explained Caborn. ‘It’s clear that food manufacturers have spotted and are exploiting the massive market for lunch-box items. Our argument is that sending your child – or indeed any member of your family – to school or work with a packed-lunch is a cost-effective way of ensuring your child eats a healthy meal away from home.
Make it and Mend it has included a wealth of information and resources to help people plan delicious and enjoyable mid-day food from quality ingredients and resources they can trust and control. In praise of packed lunches.
A decent packed lunch can even include cakes such as homemade banana-bread and flapjacks – and for a fraction of the cost of mass-produced and branded foods. Recommendations on makeitandmendit.com also include inspiring ways to use leftovers and encourage people to think beyond the common sandwich.
‘We’ve even been running a competition to get people to send in their favourite home-made lunch-box ideas,’ Caborn adds, ‘and we’ve had a terrific response, many of which we’re publishing through January to help people start thinking creatively about healthy packed-lunch meals.’
Suggestions from users of the site include: tortillas spread with grated carrot, hummus and sliced red pepper; pitas stuffed with carrots cheese and ham, a small yogurt and dried fruit; a kind of risotto made with left-over roast chicken mixed with brown rice softened onion and red peppers – and a dollop of mango chutney on the side.
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References:
Make it and Mend it’s selected competition entries
Download:
Packed-lunch debate response 120110
About
Make it and Mend it is all about informing, sharing and inspiring each other to live sustainably and creatively. Like making stuff… mending or finding new uses for things instead of throwing them away. Whether you’re into sewing, knitting, DIY, recycling, gardening, cooking, or refashioning (or want to be!) there’s something for everyone.
It’s not just about being frugal or thrifty, it’s about feeling good and getting a real buzz from doing things for yourself. Make it and Mend it was founded in January 2009 by Clare O’Brien, Anne Caborn, Hilary Bruffell and Clare Flynn based around the idea of creating a website that people could use to find out how to make and mend things and above all discover inspiring and fun things to do – thrift and home economics repackaged for modern lives – and with style. More…
Call or email Clare O’Brien for more information 020 8948 7636 clareo@makeitandmendit.com
