Gold medal for Olympic school meals campaign...

(20th July 2012)

A gold medal has been awarded to Hertfordshire County Council for its Olympic-themed scheme to encourage school children to try different foods from around the world.

The Good School Food Gold Medal Challenge saw special menus on offer in dining rooms throughout the county’s primary schools with 40,000 extra meals dished up to young people inspired to explore cuisines from around the globe.

The challenge, which was created by your local county council's Good School Food Team and Hertfordshire is Ready for Winners (the county’s Olympic and Paralympic Games partnership), has received the Local Authority Catering Association Award for Excellence in Education Catering Marketing. The awards ceremony last week (12 July) celebrated some of the finest education caterers from both the public and private sector.

As part of the challenge, school students sampled food from a variety of Olympic nations, from France to Mexico and South Africa to China. They collected stickers and completed quizzes in order to be entered for a prize draw to win official London 2012 prize packs.

The challenge finished with Team GB Day and a celebratory meal of fish and chips.

Frances Button, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “The Good School Food Gold Medal Challenge harnessed the excitement around the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to encourage children to eat healthily and to teach them about other country’s cultures and cuisines.

“We are committed to promoting the importance and benefits of a healthy lifestyle and I am delighted that this successful collaboration with our Olympic partners has received national recognition.”

The Good School Food Gold Medal Challenge has also been awarded an Inspire Mark by London 2012 as an exceptional and innovative project that is directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Hertfordshire Catering is the only local authority catering organisation in the country to be awarded an Inspire Mark.

For more information on the Good School Food Gold Medal Challenge visit www.hertsisreadyforwinners.co.uk.