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Food and Nutrition guidance

Learn about the food requirements for HAF clubs, including meal standards, guidance on managing dietary needs and useful recipe tips.

Overview

All providers must provide at least 1 meal a day (breakfast, lunch or an evening meal) and all food provided at It’s About Me clubs (including snacks) must meet school food standards.

For some children, the opportunity to enjoy a hot meal at a It’s About Me club is important and our aspiration is that providers should, where possible, try to offer hot meals to children attending It’s About Me clubs. However, we acknowledge that this is not always possible and that alternatives to hot meals can sometimes be more suitable.

To ensure that all children receive a high quality and stigma free experience, if a provider is open to both -funded and non-It’s About Me-funded places, it is vital that all of the children attending are provided with an identical food offer and that all children are treated equally.

All food provided as part of the It’s About Me programme must:

  • Comply with regulations on food preparation
  • Take into account allergies and dietary requirements
  • Take into account any religious or cultural requirements for food

There is flexibility in the design of the food provision which should always be tailored to ensure that all food meets the dietary needs of the children and families who attend. The food served should also be appropriate for the nature of the session, for example, offering cold packed lunches for parks or outdoor venues or for day trips.

Need further support? Get in touch.

Need further support? Get in touch.

Pam Noel | Food and Nutrition Lead

Resources

To help you create a nutritious and delicious menu we’ve included some great tools below.

Food and Nutrition Guide

Food and Nutrition Guide

Helpful guidance on creating a fantastic food offer, including advice on training for your team and great tips to get kids eating healthy meals.

Menu Template

Menu Template

Use our handy menu template to plan out your meals for your sessions.

Guide to packed lunches

Guide to packed lunches

Use this fantastic guide to help plan ahead and try out some of the tasty replacements for kid’s familiar favourites.

Breakfast Guidance

Breakfast Guidance

Guidance for your additional breakfast provision, what to buy and what to avoid.

Hakuna Fruitata

Hakuna Fruitata

Take a look at our Hakuna Fruitata resource for fun ways to include food education in your programme.

Get Set to Eat Fresh – HAF Facilitator Guide

Get Set to Eat Fresh – HAF Facilitator Guide

Primary and Secondary Get Set to Eat Fresh resources specially selected for Holiday Activity and Food Programme facilitators.

Healthy Pot Noodle

Healthy Pot Noodle

Follow this guide to create healthy pot noodles for children to add their own vegetables and take home to eat later.

Hot Cross Bunnies Recipe Card

Hot Cross Bunnies Recipe Card

Make hot cross bunnies during Easter HAF with this easy to follow, easy-to-replicate recipe

Outdoor Cooking Bread on a Stick

Outdoor Cooking Bread on a Stick

A very basic, easy-to-follow recipe with minimal ingredients to cook around a fire

Outdoor Cooking Recipe Ideas

Outdoor Cooking Recipe Ideas

A variety of additional recipes in outdoor cooking sessions

Pizza Burritos Recipe Sheet

Pizza Burritos Recipe Sheet

An alternative option to a sandwich for children and young people to add different fillings and toppings as they wish

Safe Knife Skills Demo

Safe Knife Skills Demo

An outline of the key teaching and learning points when supporting young children on how to use a knife safely

Full of Beans

Full of Beans

This contains all the resources you need to be able to develop and provide activities with children to support the Full of Beans campaign.

Salad Shakers Recipe

Salad Shakers Recipe

An easy, tasty salad recipe suitable for all ages.

Let’s Talk About Food Recipes – Breakfast

Let’s Talk About Food Recipes – Breakfast

A selection of easy-to-follow breakfast recipes suitable for all ages.

Let’s Talk About Food Recipes- Lunch

Let’s Talk About Food Recipes- Lunch

A selection of easy-to-follow lunch recipes suitable for all ages.

A guide to third party food suppliers

A guide to third party food suppliers

If another organisation is providing the meals for your holiday club food, check out this handy guide.

Allergen Guidance

Allergen Guidance

Guidance for food businesses on providing allergen information and best practice for handling allergens.