« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
CHAPTER SEVEN: MARKETING OF FOOD AND DRINK WITHIN THE SCHOOL
7.1 This chapter focuses on the marketing and promotion of food within the school, including use of advertising or branded products, what types of information are provided to pupils and parents about school meals, how food is presented, and whether attempts are made to incentivise healthy choices. Relevant Hungry for Success recommendations include:
Recommendation 4: School meal facilities should not advertise or promote food or drink with a high fat or sugar content
Recommendation 16: Caterers should consider appropriate means of labelling food and methods of conveying information on content to pupils and parents. Through existing school communication channels, menus should be forwarded to parents at least once a term. Schools and caterers should consider presentation, marketing and pricing structures to incentivise healthy choices
Branding
7.2 In primary cases study schools, the branding that was used was generally restricted to milk products, or school meals services branding, for example the 'Lunch Bunch'.
7.3 The level of branding in secondary schools was still limited. 'White Stuff' branding for milk was fairly common. Some schools had no vending machines, while others had unbranded machines which sold branded products such as Highland Spring and Krystal Clear. In one case, a vending machine with Coke branding was being used to sell healthy drinks rather than Coke. One small secondary school had a branded vending machine (Lucozade Sport), drinks fridges (Coca Cola and Pepsi) and litter bins (Coca Cola). It also had 'White Stuff' hoardings on the drinks counter.
7.4 Posters advertising Walkers Crisps were observed on the wall in a large secondary school along with others promoting fruit spring water and fruit. The head of one primary school reported there had been promotions for Walkers Crisps in the past, but that this was no longer the case. In one secondary school, although fizzy drinks had been banned, there was still a large (empty) Coca Cola branded freezer and a few Diet Pepsi flags displayed on one window.
Information provision
7.5 There was not much food labelling apart from labels of sandwiches, and salad boxes. In the majority of cases, the labels displayed the fillings but did not list all of the ingredients or the type of bread or spread used. However, in one large primary school which was fairly advanced in terms of the recommendations, the labels also included the ingredients of the dish. Occasionally, the filling labels also bore the logo of the school meals service. Apart from yogurts and milk, nutritional information was not provided for other foods.
7.6 In many of the schools, pupils were observed asking catering staff what some of the foods were, particularly in terms of hot meals and puddings. Some pupils mentioned that they would like more labelling on the food that provided more information on ingredients. This included, for example, the type of bread and spread used in sandwiches rather than just the main filling. Occasionally schools have a sample table, which includes a sample of all dishes on the menu that day, and cards displaying the names of the dishes. This was to make pupils aware of what the different options were called, and what they looked like.
7.7 There was wide variation among case study schools in terms of how menus were used. In one medium sized primary school, parents of primary 1 pupils were invited to school to attend a presentation by the Head Teacher and head cook about schools meals and were given a folder containing menus and other information to take away. Parents were also made aware of any changes to the menus, as they were forwarded new menus when they were introduced. Practice in other primary schools ranged from menus being sent out annually, intermittently or not sent out at all. Where menus were distributed, pupils reported that in most cases they did not keep them to refer to. Pupils mentioned that it was only occasionally that their parents would use the menus to inform children of weekly or daily choices. In secondary schools, menus were not usually provided to parents.
7.8 Monthly or daily menus were displayed in a number of schools, but not all. Where menus were displayed, they were occasionally displayed where pupils queue, but more often in the dining room close to the serving counter and rarely in other parts of the building. One secondary school did report plans to display the menu during the morning, on a plasma screen in the entrance foyer. In another secondary school, where the menu was decided only a day in advance, the choices were read out in the morning in the daily bulletin.
7.9 The placement of the menus is important, as in many schools, pupils have to choose to join a separate queue dependent on the type of meal they want. When the menus are displayed at the point of serving, pupils often have to choose between separate queues before knowing what is available. In a few primary and secondary schools, the menu boards were empty, out of date, or incomplete. Staff and pupils confirmed that this was not unusual.
7.10 Price lists were also in evidence in some dining halls. However, they were often placed out of the way where pupils were sometimes unaware of them. Some of the price lists were out of date, showing items no longer available or old prices, or incomplete, showing prices of some items but not all. At the same time, in some secondary schools, there were adequate menus and price lists that displayed all the available options.
7.11 The menus and price lists were also used to encourage healthy choices. One secondary school offered meal deals which were designed to encourage pupils to try new foods and eat balanced meals. Pupils received reward points for choosing the healthy meal deal, and could accumulate these points to receive a prize. The details of this scheme, including the foods on offer and the subsequent points were prominently displayed in the dining hall in colourful posters.
Presentation
7.12 In secondary schools, which were generally larger and had dining areas with more space than primary schools, there were often separate counters for hot meals, salad bars and hot snacks. Where there was one serving area, food tended to be separated along the counter, with hot food at one end and the other items at the opposite end. In some cases, where space was more constrained, some items were behind the serving counter, and so were less visible to pupils. In a number of schools, items such as home baking, crisps, confectionery, yogurts, and fruit were served on tables, often close to the paying areas. Drinks were served in fridges, chillier cabinets, vending machines, or on trolleys. One large primary school offered a pick 'n' mix service (other than for the main meal) with the remaining options being placed on individual counters which pupils could walk past and decide what they would prefer.
7.13 There were various ways in which food was served. In some schools, meals were served on plastic trays with compartments for individual food items. In others hot meals were plated. Often fast food and sandwiches were served in similar packaging to that in which it would be served in takeaway restaurants and sandwich shops. Soup was often served in polystyrene cups. Salad and raw vegetables were sometimes plated; sometimes in large bowls from which the pupils helped themselves; or served in individual plastic containers. Fruit was often presented whole in large bowls in various locations that were not always accessible by pupils. Small portions of fruit such as grapes were usually packaged into individual helpings. The individually packaged fruit tended to be much more popular and whole fruit in bowls was rarely chosen.
7.14 Hot food was considered to look appetising in most schools. Where the food did not look appetising, pupils cited the following reasons: the containers it was served in; being unable to see the food clearly; being unable to identify vegetables; or the food itself looking unappetising. Hot snack foods were sometimes described as looking greasy. Fruit could be of variable quality and could look unappetising. Most often this was because the fruit was past its best and overripe, although under-ripe fruit, such as green bananas, was observed in at least one school.
7.15 The Head Teacher of one large secondary school said she felt the presentation of food had generally improved since the publication of Hungry for Success.
Incentivising healthy choices
7.16 Various methods of incentivising healthy choices were observed including:
- Pricing - healthier options priced more cheaply than less healthy ones
- Meal deals - meal deals including healthy items as standard; salad and/or vegetable portions free with main dish hot meals
- Availability - increase in fruit available; introduction of salad bar; a 'healthy' vending machine selling pieces of fruit, sandwiches and wraps
- Layout changes - more prominence given to healthy foods in serving layout
7.17 Often measures to incentivise healthy choices were not consistent or did not fully address all aspects of the issue. For example, in one small primary school, healthier potato options were priced more competitively (for example chips and roast potatoes were more expensive than boiled or baked potatoes). However, the higher and lower fat options were not available on the same day. Additionally, fruit and yogurts were cheaper than most puddings, but more expensive than home baking. In a medium sized secondary school, salad or a vegetable portion was free with a main meal, but this was not advertised and pupils did not appear to be aware of this option. In another secondary school, although fizzy drinks were not available in the dining room, they could be bought from a vending machine in the adjoining hall which was used a spill-over eating area.
7.18 In other cases, attempts had been made to encourage pupils to choose healthy options, but appeared not to be working as intended. In a medium sized secondary school, the price of chips had been increased and the portion sized reduced. However, rather than pupils choosing other options, they now bought chips from the local chip shop which they considered gave better value for money. In the same school, although healthier choices were moved closer to the front of the queue, pupils were observed by-passing these choices routinely and choosing less healthy snack items that were positioned further away. A small secondary school had offered a healthy meal deal for a set price, but when only one pupil tried it, it was quickly abandoned.
7.19 Some schools did not appear to be incentivising healthy choices. For example, in a small number of schools salad options were few or less visible than less healthy options. In a medium sized primary school, we observed there were no rules, pressures, or incentive for pupils to take vegetables with main meals, and so very few pupils did. One primary school had formerly operated a healthy eating scheme with stickers awarded to pupils for healthy choices. However, since the measures to implement Hungry for Success had been introduced by the local authority, this scheme had been discontinued in favour of standard menus which although reduced the number of less healthy choices, also appeared to pupils to offer less choice and flexibility: "There is changes and the whole thing seems so much more restrictive" (catering staff, primary school).
7.20 Both primary and secondary school pupils were asked in the questionnaire if they had seen any advertising in the case study schools promoting changes to the school meals service (see Figure 7.1 ). As the implementation of the recommendations is currently taking place in primary schools, it is perhaps not surprising that more primary than secondary pupils had seen some form of materials advertising the changes. Just under half the secondary pupils had not seen any materials (49%) compared with 30% of primary pupils.
Figure 7.1: Have you seen a poster, a leaflet, or anything else about changes to school meals in your school?
Base: Primary 624; Secondary - 1623
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires
« Previous | Contents | Next »