At Riverside, our catering company is called 'The Pantry' and they provide all of our school lunches. All of the school lunches comply with the government food standards to ensure that children are being served delicious, nutritious food which contributes to a balanced diet. It is often easier to ensure that your child gets the essential nutrients that they need by encouraging them to have a school lunch, however there may be times when you wish to provide your child with a packed lunch. Riverside is a nut free school, please ensure that your child does not bring any products containing nuts to school (this includes Nutella).

Packed lunches should include:

• Some starchy foods such as bread (sliced bread, pitta bread, wraps, bagels), pasta, potatoes, couscous or rice (choose wholegrain where possible)
• At least 1 portion of fruit and 1 portion of vegetables or salad. One portion of vegetables/salad is roughly a handful (a child-size handful for a child’s portion)
• Dairy food such as cheese or yoghurt
• Meat, fish, or another source of protein such as eggs, beans and pulses, hummus, falafel

Packed lunches should not include:

• Sweets, chocolate products or crisps You may include an extra low fat / low sugar snack such as a fruit scone, a plain biscuit, plain breadsticks, rice cakes or crackers.

Packed lunches should not include any fizzy drinks.

Please see the links below for some healthy packed lunch ideas.